Labour is looking to introduce votes for 16 and 17-year-olds in its first year in government if it wins the election.
The party is closely studying how Scotland and Wales lowered the voting age and believes there is no reason why lowering the national voting age for general elections would need to take longer.
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Sir Keir Starmer pledged to extend the franchise to younger voters in September with no indication of how quickly the policy would be implemented should it win the election. Party sources now say that while there is yet no commitment that the policy will be in the King’s Speech, it is nonetheless expected to be enacted quickly. “I would be extremely surprised if it wasn’t in the King’s Speech,” one said, describing the legislation needed as “extremely straightforward”.
Asked about the issue on the campaign trail on Saturday, Starmer said: “Yes, I want to see both 16 and 17-year-olds. If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote.”
About 1.5 million people under the age of 18 would be given the vote in general elections under plans agreed by Labour in the final draft of its national policy forum. It would be the largest change to the electorate since 1969, when the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18.
The party is looking to the example of Scotland and Wales and believes a similar time frame for enactment is possible. Scotland has already lowered the voting age for local and Scottish parliament elections to 16 and Wales has done so for local and Welsh parliament elections.
The process of lowering the age in both was swift. In Scotland, it took less than six months from Scotland being handed the power to reduce the age to the passage of legislation. Researchers at Sheffield and Edinburgh have found that the move resulted in young voters being more likely to turn out as they grew older.
In Wales, where the Labour-run government has been consulted by the party in Westminster on how a nationwide extension could work, the two pieces of legislation both passed no more than a year after being introduced.
The policy is likely to benefit Labour in future elections. In a recent YouGov poll for The Times, Labour commanded a 25-point lead over the Tories, with the party on 46 per cent of the vote and the Conservatives on 21 per cent. Among 18 to 24-year-olds that gap widened, with 54 per cent planning to vote Labour at the next election compared to just 9 per cent for the Tories.
One senior Labour source said: “It [the policy] has the double benefit of not costing very much to do but of helping secure a second Labour term.”
It is not clear how strong an electoral advantage the policy would be for Labour. YouGov’s latest MRP poll, conducted in March 2024, gave Labour a 154-seat majority with the party winning 403 seats to the Tories’ 155.
Yet an analysis by The Times of population data suggested that if 16 and 17-year-olds were allowed to vote — and they voted in a similar way as 18 to 24-year-olds — it could result in an additional eight seats flipping from the Conservatives to Labour in England alone. This could increase Labour’s potential majority to at least 170.
The seats where 16 and 17-year-olds could make a difference are predominantly in southern England, and include Aldershot, Aylesbury, Bridgwater, Frome and East Somerset, Hornchurch and Upminster, Mid Derbyshire, North East Hertfordshire, and Sittingbourne & Sheppey.
Patrick English, director of political analytics at YouGov, said: “We would generally expect that lowering the voting age would be electorally advantageous to Labour, as younger people are significantly more likely to back them over the Conservatives, or indeed any other party.”
The typical 18-year-old was almost ten times more likely to back Labour than the Conservatives, he said, and this would be expected to be similar for 16 and 17-year-olds.
“However, we also know that young people are among the most unlikely voter groups to actually turn out. So, any advantage Labour have in terms of raw support among this potential new block of young voters will be significantly reduced at the ballot box by their low participation rates,” English added.
Florence Eshalomi, the shadow minister for local government, said: “Fourteen years of chaos under the Conservatives has left many feeling ignored and left out by the political system. Labour is committed to restoring a sense of trust and national pride and that includes by strengthening our democracy.
“Our elections are built on the basic principle that those who contribute to our country should have a say in how it is governed. Yet 16 and 17-year-olds are still blocked from voting in English elections.
“It’s time to turn the page on the eroding of our democracy and give the next generation a chance to help shape their future.”
