They can fight for their country, pay tax, so why not vote at 16?

BEING a journalist can have its perks and this week one of those was being asked to cover the Urdd Eisteddfod in Bridgend.

It’s such a vibrant and positive event which has the development and support of young Welsh people at its core.

This year the Urdd’s youth forum for 16 to 25-year-olds has written its message of Peace and Goodwill, which has been sent around the world. It calls for across-the-board equality for young people and also for 16-year-olds to have the vote.

The message states: “Without equality and recognition of our rights others see us in a different light.”

It eloquently lays out the deep frustrations of young people as they often have to stand by while others get to make the huge decisions, like Brexit, which will affect them for the rest of their lives.

We expect so much of young people these days.

From the time they start school there is pressure on them to achieve standards set by others “who know best”.

At just 13 or 14 they are generally expected to know what they want to do with the rest of their lives so they can choose which GCSE options to take. Then follows years of gruelling work and huge pressure to achieve the coveted A*s.

Like many people, I used to think that exams were getting easier – but they’re not. It is society’s expectations which have shifted.

I’ve covered enough A-level and GCSE results days to know that Wales has staggeringly able young people who will be able to achieve things most of us could only dream of. And most of them do all of this while holding down part-time jobs or volunteering.

Year after year I come away from the schools I visit on results day feeling wholly inadequate and so I should. The next generation are far more mature and ambitious in their outlook than I ever was at that age. They know exactly what they want and they’re prepared to work their guts out to achieve it.

And yet, despite all of this, 16-yearolds are denied the vote. They can fight for their country and they can pay tax but their opinion doesn’t count.

Sixteen and 17-year-olds were given the vote in the Scottish referendum yet, despite years of debate and the support of parties like Plaid Cymru, Labour and the Lib Dems, they are denied a voice in a general election or in crucial UK-wide referendum.

Theresa “strong and stable” May said only last month that she still doesn’t think 16-year-olds should get the vote. She thinks the line has to be drawn somewhere and 18 is the right place.

The Prime Minister stated that young people “could get involved in politics in different ways”. But how? What is the point of debate if young people can’t use the insight that comes from it to shape our country?

All that is happening is that some of the most politicallyengaged and knowledgeable people in our society, who have a different and probably better viewpoint than their parents, are being gagged. The message is being sent out loud and clear that you must “do as we say, not as we do”.

The young people of today must adhere to the standards we set for them but, by God, they must not question them or have a hand in changing them.

To use a phrase borrowed from the younger generation, this is totally “messed up”. Yes it’s right that politicians should pay attention to pensions and social care for older people – but they’re not the only ones that matter. While we’re permanently distracted by talk of the triple lock and a better deal for our pensioners, what’s happening at the other end of the spectrum? Sadly we don’t know because, apparently, it doesn’t matter. As a society we’re seemingly happy to place the burden of our expectations on youngsters and send them off into the world, a world where many of them are denied a voice.

There is no good reason that I can think of for denying 16 and 17-yearolds the vote in this country any longer. What are Theresa May and the other members of the anti camp afraid of? Perhaps they fear opening the door to a swathe of voters who won’t be so easily controlled and cowed by scaremongering?

It’s just my opinion and I’m allowed to share it. It’s time we let 16 and 17-year-olds do the same.