[Politics] Votes for 16 year olds

[Thunder Bolt]

I didn't say that did I?? Its literally people on this thread are saying young people don't know anything and shouldn't vote all I'm saying is that can be said for every age, 16 year old to 100 year old. If you want a number it's 4 from my current work place and 6 from my last that voted for whomever they partner said

That's how they answered you to stop you being so nosy about their voting intentions.


I worked for 50 years and hardly any of us discussed our political voting intentions at work. It would cause too much tension.
Yes, we often moaned about the current government, no matter which label it was under, but not how we would vote.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

It's a strange one in Bosnia, as it's 18, but if you are employed it is 16.


Scotland is 16.

 

[Mellor 3 Ward 4]

So how is raising a family 50-60 years ago relevant to the modern world? Elections are about the present and the future first and foremost, not (by and large) the distant past.

Your question was : What “life experience” do 80 year olds have that 16 year olds don’t, exactly?

By definition, 80 year olds have a lot more 'experience' of life than 16 year olds.

Experience refers to the actual living through an event or series of events. It can also refer to skill or knowledge gained by actually doing or feeling a thing. If you experience something, it happens to you, or you feel it. The word "experience" comes from the Latin word experientia, derived from experiri, which means "to try, test". It can also refer to the process of getting knowledge or skill from doing, seeing, or feeling things

As I said before, I'm not against 16 YO voting, but your comment is very strange.

 

[BLOCK F]

I’m 76 this year, but don’t compare me to your grandmother!

So am I and I don’t want to be compared to AIX ‘s granny either, but I’m sure she’s a very nice old lady, anyway.

 

[heathgate]

A majority of 16yo won't have a clue about the various manifestos, but you can say the same for the majority of 'grown-ups'.

Crap.... most 16 yo won't even know what a manifesto is, let alone it's contents, the attached political party or politicians.

MOST grown-ups are a tad more aware.... not all, but most.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Crap.... most 16 yo won't even know what a manifesto is, let alone it's contents, the attached political party or politicians.

MOST grown-ups are a tad more aware.... not all, but most.

 

[Alwaysblue]

That's how they answered you to stop you being so nosy about their voting intentions.


I worked for 50 years and hardly any of us discussed our political voting intentions at work. It would cause too much tension.
Yes, we often moaned about the current government, no matter which label it was under, but not how we would vote.

literally it was a discussion in break room. maybe you didn't discuss it cause you're too Immature and would let it cause tension. You know most grown ups understand people will have different ideas and the like but not let it get in the way of work.

 

[heathgate]

The reality being that the reverse of that question is true... and which proves my point of course.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

literally it was a discussion in break room. maybe you didn't discuss it cause you're too Immature and would let it cause tension. You know most grown ups understand people will have different ideas and the like but not let it get in the way of work.

Yes, of course.

Things that didn't happen part 6.

 

[dippy2449]

You can join the Army at 16, why shouldn't you be able to vote at 16?

You cannot be deployed on active service until 18.
I do think if you are paying for a government to waste your money you should at least get a choice to select said money waster

 

[Cheshire Cat]

Crap.... most 16 yo won't even know what a manifesto is, let alone it's contents, the attached political party or politicians.

MOST grown-ups are a tad more aware.... not all, but most.

I think you are deluding yourself about the average awareness of the average punter.

 

[Me Atome]

literally it was a discussion in break room. maybe you didn't discuss it cause you're too Immature and would let it cause tension. You know most grown ups understand people will have different ideas and the like but not let it get in the way of work.

I agree with Thunder Bolt. Discuss current affairs with colleagues and friends all the time. But voting intentions? Never. Not with colleagues, friends or even with relatives.

 

[stewart12]

I remember when I was 16/17 the decision to introduce tuition fees- a decision that will affect mine and younger generations for pretty much their entire working life

and we had absolutely no say in the matter

 

[drew]

You cannot be deployed on active service until 18.

What has that got to do with it?

 

[drew]

The question should not have been 'why do you hate young people?' but 'Mr Sunak, what voluntary work did you ever do for your local community?'.

 

[wellquickwoody]

The OP asked about evidence of the voting intentions of 16 year olds, where did you find this out?

Here is one source……

https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Political-Culture-of-Young-Britain.pdf

 

[Thunder Bolt]

You cannot be deployed on active service until 18.
I do think if you are paying for a government to waste your money you should at least get a choice to select said money waster

You can in the RN.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Treating is a criminal offence which can be tried in Magistrates or Crown court. But then, of course, you knew that.

How about free broadband for everyone? Surely less useful to those over 80 than those under 40?

 

[wellquickwoody]

I can agree with all of this, whilst still (perhaps with a little hypocrisy) thinking that in the cut and thrust of politics, it's perfectly fair to do it. Gerrymandering has been going on for a couple of hundred years now (probably longer before the name was coined), so until they change the rules to stop this kind of thing happening (which I agree that they should), it has to be considered fair game. Tit fer tat politics? Yep. Underhand tactics? Probably. A race to the bottom? Maybe. I currently don't care too much as the party that would suffer from this has for years been happy to f**k over all and sundry, including the very institution they are members of.

Maybe a proper constitution would lay down the rules to follow. Bring on the Republic!


Casting aside the gerrymandering argument, to look at the actual case for it for a moment, this is absolutely bang on IMO.

However, there is also a solution that would achieve the same without lowering voting age... find a way to get more than half of the 18-34 year olds to actually vote!
I actually think this is why the Greens will be a force to reckon with in future elections. If turnout amongst under 35s got anywhere near that of the over 55s, they'd be in business. Aided by Starmer's Labour's lurch to the right of course - a lot of disenfranchised lefties will need a new home.

Bookmark this and have a look in 2050 to see if I'm correct

View attachment 183286

EDIT: What I would like to see is compulsory voting, so the 18-34 demographic would be forced to engage in the process, even if it's just to the extent that they go along and spoil their ballot paper. That might at least make party manifestos a little more balanced, rather than mostly pandering to the grey vote

Should be applied to the whole electorate.

 

[stewart12]

Here is one source……

https://policyexchange.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Political-Culture-of-Young-Britain.pdf

the current load of teenagers have led most, if not all of their lives under this government so it's no wonder they're likely to move away from that

Similarly Labour weren't that popular when I was 16/17. I did politics at A-Level and the class was fairly mixed in terms of leanings. I don't think many of us voted Labour when we had the chance when we turned 18 (2005 election I believe)

however, there is the old saying that you move to the right as you get older. I believe though that the current lot of people in their late 30's are bucking that trend, again, they have spent almost all of their working life under a conservative government

one anomaly to all of that might be the group of teenage boys who are heavily influenced by "aspirational" socially conservative people like Andrew Tate.