16-Year-Olds Will Soon Be Able to Vote

Why older generations should care about this too

It might be tempting for older generations to shrug off the news that 16 and 17-year-olds will soon be able to vote in UK general elections. "What do they know about politics?" some ask.

But that’s the wrong question.

Dismissing this change is a mistake - not just because of what it means for younger people, but because it exposes flaws at the core of our political system.

Lowering the voting age is long overdue. If 16-year-olds can pay taxes, enlist in the military, or be directors of a companies, then surely they deserve a say at the ballot box. This reform simply brings UK general election voting rights in line with those already in place for the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales.

But here's the catch: those new voters are being invited into a system that doesn’t work for anyone.

A System That Fails Young and Old Alike

First Past the Post is fundamentally broken. The 2024 election proved it.

Think about it for a second: A full 58% of voters did not get the MP they voted for. The ruling party secured a landslide majority with just over a third of the national vote. For millions of people - young and old - their ballots didn’t really count, especially those outside swing seats. To illustrate: The Green Party got one MP for every 450,000 of their votes. The Labour Party, one for every 24,000.

All too often under FPTP, a vote for a smaller party might as well be thrown in the bin.

For any voter, the lesson is clear: unless you support one of the two main parties or live in a marginal constituency, your democratic voice barely registers. What kind of message is that to send our newly-enfranchised young voters? You care about how our country is run…doesn’t matter. You did your civic duty…doesn’t matter. You can see how the country needs to change and you want that change to happen…doesn’t matter. Is it any wonder people end up voting tactically and disillusionment runs rampant?

Why This Change Still Matters - Especially for Older Generations

It’s easy to think this is “just a youth issue,” but in reality, strengthening democracy benefits everyone.

Why should older voters care? Because early democratic engagement sticks. In Scotland, teenagers who voted at 16 were twice as likely to keep voting as they got older. With 1.6 million new voters soon joining the electorate, this is a golden opportunity to rebuild trust. We cannot squander it by pretending everything else if fine.

This is not just symbolic. It's a tangible chance to rebuild democratic engagement, if we don't squander it by pretending the current system is fit for purpose.

The next election could be a genuine turning point for democratic engagement. But only if we have the courage to fix the broken system we're asking our young people to join.

Representation Without Reform Is Not Enough

The government touts its plans for votes at 16 as proof that it's modernising elections. But extending voting rights is meaningless if everyone still feels powerless to change anything.

The data confirms this democratic crisis:

• Just 6% of Britons believe voters are the main influence on government decisions

• A majority of people believe politics is "rigged to serve the rich and influential"

• Only one in three trusts general election campaigns to speak for "people like me"

Giving young people the vote without fixing FPTP is like inviting someone to dinner, then serving them an empty plate.

That's why Open Britain calls for a National Commission on Electoral Reform: a proper, citizen-led process to explore an alternative proportional voting system. Most UK voters already support this shift, especially those who trust politics the least.

The Bigger Fight Ahead

Letting 16-year-olds vote is a positive step forward. But it must be the first of many. If we don’t fix the engine of our political system - our voting system - today’s enthusiastic young voters will be Without structural reform, today's 16-year-olds will quickly become tomorrow's disillusioned adults. That would be a huge shortsighted waste of everyone’s time.

Proper democracy requires more. We need to:

• Close ‘dark money’ loopholes and strengthening the Electoral Commission

• Regulate online disinformation - especially content targeting new voters

• Adopt automatic voter registration and promote fair campaigning

These aren't “youth” issues. They're the backbone of a democracy that would serve every generation.

A Call to All Generations: Back the Next Generation

So, why should everyone care about 16-year-olds getting the vote?

Simple. We've seen where a broken system leads. We’ve seen what happens when people lose faith in democracy. This new generation still believes positive change is possible. If we only hand them the right to vote and not a system worth voting in, we will lose them…and all the fresh energy they could bring to our politics.

Democracy isn't something fixed, that we bequeath or inherit. It’s something we build, together, across generations. Expanding the franchise is a welcome step. But if government leaders truly want to restore trust, they must deliver a National Campaign on Electoral Reform. Young voters deserve a proper democracy. So do we all.