Should 16 year olds have the vote?

That is a very interesting question.

I am 19 and I can say that I now know a 100x more about political ideologies,views,concepts etc (might be because of a level politics).

At age 16 I didn’t know enough to actually have political ideals, and I would probably just vote Labour or Lib Dem for the sake of it.

Now as a 19 year old my ideal is just to vote for the MP who I think was best with campaigning and who’s policies are best for me and also if the current one is doing a good job

16 Year Olds should not be given the right to vote.

The fact that they are young and still in school causes me to believe they are more likely to vote based on emotion, rather than logic and critical thinking. Of course, this does not apply to everyone, but most that I have come across do tend to act based on emotion.

And adults don't?

In a world where we're nostalgic about the empire's past, and have grown fond of a cult of personality, adults too, go with what they feel right, what suits their ideals, and principles, disregarding the society at large.

Yes, but adults are more likely to think critically about political things for clear reasons.

such as?

sigh... financial reasons, economic reasons, family reasons, property-related reasons, occupation-related reasons. living condition related reasons...

I would agree with an idea that somebody has already mentioned on this thread.

A test to check for a fundamental understanding of British politics, ideologies, parties and policies. Anybody over 16 can take this test (including prisoners etc.), as long as they can prove that they're properly informed them they should be able to vote.

Unless the age of adulthood is lowered to 16, which wouldn't be a great idea imo, then the voting age should stay at 18.

Mixed opinions on this one.
It's not just teenagers which are impulsive and immature, there are many, many adults who are at the same level/worse, the only difference really is "age". At what point do these "mature" adults suddenly change and become able to make reasonable decisions?
Instead of changing the voting age, why not make it mandatory to teach teenagers all that is necessary to be taught before allowing them to vote. It's not like anything important occurs in classes like PSE, so teach them.
As a 16-year-old, I wouldn't want to be able to vote without knowing all the facts. Personally, when I see the news talking about politics, I don't exactly see such a great "system" where parties fight within themselves and spend more time picking faults with the opposition than trying to fix their own ones.
Although, when parties do suggest giving the vote to 16-year-olds, it's probably because they want them to vote for their parties - not because they want to give them more rights.

I need more info,

Suppose you worked hard all your life, paid rent, had kids, and did some manual labour.
However, you struggle with learning and tests, and ultimately fail it.

Democratically doesn't your voice count? Aren't people like you, slightly less intellectually fortunate deserving of a voice too?

Also, suppose you're not a naturalised citizen, you took the test in prison, do you suddenly have a right to vote?

How about people who don't have stakes in the country? or don't wish it to do well?

Should democracy be limited? isn't democracy the voice of the people, from *all* walks of life?

It isn't learning as such, you couldn't revise for a test like this. It's not a question of intellectualism, but rather do you have any fundamental understanding of the system that you're in? Some people don't even understand that you elect a local constituency MP, rather than the PM. It's not a hard test, but voting should be regarded as a privilege, rather than as a right once you've survived the first 18 years of your life. (It currently is regarded as a privilege because it's taken away from you when you go to prison).

This system would in fact extend democracy, not limit it. It would extending it to 16-18 year olds, and prisoners (well over 1.5 million people). Everyone that currently votes would be able to pass this test, even if it requires half an hour of basic research from the internet (which would do no harm as far as i'm concerned).

You're putting words into my mouth. Obviously this would only apply to UK citizens, I never said that we should extend the franchise to foreigners. Obviously.

I think they should. This should not allow them to buy alcohol under 18, or change parental responsibilities either, though.

hehehe, I'm sorry for putting words in your mouth,

yh kinda, but like another user said, we lack political literacy, maybe that too should be taught?