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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

Coming into contact with politics in our formative years is crucially important for the future of our democracy

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

16 and 17 year olds already have the vote in devolved elections in Scotland and Wales

Voters trusted themselves to vote at 16 – let’s expand the franchise

Do you think you should have been able to vote from 16? New research commissioned by The Body Shop and The British Youth Council has found that 64% of adults would have liked to have...

Posted 18 Aug 2023

64 per cent of adults would have liked to have had the vote at 16

Exploring the franchise: Who can vote in UK elections?

The franchise has been in the news recently due to Labour considering plans to extend the franchise to resident EU citizens and 16 and 17 year olds. The question of who gets to vote in...

Posted 25 May 2023

The question of who gets to vote is more complicated than you might think

Welcome to Your Vote Week – Raising young people’s political awareness

This week is Welcome to Your Vote Week, a campaign by the Electoral Commission to spark campaigners across the UK to speak to students in schools and raise young people’s political awareness. Amidst a global...

Posted 02 Feb 2023

We have the opportunity to encourage first-time voter participation

Electoral Commission report calls for better political education in Wales

The Electoral Commission report on May 2022’s local elections in Wales, published yesterday, highlights that the extension of the franchise is only the first step in ensuring the participation of new groups of voters in...

Posted 22 Sep 2022

Only 22 percent of parents think that the information their children currently get is sufficient

Early indications suggest Welsh voting pilots went well

In May’s local elections, four areas in Wales trialled a different way of voting – allowing people to cast their vote before election day. As well as polling stations being open on the Thursday 5...

Posted 05 Aug 2022