Public opinion, political partisanship and the Votes-at-16 debate in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The debate in the United Kingdom over whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 has largely involved political elites demanding change. Public opinion, insofar as it has been tested at UK-wide level, has tended to oppose lowering the voting age for Westminster elections, but change has proceeded for non-Westminster elections in Scotland and Wales. Drawing upon extensive research undertaken as part of a 2-year Leverhulme Trust project on the voting age debate, this article tests public opinion via quantitative surveys on whether the voting age should be lowered for UK-wide elections not only among the existing electorate but also among 16- to 17-year-olds. It suggests three things: (1) there has been a shift among adults towards support for change, but not an outright majority in favour; (2) the insulation of public opinion from the debate is likely to diminish as only a change in attitudes appears capable of eliciting change at UK level; and (3) the divisions on the issue among the public map onto the importance of age as a variable in party choice, with younger Labour supporters most in favour of Votes-at-16 and older Conservatives most opposed. This political partisanship was absent when the United Kingdom became the first country in the world to lower the voting age from 21 to 18 half-a-century ago but is likely to dominate the Votes-at-16 debate for years to come.

Lowering the voting age to 16: Young people making a case for political education in fostering voting competencies

“…The analysis developed by Bessant (2020) on the failed attempt in Australia in 2018 to lower the voting age below 18, is of assistance in re-framing the debate as a matter of citizenship, in relation to how minors are misrecognised and misrepresented in a context of democratic crisis. In that sense, we follow the arguments advocated by Bowman (2021) and Loughran et al (2019Loughran et al ( , 2021 that the debate over voting at 16 should be accompanied by the concern of producing proposals to promote youth political engagement more effectively, rather than focusing the problem on the simplistic question of the voting age.…”

“…This broader perspective demands a discussion that goes beyond the simplistic question of ‘do we allow them to have their say’, towards ‘a more responsive and agile concept of political socialisation than the identification of certain markers of adulthood as appropriate to the accrual of voting rights alongside other rights and responsibilities’ (Bowman, 2021: 592). In addition, a more integrated and complex debate over voting at 16 will address the danger that this policy reform may entail, by considering, as Loughran et al (2019, 2021) advocate, a change that may empower mainly the already advantaged (e.g. those already politically interested, the university-educated and those from a higher socio-economic background) ‘without support for those who feel marginalised by electoral politics and less confident about participating in the political process’ (Loughran et al, 2021: 314).…”

“…In addition, a more integrated and complex debate over voting at 16 will address the danger that this policy reform may entail, by considering, as Loughran et al (2019, 2021) advocate, a change that may empower mainly the already advantaged (e.g. those already politically interested, the university-educated and those from a higher socio-economic background) ‘without support for those who feel marginalised by electoral politics and less confident about participating in the political process’ (Loughran et al, 2021: 314). A recent article, summarising the empirical findings across countries where there is data with lower voting ages, states the inexistence of negative effects related to political engagement and civic attitudes, while also cautioning about the substantial gaps in knowledge on how positive effects actually play out (Eichhorn & Bergh, 2021).…”

The lessons of 1969: policy learning, policy memory and voting age reform

“…This noted, intentional policy myopia may also be a factor. In both Scotland and Wales, the introduction of 'Votes-at-16' has been primarily driven by devolved political elites who consciously framed voting age reform in terms of the 'modernisation' of devolved national institutions compared to what is framed as an increasingly archaic Westminster (Loughran et al, 2021b). Pre-legislative scrutiny in Scotland and Wales was also compromised as it was undertaken only after the passing of confirmatory legislative votes in support of voting age reform.…”

“…The picture elsewhere is more complicated. Recent research suggests that while there is a slight overall majority in support for change, opinion divides on a number of significant partisan political, age, and educational fault-lines (Loughran et al, 2021b). Moreover, support or opposition at Westminster is founded on an ideological divide between so-called 'progressive' and 'conservative' parties whereby differences of opinion on adulthood, maturity, and enfranchisement are key (Mycock et al, 2020).…”