Implementing 'Votes at 16’: Politics and Policy

This seminar will briefly provide an overview of the ‘road to Votes at 16’ before exploring contemporary political and policy debates, and how they inform UK Government’s current approach to lowering the voting age. It will argue that Votes at 16 could spark a political ‘franchise war’ while failing to adequately support 16 and 17-year-olds to vote unless a radically different approach is undertaken. It will conclude by outlining an evidence-based policy pathway that is founded on a decade of research and working with policymakers across the UK by Dr Mycock and his research colleagues.