{"id":236073,"date":"2023-09-19T12:00:20","date_gmt":"2023-09-19T12:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/?p=236073"},"modified":"2023-09-19T12:00:20","modified_gmt":"2023-09-19T12:00:20","slug":"labours-controversial-plans-to-let-16-year-olds-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lovemainstream.com\/world-news\/labours-controversial-plans-to-let-16-year-olds-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Labour&apos;s controversial plans to let 16-year-olds vote"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Starmer faces a backlash from his own party last night for Labour&#8217;s controversial plans to let 16-year-olds vote in General Elections\u00a0<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>One former Minister branded the idea &#8216;gerrymandering, pure and simple&#8217;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Labour confirmed yesterday that cutting the voting age from 18 to 16<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sir Keir Starmer faced a backlash from his own party last night after Labour&#8217;s controversial plans to let 16-year-olds vote in General Elections was set in stone.<\/p>\n<p>One former Minister branded the idea &#8216;gerrymandering, pure and simple&#8217;, while an MP said that it &#8216;smacked of self-interest&#8217; as people that young were more likely to vote Labour than Tory.<\/p>\n<p>The row erupted after Labour confirmed yesterday that cutting the voting age from 18 to 16 was included in a revised policy blueprint for its General Election manifesto.<\/p>\n<p>And last night a party spokesman added: &#8216;Labour will introduce votes for 16- and 17-year-olds, in line with Scotland and Wales, so that young people feel empowered and can fully engage in our democratic processes.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;At the age of 16, many young people are paying taxes, working, and engaging in all parts of society \u2013 it is right that they get a say in who governs them.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/16\/22\/75514671-12526947-image-a-62_1694899933723.jpg\" height=\"432\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>The row erupted after Labour confirmed yesterday that cutting the voting age from 18 to 16 was included in a revised policy blueprint for its General Election manifesto<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/09\/16\/22\/75514443-12526947-WORLD_STAGE_Sir_Keir_Starmer_with_Canadian_premier_Justin_Trudea-a-61_1694899931411.jpg\" height=\"454\" width=\"634\"><\/p>\n<p>WORLD STAGE: Sir Keir Starmer with Canadian premier Justin Trudeau in Montreal yesterday<\/p>\n<p>But senior Labour MP Graham Stringer urged Sir Keir to drop the plan.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Stringer, 73, told The Mail on Sunday: &#8216;We have to draw the line somewhere on the voting age, and I simply believe most youngsters at 16 are not mature enough to exercise that right.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;I&#8217;m afraid that were the Labour leader to put this forward, it would smack of party political self-interest on the basis that young people are more likely to vote Labour or Liberal Democrat than Conservative.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Ex-Labour Minister Tom Harris went further and said: &#8216;This is just gerrymandering, pure and simple.<\/p>\n<p>&#8216;It&#8217;s being put forward because Labour policy wonks think that 16-year-olds are more likely to vote for Labour over Tory.&#8217;<\/p>\n<h3>READ MORE: Keir Starmer&#8217;s &#8216;PM-in-waiting&#8217; tour continues as he heads for left-wing love-in summit in Montreal with Justin Trudeau, Tony Blair and David Miliband<\/h3>\n<p>Mr Harris, 59, who quit the party in 2018, agreed with Mr Stringer that &#8216;at 16, most people just aren&#8217;t mature enough to have the vote&#8217;. He said: &#8216;That&#8217;s no criticism of them \u2013 it&#8217;s just a fact of life. If Starmer has any sense, he will quietly park any plans to extend it for UK-wide elections.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>However, veteran Labour MP Barry Sheerman, 83, who had previously said lowering the voting age would &#8216;shrink&#8217; childhood, admitted yesterday he could be persuaded in favour of the idea.<\/p>\n<p>Tory Party chairman Greg Hands has already condemned the voting age plan, saying: &#8216;Everyone knows that adulthood starts at 18 \u2013 that&#8217;s when you can get married, start drinking and smoke. Labour only want to lower the voting age for their own political advantage.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>The votes row came as Sir Keir met Canadian premier Justin Trudeau and other political leaders yesterday at a Global Progress Action Summit in Montreal.<\/p>\n<p>The Canadian visit, together with a scheduled meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris later this week, comes amid growing confidence among Labour MPs of victory at the next Election but concern that Sir Keir&#8217;s &#8216;globe-trotting&#8217; will look like hubris.<\/p>\n<p>One French government source told The Mail on Sunday that the meeting with Mr Macron was &#8216;very much pushed by Mr Starmer, who clearly realises the importance of the Franco-British alliance&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>The source added: &#8216;There are huge issues involving the two countries, not least of all cross-Channel immigration, and Mr Starmer naturally wants to speak directly to Mr Macron about them.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-12526947\/Starmer-faces-backlash-party-night-Labours-controversial-plans-let-16-year-olds-vote-General-Elections.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Starmer faces a backlash from his own party last night for Labour&#8217;s controversial plans to let 16-year-olds vote in General Elections\u00a0 One former Minister branded the idea &#8216;gerrymandering, pure and&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":236072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8 - 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