During the yearlong review, there appeared to be a genuine momentum building behind the view that votes at 16 was a "good idea" and that the change would be recommended by the commission. Some national newspapers even pre-empted a "Yes" decision in the week before the report was published.
Prime Minister Tony Blair seemed to be coming round to the idea at Big Conversation consultation events around the UK. In December, he was "undecided" on votes at 16, whereas he said he would have been in the "No" camp two years before (YPN, 10-16 December 2003, p5). And constitutional affairs minister Lord Falconer said in the same month that lowering the voting age was part of the reform agenda he wanted to pursue.
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