Want to campaign for the 16 year old vote?

== We believe 16 and 17 year olds deserve to be heard in elections. If you agree and would like to get involved in researching our approach and then campaigning for change, please get in touch==

Having worked at The Student Room for 10 years, and as a College Governor at Brighton and Hove Sixth Form College, I've been overwhelmed by the number of highly engaged young students having really well informed debates on key political issues. This is sometimes more than can be said for much of the adult population.

As you turn 16 and 17 you gain the rights to get married, have children, join the army, drive, fly planes, as well as the to go to adult prison. As young people, you will also have to live with the consequences of political decisions for longer than any of the rest of us. To me it feels like a relic from the past that your voice is excluded from important political decisions. You have a right for your opinions to be listened to at the highest levels, and on the most important issues.

During the EU referendum our polls showed that 82% of 16 and 17 year olds wanted to Remain, so clearly your views were not well represented by the general voting population. Interestingly though, 16 and 17 year olds polled similarly to 18-24 year olds - 75% of whom voted Remain (YouGov after the vote), so broadly in line with your closest peers.

Scotland lowered the voting age to 16 in 2014 for the independence vote, and are now extending it for all elections. With the current sweeping political change in the UK we feel that the time is right to follow their lead, and to push to get the UK parliament to adopt this progressive position.

So with that in mind, we would like to identify driven members of the TSR community who would like to get involved in researching, refining our position, and campaigning for this change, with the support of TSR to assist with political contacts, public relations and lobbying. We will consider whether to go this alone, or to join up with other organisations.

As TSR is used by 75% of the 16-24 population, and gets 8.5 million visits to our websites each month, we are often approached, and listened to, by the political establishment as well as other media, and we feel it is right to use this position to help drive through a change we feel so passionately about.

If this is a cause that you feel strongly that you would like to help with, then post your interest in here, and we will get a private forum set-up to start discussing the best route forwards.

We want to do our bit to ensure your voice is heard. We hope you do too, and will join us in making this happen.

We understand their will be differences of opinion on this subject, and that's fine too.

Thanks

Chris

too many idiots our age sorry m8

Do you have actual evidence as to there being more 'idiots' aged 16-18 than 18-20?
And anyway who do you classify as an 'idiot".
Is it someone who simply has different views from you?

Simple, 16-18 year olds have next to little real life experience. The more experience one gains, the less of an idiot they are likely to be.

Scotland recognised their youth deserved a say. Why don't England?

Do you have actual evidence as to there being more 'idiots' aged 16-18 than 18-20?
And anyway who do you classify as an 'idiot".
Is it someone who simply has different views from you?

i would say anyone who has reached the age of criminal responsibility should be able to vote.

if you are old enough to be punished for your crimes you are old enough to vote. *

You know, I see your point but everybody has less life experience than someone
else.
A 18 year old has less life experience than a 90 year old yet they still get a say, even though they are more 'likely to be an idiot'.
And its not only years that give you life experience.

You do realise that if the YESNP thought for a nano second that 16-17 YOs would vote "Naw" they would not have been included.

And a cut of point is required, what is next, 15 year olds to vote? A point has to be made where a large chunk of people do start to have life experience, and at least are capable of legally doing everything. The idea what someone is not legally old enough to go to war but old enough to vote for wars (at least indirectly) is laughable.

tend to mature as you age, as for classifying an "idiot" you sound like a good example

Well if we're going by age lets go at 22 then, you maturer then than you are at 18.
And I think you should leave your side of the discussion to The_Opinion. Simply becoming rude and nasty just shows how you are feeling weak and are stuck for points. Don't use your views as an excuse to bully.

dont cry xox

Well if we're going by age lets go at 22 then, you maturer then than you are at 18.
And I think you should leave your side of the discussion to The_Opinion. Simply becoming rude and nasty just shows how you are feeling weak and are stuck for points.

Excuse me? You think I'm going to cry over you.....how about you respond to my earlier point and start focusing on strengthening your argument.
What you're doing right now is making you look weak. There's no need to get so defensive.

Many people including myself would support raising the age of voting, thus ensuring that voters do have even more life experience.

lmao you are one triggered feminist aren't you. I already told you why, there are too many idiots like you. Our age group is so easily swayed by social media its shocking, even if 16-17 year olds were allowed to vote it wouldn't have made any difference to the EU result. No one really gave a **** until we left, only 36% of 18-24 year olds voted. Accept it and move on, if we move it 16, there probably will be 15 year olds wanting to vote, next thing you know we have 10 year olds voting

lmao you are one triggered feminist aren't you. I already told you why, there are too many idiots like you. Our age group is so easily swayed by social media its shocking, even if 16-17 year olds were allowed to vote it wouldn't have made any difference to the EU result. No one really gave a **** until we left, only 36% of 18-24 year olds voted. Accept it and move on, if we move it 16, there probably will be 15 year olds wanting to vote, next thing you know we have 10 year olds voting