Kids as young as 16 will be able to vote under drastic Labour plans – but major group WON’T
KIDS aged 16 will be given the vote if Labour wins power - but plans to hand EU migrants a say in general elections have been junked.
A policy paper today committed Sir Keir Starmer to lowering the voting age from 18 “so that young people feel empowered and can fully engage in our democratic process”.
It would mean around 1.4million extra people taking part in elections, potentially benefitting Labour which polls better among younger voters.
Scotland and Wales already allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in their elections.
The Labour boss had also been considering enfranchising 3.4million EU nationals after and pledging “full voting rights” during his leadership bid.
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But the idea was omitted from the National Policy Forum and sources confirmed the policy has been ditched.
Sir Keir has faced previous criticism for dropping the promises he made to win the party’s leadership in 2020, including wanting free movement and scrapping tuition fees.
In May he said it “feels wrong” that EU citizens who live in Britain cannot vote in general elections.
He told LBC: “The thinking behind it is if someone's been here say 10, 20, 30 years, contributing to this economy, contributing to the community, they ought to be able to vote.”
At the time the Tories accused the Labour leader "an attempt to rig the electorate".
