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Lowering the voting age

Peter

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c628ep4j5kno

So the labour party apparently believes that 16 and 17-year-olds are old enough to vote. But not old enough to:

  • Leave school
  • Hold down a full-time job
  • Buy a plastic knife
  • Play the lottery
  • Buy alcohol
  • Smoke
  • Sue someone in court without permission
  • Get married (in England and Wales)
  • Watch porn
  • Make porn
  • Go to war
  • Stand for parliament

Now in my mind voting is one of the most adult things you can do. You are taking responsibility for the running of the country (indirectly). So my question, and it is a serious question for debate, if 16 and 17-year-olds can be expected to vote what other adult things could they reasonably expect to do.

For the record I personally am in favour of reducing the voting age but I do think it produces important inconsistencies that should probably be addressed. At the very least you should be able to stand in the elections you are voting for. If a 16-year-old can vote for an MP they should be allowed to be an MP.

Parents

  • Only my opinion, students have often been seen as being very anti establishment, especially anti conservative. When Labour came up with lowering the age, they were in opposition, there is only one reason why any party would want another group of people to vote, they obviously hope that age group would vote for them.
    Now Labour is in power I can see this backfiring, the changes to benefits has altered a lot of peoples opinions. 

  • in reply to Roy
    Roy said:
    students have often been seen as being very anti establishment, especially anti conservative.

    This is very true.

    Remember that the teachers that help form ideas of politics in impressionable minds are predominantly left wing and the whole organisation is state funded.

    When I was at school my English class teacher would often punish me (in retrospect because of my autism) by making me take the right wing side of debates and would push the left side with ideas and technique suggestions for debates while I was left to do my own research (this being pre-internet times).

    The bedates were a real animal house event with booing of the right wing side and cheers for the left wing.

    Talk about indoctrination.

    I was always more of a liberal leaning voter but simply being non left leaning in a former mining town in Scotland in the Thatcher era was enough to get you beaten up.

Reply
  • in reply to Roy
    Roy said:
    students have often been seen as being very anti establishment, especially anti conservative.

    This is very true.

    Remember that the teachers that help form ideas of politics in impressionable minds are predominantly left wing and the whole organisation is state funded.

    When I was at school my English class teacher would often punish me (in retrospect because of my autism) by making me take the right wing side of debates and would push the left side with ideas and technique suggestions for debates while I was left to do my own research (this being pre-internet times).

    The bedates were a real animal house event with booing of the right wing side and cheers for the left wing.

    Talk about indoctrination.

    I was always more of a liberal leaning voter but simply being non left leaning in a former mining town in Scotland in the Thatcher era was enough to get you beaten up.

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