IN yet another display of defiance by her own party members, top Tories are taking on Theresa May’s Government over the issue of voting rights for 16 and 17-year-olds.
Just weeks after Tory MPs thwarted an SNP-backed bid to lower the voting age to 16, senior figures in the Conservative Party are to ask the Prime Minister to make a U-turn on the issue.
In a new pamphlet to be published next week for the Electoral Reform Society, backed by the Tory Reform Group, Lothians list Conservative and Unionist MSP Miles Briggs is one of the main contributors. The National has learned that Briggs writes about the contribution of 16 and 17-year-olds in the lead-up to the 2014 Scottish Independence referendum, and how it changed hearts and minds in the first-ever plebiscite in the UK that allowed voters under 18 to participate.
The pamphlet will be officially launched next Tuesday in Westminster. Others to feature include Nicky Morgan MP, who compares the campaign to the suffragettes’ fight a century ago, and Sir Peter Bottomley MP who has long campaigned on the issue.
In Scotland, 16 and 17-year-olds can vote in local and Scottish Parliament elections, and had their say in the Scottish independence referendum but can’t vote in a UK General Election or referendum.
In Wales, the Welsh Government is considering giving 16 and 17-year-olds the same voting rights as their Scottish equivalents.
Ahead of the pamphlet launch, Darren Hughes, chief executive of the Electoral Reform Society, said: “British politics is becoming increasingly unpredictable, but there are some things which are becoming increasingly certain: one of those is the likelihood of 16 and 17-year-olds getting the vote across the UK. Votes at 16 is now a question of when, not if, for UK elections – not least given the reality in Scotland and Wales.
“This is a huge opportunity for whichever party takes a lead. More Conservative voices are urging their party to seize this chance and extend the civic duty to vote.
“Young people are ready and willing to be given this democratic responsibility. The Prime Minister should listen to these growing calls from her own party – they are not dying down anytime soon.
A Government spokesman said there were “no plans” to extend the franchise and pointed out Parliament had previously voted against it.
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