The Government has declared that all UK elections will allow 16-year-olds to vote.
Labour said it was laying out “seismic reforms to boost democratic engagement and restore trust in our democracy” in plans presented on Thursday.
By the next general election, the amendments would align England with Scotland and Wales, where 16 and 17-year-olds already have the right to vote.
The ideas, which will be approved by Parliament as the Elections Bill, include lowering the voting age to 16 and adding bank cards to the list of acceptable forms of identification.
Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: “For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline.
“We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy… and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16-year-olds the right to vote.”
It has been more than 50 years ago since Harold Wilson's Labour Government reduced the UK voting age from 21 to 18.
However, some countries found it was time for change in recent years.
Scotland made voting at 16 possible for all elections in 2015, and Wales followed suit in 2019.
How old do you have to be to vote in the general election?
Currently, anyone on the electoral register aged 18 or over on polling day can vote in the general election. This will soon be lowered to 16 in England at the next election, currently scheduled for 2029.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had reiterated his aims to lower the voting age while speaking at the Liaison Committee in April.
He said: “I think that if you’re old enough to go out to work, if you’re old enough to pay your taxes, then you are entitled to have a say on how your taxes are spent.
“And also we do have voting at a younger age in different parts of the United Kingdom and the sky didn’t fall in," he told MPs.”
Before the Second World War, which lasted from 1939 to 1945, nearly every nation had a voting age of 21 or older.
The first country to decrease the voting age to 18 was Czechoslovakia, in 1946.
By 1968, 17 nations had done the same; 8 of these were in Latin America and 8 of them were communist nations.
It wasn’t until the 1970s the UK reduced its voting age to 18 years, under the Representation of the People Act 1969.
When is the next general election?
The next general election has not been confirmed as of yet but the Institute of Government states it must be called by August 2029. Sir Keir may choose to hold it before this.
General elections take place every five years in the UK. The last general election was held on Thursday, July 4, 2024.
Do other countries have similar ages for voting?
Only a small number of nations worldwide have voting ages below 18. The only countries that allowed votes at 16 in 2024 were Nicaragua, Scotland (for elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and council), the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, and Austria.
As of 2023, the majority of nations and territories have set an 18-year-old minimum voting age.
The United Arab Emirates has the highest threshold, as its residents must be 25 years old to vote.There is a split voting age in Italy: citizens must be 25 years old to vote in Senate elections, but only 18 years old to vote in the lower house of Parliament.
