MPs reject votes at 16 for EU referendum

A Labour Party amendment to the EU Referendum Bill, which would have allowed 16- and 17-year-olds to take part in the vote, was backed by 265 MPs in the House of Commons yesterday, but rejected by 310 MPs.

The vote came following an announcement by Prime Minister David Cameron last week in which he said MPs would be given a free vote to decide on the issue.

The Electoral Reform Society (ERS) and the British Youth Council (BYC), which have campaigned for the lowering of the voting age, said they were disappointment with the decision.

Katie Ghose, chief executive of the ERS, says the vote was a “missed opportunity for democracy”.

She said: “We hope MPs will rethink the decision to exclude well over a million young people from the EU Referendum.

“There is still time for this decision to be reversed while the bill is going through.”

BYC chair Mita Desai said her organisation will continue to push for the lowering of the voting age in all elections.

“Common sense has lost and the government has chosen to silence the voices of 16- and 17-year-olds over their future,” she said.

“To say this is disappointing is an understatement.”

Campaigners hope the measures could be resurrected when peers scrutinise the bill later in the year.

Meanwhile in Scotland 16- and 17-year-olds have been granted the right to vote in all Scottish parliamentary elections and Scottish council elections.

The Scottish Election (Reduction of Voting Age) Bill was backed unanimously by MSPs.

The change will come into force next year allowing 16-year-olds to vote in the Scottish parliament election on 5 May.

Member of Scottish Youth Parliament Jordan Linden, said allowing young people in Scotland to vote on last year's independence referendum had a positive impact on their levels of engagement.

“The young people of Scotland proved through their engagement in the referendum process that they take their right to vote very seriously and they have collectively dispelled all of the myths and arguments against a lowered voting age,” he said.

Willie Sullivan, director of the ERS Scotland, said: “16- and 17-year-olds threw themselves wholeheartedly into the Scottish referendum, with 75 per cent voting and 97 per cent saying they would vote in future elections.

“Today's Holyrood vote shows the way towards a fair franchise.”

Ghose added: “Scotland is leading the way in Britain when it comes to youth engagement, and it is time for the rest of the UK to catch up."