'Letting us vote would help participation crisis'

Giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote could help boost election turnouts, college students in Cornwall have said.

Last week's local elections are set to be the last in England under the current minimum voting age of 18 - with the government planning to lower the age limit. It argues this would encourage young people's voices to be heard and would increase engagement in democracy.

Speaking to politics students at Truro College aged 16 and 17, most said lowering the age limit would lead to a more engaged electorate, tackling what one student, Olly, 17, called a "participation crisis".

But those against the change feared their age meant they would not be informed enough to cast a ballot.

Olly, 17, argued: "Most people would accept the UK has a participation crisis in elections. For under 18s to have that habit of voting it could help the UK to turn that around."

Sophie, also 17, agreed: "As they get older it means they're more likely to engage with political information, political parties and as a result of that we'll have more engaged elections," she explained.

She hoped giving younger people the vote would change politicians' priorities on issues like the cost of going to university: "The tuition fees are too high. That's a really important issue that needs to be addressed."

Ethan, 16, wanted to see more emphasis on tackling the climate crisis but he was sceptical that lowering the voting age was the right decision.

"At that age you're focusing on exams and stuff. The pressure of having to stay politically informed - it's just adding to an issue that already exists of youth stress," he observed.

Seventeen-year-old Jasmine agreed: "People don't know what they're voting for. They'll fall for populists - they're just not going to think through it enough."

Lillia, 16, supported the change but admitted not everyone was as interested in politics as her friends: "That can be where it could get a bit more dangerous," she added.

Ren, 17, wanted politicians to focus more on the housing crisis but was confident young people were educated enough to vote.

"Despite not knowing exact policies and the whole manifesto, accessing content from politicians is incredibly easy," she said.

"Having things like Instagram and TikTok pages, you can see it as you scroll -16 and 17-year-olds can be very well informed," she argued.

Meanwhile, 16-year-old Austin, argued lowering the voting age was only fair: "If you're eligible for going to work and start paying for taxes you should have a say on how your taxes are used."

Despite having mixed views on whether politicians would listen to young people's concerns - they were all keen to be able to take advantage of the right.

Harry, 17, said: "I'd vote because I know I have to in order to be heard."

Ella, also 17, agreed - but said lowering the voting age needed to be done for the right reasons.

"It's important that this is done to engage the youth in politics and not to gain support for one particular political party.

"We have to care and we have to vote in a way we think will benefit us otherwise it will be the old generations voting and they might mispresent our interests or just vote solely for themselves. So it's important we are engaged," she added.

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