Starmer faces a backlash from his own party last night for Labour’s controversial plans to let 16-year-olds vote in General Elections
- One former Minister branded the idea ‘gerrymandering, pure and simple’
- Labour confirmed yesterday that cutting the voting age from 18 to 16
Sir Keir Starmer faced a backlash from his own party last night after Labour’s controversial plans to let 16-year-olds vote in General Elections was set in stone.
One former Minister branded the idea ‘gerrymandering, pure and simple’, while an MP said that it ‘smacked of self-interest’ as people that young were more likely to vote Labour than Tory.
The row erupted after Labour confirmed yesterday that cutting the voting age from 18 to 16 was included in a revised policy blueprint for its General Election manifesto.
And last night a party spokesman added: ‘Labour will introduce votes for 16- and 17-year-olds, in line with Scotland and Wales, so that young people feel empowered and can fully engage in our democratic processes.
‘At the age of 16, many young people are paying taxes, working, and engaging in all parts of society – it is right that they get a say in who governs them.’
The row erupted after Labour confirmed yesterday that cutting the voting age from 18 to 16 was included in a revised policy blueprint for its General Election manifesto
WORLD STAGE: Sir Keir Starmer with Canadian premier Justin Trudeau in Montreal yesterday
But senior Labour MP Graham Stringer urged Sir Keir to drop the plan.
Mr Stringer, 73, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We have to draw the line somewhere on the voting age, and I simply believe most youngsters at 16 are not mature enough to exercise that right.
‘I’m afraid that were the Labour leader to put this forward, it would smack of party political self-interest on the basis that young people are more likely to vote Labour or Liberal Democrat than Conservative.’
Ex-Labour Minister Tom Harris went further and said: ‘This is just gerrymandering, pure and simple.
‘It’s being put forward because Labour policy wonks think that 16-year-olds are more likely to vote for Labour over Tory.’
READ MORE: Keir Starmer’s ‘PM-in-waiting’ tour continues as he heads for left-wing love-in summit in Montreal with Justin Trudeau, Tony Blair and David Miliband
Mr Harris, 59, who quit the party in 2018, agreed with Mr Stringer that ‘at 16, most people just aren’t mature enough to have the vote’. He said: ‘That’s no criticism of them – it’s just a fact of life. If Starmer has any sense, he will quietly park any plans to extend it for UK-wide elections.’
However, veteran Labour MP Barry Sheerman, 83, who had previously said lowering the voting age would ‘shrink’ childhood, admitted yesterday he could be persuaded in favour of the idea.
Tory Party chairman Greg Hands has already condemned the voting age plan, saying: ‘Everyone knows that adulthood starts at 18 – that’s when you can get married, start drinking and smoke. Labour only want to lower the voting age for their own political advantage.’
The votes row came as Sir Keir met Canadian premier Justin Trudeau and other political leaders yesterday at a Global Progress Action Summit in Montreal.
The Canadian visit, together with a scheduled meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris later this week, comes amid growing confidence among Labour MPs of victory at the next Election but concern that Sir Keir’s ‘globe-trotting’ will look like hubris.
One French government source told The Mail on Sunday that the meeting with Mr Macron was ‘very much pushed by Mr Starmer, who clearly realises the importance of the Franco-British alliance’.
The source added: ‘There are huge issues involving the two countries, not least of all cross-Channel immigration, and Mr Starmer naturally wants to speak directly to Mr Macron about them.’
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