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Why voting isn’t like drinking or smoking

I’m pretty glad that 12-year-olds aren’t allowed to drive buses. We have age restrictions on many things for pretty good reasons in the UK, and preventing children from careering down the high street in a...

Posted 19 Jan 2026

When we don't want people to pick up an activity, we don't let them start until they are 18

Strong support for fair votes and jubilant mood at Lib Dem Conference

I have just returned from a very sunny weekend in Bournemouth at the annual Liberal Democrat conference. As is usually the case at the Liberal Democrats annual meeting, the mood was jubilant. With 72 MPs,...

Posted 30 Sep 2025

Electoral Commission Chair calls for deeper citizenship education

At the Electoral Reform Society we have long called for the right to vote to be extended to 16 and 17 year olds. Far too many people don’t vote, and research has shown that 16...

Posted 26 Aug 2025

Robust democracy depends on early informed participation

We called, they listened: Government confirms historic democratic reforms

In a statement to parliament today, the democracy minister set out the changes the government plans to make in the forthcoming elections bill. Last week we set out what we hoped to see in the...

Posted 17 Jul 2025

we are going to see some hugely positive steps towards improving our democracy

The government are introducing a new bill to reform elections – here’s what we want to see

One year on from the General Election and we are eagerly awaiting the government’s Elections Bill, expected to be tabled in the next session of this parliament. The bill is likely to contain measures, promised...

Posted 03 Jul 2025

We should extend the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds, here’s why

The Government was elected on a manifesto promise to “increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy by giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections.” We agree, and here’s...

Posted 02 Apr 2025

We'll be fostering a new generation of voters who will go on to become voting adults

When was the voting age reduced from 21 to 18 in the UK?

The UK is no stranger to expanding the franchise. The age you have to be to cast a vote in elections has changed many times – each time allowing even more people to participate in...

Posted 27 Nov 2024

Its time to inject new life into our politics by giving the vote to 16 and 17 year olds

The real winner from votes at 16 is democracy

With our Labour government’s commitment to extending the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds in their manifesto, many an argument has been levelled against the plan. Most arguments against measures that would improve our democracy are...

Posted 27 Aug 2024

ERS in the Press – Coverage we’ve secured in the GE campaign

You might have noticed that there’s a general election approaching. Whilst the date of the election may have taken us all a little by surprise, the ERS communications team were ready to go and making...

Posted 25 Jun 2024

Could this be the last general election that excludes 16 and 17 year olds?

At the Electoral Reform Society, we have long been advocates of extending the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds in general elections. So, we were pleased to see that, when asked on the campaign...

Posted 29 May 2024