Voting at 16

Lord Rennard Excerpts

Thursday 24th July 2025 Lords Chamber

Asked by

[Lord Rennard]

To ask His Majesty’s Government when they expect to lower the voting age to 16, and whether they will take steps to raise the proportion of young people registered to vote to the same level as for those aged over 25.

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (Lord Khan of Burnley) (Lab)]

My Lords, the Government will introduce legislation as soon as time allows during this Parliament to give 16 and 17 year-olds the right to vote in all elections. We recognise that too many young people are not currently registered to vote. We are committed to improving voter registration and supporting young people to register. We believe that, by building a strong foundation for democratic participation among young people, we can establish habits that will continue as they grow older.

[Lord Rennard (LD)]

My Lords, the proposed change is welcome, and unless we change the voting age soon, young people may continue having to wait until they are 20 or 21 to cast their first vote in a general election. But would it not make sense to have the same age for voting in all elections across the UK, starting in 2027? In any event, will the Government now implement the unanimous cross-party recommendation of the House of Lords Select Committee and automatically include 16 and 17 year-olds on the electoral registers at the same time as they are given their national insurance numbers? That would put them in readiness to be able to vote whatever the age was.

[Lord Khan of Burnley (Lab)]

My Lords, let me first say that the Government were elected on a clear mandate, which included lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections in the UK. This is a major change in the electoral franchise and we need to get it right. Changes of this magnitude to the electoral law require careful planning and should not be rushed. On the question about national insurance, we are looking at different options to ensure that young people can be easily and accurately registered to vote, including enabling people to register when they interact with other government services. The noble Lord keeps pushing, and I give him the good news that we are looking at that.