WESTMINSTER should lower the voting age to 16 to allow young people 'the same rights' as adults, Mhairi Black has argued.
My contribution during today's Votes at 16 debate in Westminster Hall. The Independence Referendum was a great example of the huge contribution young people can make in political debate. pic.twitter.com/CG6lkaglkG
— Mhairi Black MP (@MhairiBlack) April 3, 2019
The SNP MP spoke at the Votes at 16 debate at Westminster Hall today and spoke of her own experience dismissing being involved in politics because of her youth.
Black said after the indyref, lots of people suggested to her that she got more involved in politics by standing for Parliament.
She continued: "My first reaction was don’t be stupid, I’m 20, what a ridiculous idea.
"And the thing that changed my mind is that so many older people who I’ve respected, and I’ve respected their views throughout their lifetime, were saying to me ‘well if Parliament’s supposed to reflect society, why is there nobody young in it?’. Why? And it is because what has been normal for us has to change.
"I thought that I couldn’t do this job because ‘oh no that’s not for me, politics isn’t for me, it’s for the adults’, and all you get is a little pat on the head and ‘you go away to the youth parliament if you want to get involved in things’. We need to change that, because the decisions that are happening in this place and in this place and in this House daily are the very things that have drastic influences on the paths that are open to different people in their lives."
Votes at 16 is a campaign which argues for lowering the UK's voting age to 16 in all elections and referendums.
The voting age at Scotland's Parliamentary and local government elections was lowered to 16 in 2015.
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