THE UK Government now has no excuse to not give 16 and 17-year-olds the vote in all elections, after research into the independence referendum found young people going to the ballot box for the first time were motivated by the “same factors” as older voters.

An international team analysing teen voter patterns observed the behaviour in young people going to the ballot box for the first time in 2014.

The findings are based on a study of almost 600 youngsters from Dundee and Angus.

In June, the Scottish Government passed a landmark Bill to allow this age group to vote in Scottish Parliament elections.

Yesterday, the Electoral Reform Society said the research results are yet more evidence that the Westminster government must follow Holyrood’s lead and lower the voting age across the board.

Chief executive Katie Ghose told The National: “The time has come for votes at 16 for all elections. Young people proved that they care about politics in last year’s referendum, with 75 per cent voting and 97 per cent saying they would do so in the future.

“Sixteen and 17-year-olds are, as this new research shows, clearly capable of making up their minds on political issues.

“As other studies have shown, they accessed more information than any other age group, and registered in their thousands.

“With Scotland’s youth discussing politics in classrooms and meeting halls around the country last year – and with thousands joining parties after the referendum – they absolutely have the maturity to exercise their democratic voice and to be fairly represented.

“Westminster should now follow Holyrood’s lead and give these young people the vote so that we can build on the success of the referendum on political engagement and give 16 and 17-year-olds a stake in their future.”

Although a Lord Ashcroft poll immediately after the referendum suggested 71 per cent of the youngest voters backed Yes, a rival YouGov survey of a larger sample group found that this group had instead favoured No by a small margin.

However, a TNS poll published earlier this week put the current level of support for independence amongst the 16-34 age category at 68 per cent.

Carried out by experts from the universities of Dundee, Kent and Saskatchewan, in Canada, the new research concluded there was no “strong connection” between young voters’ general interest in politics and the way they voted.

Those who voted to leave the Union had a stronger sense of Scottish identity than others, felt that “the English discriminated against Scottish people” and felt “angry and frustrated” about this.

They also agreed that the Scotland would not have “much influence” over its own future within the United Kingdom.

However, lead researcher Professor Peter Grant found they were “mature enough” to vote, stating: “This is because the factors that are related to how strongly our sample of Scottish teenagers held separatist beliefs are the same factors that, according to past research, influence adults to take part in political protests.”

He went on: “The results are also important because they suggest that separatist beliefs are created when teenagers feel that there is little opportunity to improve the social conditions of the Scottish people within the United Kingdom and a sense that Scottish people are treated unfairly by the English.

“Clearly the promise of new devolved powers must be honoured so as to address these feelings of powerlessness and aggrievement.”

However, Dundee councillor Jimmy Black, who campaigned for Yes Scotland, questioned the findings.

He said: “The young people involved in our campaign seemed to be very empowered and very optimistic. There was nothing about them that suggested they felt powerless or aggrieved.

“There was little mention of nationalism – they saw independence as a means to change their country for the better. I think that is a very mature outlook.

“We have politicised the younger generation and we are going to have a better-informed debate and a higher standard of politics in years to come as a result.”