OUTRAGE AT LABOUR BID TO HIJACK VOTE ON EU
LABOUR was last night accused of attempting to spark a row about lowering the voting age to try to wreck the debate about whether Britain should quit the European Union.
Senior Labour MPs yesterday threatened an attempt to amend the Government’s referendum legislation to ensure that 16 and 17- year- olds can take part in the historic national poll on the UK’s ties with Brussels.
They expect to get the backing of the Scottish Nationalists, the Liberal Democrats and some pro- EU Tories for the plan to lower the age limit. It could even lead to David Cameron’s first Commons defeat of the new Parliament.
Angry Tory backbenchers claimed the move was an attempt to “hijack” the debate and deflect attention from the “failing” campaign to keep Britain in the EU. A Europe Referendum Bill is expected to be at the top of a list of legislation proposed by Mr Cameron’s new Tory government to be announced in the Queen’s Speech at the State Opening of Parliament tomorrow.
Shadow foreign secretary Hilary Benn yesterday confirmed Labour MPs will perform a U- turn by ditching the party’s opposition to the holding of an in- out EU referendum.
Instead, he promised the party will try to change the rules so voters aged 16 and 17 can take part. “Where I don’t agree with the Government, and where we will be seeking to change this bill, is that it is right and proper 16 and 17- yearolds should be able to participate in a decision which is going to have a huge effect on the rest of their lives,” he said.
“The Labour Party is in favour of lowering the voting age to 16 in all elections and the first opportunity we are going to have to test the will of the new House of Commons is by putting down an amendment to extend the franchise in this referendum to 16 and 17- year- olds.”
Mr Benn rejected claims his party wanted the change because of suspicions that youngsters in the age group overwhelmingly support continued British membership of the EU. “I don’t think it is about that, it is a matter of principle,” he said. “If a person aged 16 or 17 is old enough to work and to pay taxes, to marry, to join the Armed Forces, why should they not be able to participate in our democracy?
“The younger generation in my experience is just as interested in the state of the world and future of the country.”
The SNP’s 56 MPs also called for 16 and 17- year- olds to be included in the EU vote in a repeat of last year’s Scottish independence referendum.
Senior Tory backbencher John Redwood accused supporters of the change of trying to “hijack” the referendum issue to distract from the “failing” campaign to keep Britain in the EU.
“I did meetings in schools before the General Election; no one who was 16 or 17 at those meetings was saying that they specifically wanted to have a vote in the EU issue because they weren’t really interested in the EU issue,” he told BBC Radio 4’ s Today programme.
“I think this is another myth put around by the pro- Europeans. We didn’t take to the electorate the proposition that 16 and 17- year- olds should vote. It’s quite wrong to try and hijack this very important referendum about our future as a country.” Ex- Tory Cabinet minister Owen Paterson agreed that exclusion of 16 and 17- year- olds was “sensible”.
The Government has confirmed most EU migrants living in the UK will not be allowed to take part in the referendum, due to be held by the end of 2017.