Why letting 16-year-olds vote could give Gen Z as much political power as pensioners
Our elected representatives are obliged to protect the triple lock on the state pension because elderly people tend to vote. Increasing the youth vote may give them much-needed clout
So the government at Westminster has announced that, in time for the next general election, 16 and 17-year-olds will be allowed to vote. As you will know, this has been the case in Scotland since 2014 and democracy has not ground to a halt.
Some opposition parties are saying this is just a cynical attempt to gain the youth vote for the left, and, indeed, it seems that, in England, the main beneficiaries would be Labour and the Greens (who are, in England, a very respectable and sensible bunch relative to the screaming bag of cats they are here in Scotland).
This is, of course, to be expected and indeed welcomed: to misquote someone (no, it’s not Churchill): “If you’re not left wing when you’re young, there’s something wrong with your heart, and if you’re still left wing when you’re old, there’s something wrong with your head.” That’s not to say that, in due course, some young people won’t vote for Reform (along with the rest of their family).
Young people made me proud
The arguments being played out in England now echo those from 2014, when young Scots of 16 and 17 were allowed to vote in the independence referendum. It would seem they mainly voted ‘Yes’, though their turnout was lower than their grandparents, who mainly voted ‘No’.
I was at that time a head teacher, and was lucky enough to get Kenny MacAskill (then still with the SNP) and Sir Menzies Campbell, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats, to come and debate independence with our S5 and S6 students, almost all of whom were about to vote for the first time.
Two of their number spoke with these highly experienced politicians. This was, in fact, one of my very happiest teaching memories, because the contributions of the young people, both in questioning and in giving their own points of view, were wonderful, causing even Sir Menzies – not the least grumpy of grumpy old men – to tell me how proud I should be. I was.
I’ve never accepted the argument that teenagers are too ill-informed or immature in their thinking, too fickle and easily swayed, too uninterested to vote. I think 16 is the right age. Only dafties (this is a technical term) advance the argument that – this being the case – then why not 14-year-olds or five-year-olds?
Well, simply because, as with many things, there has to be a lower limit and periodically society has to review it. Personally I think voting is probably easier than being in the army or, indeed, having sex. Obviously, some young people will lack the acumen and intelligence to vote, but then that’s true for many people of all ages.
Our parents’ politics
If someone wanted to start a ‘disenfranchise stupid people’ movement, and it succeeded, then I think that would have a profound effect on elections – but nobody is seriously going to advance that, with its echoes of voter suppression in the USA.
Most people who vote have, in truth, only a fairly sketchy idea about the policies of the party they are voting for are. There are exceptions – like Greens on the environment; the SNP and Alba on independence – but there are apparently hordes of people ready to vote for Reform, and, possibly beyond their opposition to immigration, almost nobody knows what their policies are.
Of course, we are all influenced to some extent or other by our parents’ political views. I grew up in a very heavily political household (suffice to say the First Minister was kind enough to speak at my father’s funeral). But still, the first vote I ever cast was in the European referendum in 1975 and I voted in favour of Europe, and just lied to Mum and Dad about how I had voted, the SNP at that time being highly anti-European.
It would be very interesting to know what proportion of young people vote the same way as their parents do. We are also all now influenced in one way or another by social media – in many respects young people, attuned to the vagaries of TikTok or Instagram, may better be able to make their own minds up than those of us enslaved to X/Twitter or ‘the News’.
Increasing Gen Z’s political clout
However, the central argument in favour of extending the franchise is that this is the most difficult time to be young for a long, long time, certainly in my lifetime, and letting more young people vote might well be a means of getting politicians to take their views and needs further into account.
For example, our elected representatives are obliged to protect the triple lock on the old age pension, when in fact a great many pensioners are very well off, relative to those under 25 working on their first jobs. Young people, if they are interested in politics at all, tend to focus on issues – currently, they worry about Gaza, the climate crisis, equity, and they would – in the main – support parties willing to take these things on.
Maybe we need a few more ‘naïve’ voices casting votes that might lead to higher taxation on rich people, or more Draconian rules being applied to water companies. If nothing else, the old established parties might need to shake up in their thinking.
Nationalists are predictably rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of England ‘copying’ the Scots by this move: unusually in these days of Scottish exceptionalism, I agree with them – extending the vote to older teenagers doesn’t seem to have done them, their parents or the country any harm.
At their best, our young people are superb – confident, articulate, kind and clever – and we are right to put our faith in their judgment.
Cameron Wyllie is a former head teacher. He writes a blog called A House in Joppa and is the author of a book called Is There A Pigeon in the Room? My Life in Schools
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