The Tory party is polarised. A YouGov survey taken on June 19 finds 74% of Brits believe the Conservatives are divided. This splintering, largely driven by the aftermath of Brexit, has left the Conservatives trailing by 19% in the polls to Labour. It is the largest gap in over a decade.
Large Labour gains and a Keir Starmer government look increasingly likely at the next general election.
So, as the fractured Tories flounder in the polls, Labour has the opportunity to consign the Tory party to history. One policy that could hammer the coffin lid shut is by giving the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds – people like me.
A 2022 report commissioned by Deloitte estimated that 45% of the British population use social media as their main source of news. This rise in social media usage has enormously amplified the voices of young people.
Dropping the voting age to 16 would enlarge the UK electorate by a predominantly leftward-leaning 8%, posing a huge and lasting threat to the Conservatives.
When countries such as Austria and Malta implemented voting rights for 16- and 17-year-olds, there was an immediate swing towards socialist democratic parties.
In Austria, the Socialist Democratic Party saw a 27% swing in their favour to 79% of the vote following the expansion of voting rights to 16-year-olds in 2007.
The UK would probably witness a similar shift in Labour’s favour. This age group shows signs of being more politically engaged than older voters.
An ICM survey taken during the Scottish independence referendum showed that the voter turnout among 16-17-year-olds was 75%, compared to 54% of 18-24-year-olds and 72% of those aged 25-34.
The 16- and 17-year-olds were also more engaged with demonstrations, petitions and writing to MPs.
If similar rights were granted across the UK, the combination of Labour’s current 19% lead in the polls and the 8% gain of newly granted young voters could combine to form a red wave large enough to drown the Tory party in a sea of social democracy.
Naturally, senior Tories are against the idea. Theresa May said: “You have to pick a point at which you think it is right for the voting age to be. I continue to think it is right for it to be 18.”
Can you really blame her? Not least when you consider that in her 2017 election, 10% of the constituencies she won were decided by fewer than the population of 16–17-year-olds in them.
But one person who looks to be a clear winner from this constitutional change is, as yet, undecided.
The policy is a no-brainer for Labour; pushing the Tory party into oblivion, securing an extra leftwards-leaning 8% into the electorate and making the UK more democratic in the process.
Frustratingly, Keir Starmer is being characteristically non-committal and cautious. He is said to be “mulling” this as an option.
Many of his core team are, however, more gung ho. Shadow environment minister Jim McMahon said: “I think we demand a lot of our 16 and 17-year-olds and I think they have a right to have a say in our democracy.”
While the Tory party is only just clinging on to power, the voice of young people – amplified through social media – is more powerful than ever before.
So, with many voters still regarding Keir Starmer as unimaginative and dull, could this be the bold and forward-thinking move which could change their minds? It could take Labour over the winning line, build lifelong civic engagement among the youth, empower democracy and, at the same time, kill off the Tory party.
Come on Keir. What’s not to like?
