Senior Tory backbencher Sir Peter Bottomley said it was a "question of when rather than if" the party would eventually back the idea, adding to growing voices within the party for voting age reform.
Bottomley told the Evening Standard that there was enough support from within his party to ensure the voting age could be lowered.
"Anyone who has listened to Youth Parliament debates at Westminster cannot say that these young people are incapable of deciding who should be their MP or, indirectly, form their government," he said.
Meanwhile, former chancellor George Osborne, now editor of the Evening Standard, said that given the strength of support among Tory MPs for the change, which is already backed by Labour and the Lib Dems, the government would not be able to halt the move.
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