Call to give teenagers vote

HALTON Borough Council could back a campaign which seeks to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote.

Cllr Stef Nelson proposed a notice of motion and was submitted at the Full Council meeting on the evening of Wednesday, July 12, after the Weekly News had gone to press.

The document – seconded by Cllr Ron Hignett – proposes supporting the Votes At 16 campaign.

It said that currently 1.5m 16 and 17-year-olds are ‘denied’ the vote in UK public elections and ‘thousands’ of young people across the country support the campaign to lower the voting age.

The motion said Halton Borough Council believes 16 and 17-year-olds are ‘knowledgeable and passionate’ about the world they live and are ‘as capable’ of engaging in democracy as any other citizen.

It said: “Lowering the voting age to 16, combined with strong citizenship education, would empower young people to better engage in society and influence decisions that will define their future.

“People can consent to medical treatment, work full-time, pay taxes, get married or enter a civil partnership and join the Armed Forces should also have the same voting rights as people aged over 18.”

The motion said the council will write to Communities Secretary Sajid Javid asking that the Government agree to lowering the voting age to 16 for all elections, given that this was done for 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Work will also continue in Halton’s schools and colleges to ‘enhance citizenship’ as part of the curriculum and ‘promote interests of young people’ in both local and parliamentary democracy. ● For more information, visit www.votesat16.org