This petition was submitted during the 2015-2017 parliament
Rejected petition Allow 16 year olds the vote in future elections and referenda.
As an informed 16 year old, I am excluded from the political process.
1.5m 16 & 17 year olds have no democratic right. That needs to change
We should be able to have our say too. We have to live with the consequences of decisions for longer than other age group and deserve to be heard.
More details
Surveys suggest 16-17 year olds were even more pro remain than 18-20 year olds but did not get a vote in the EU referendum which was won by less votes than the 16-17 population would have.
The Electoral Reform Society said "The Scottish independence referendum showed once and for all that 16 & 17 year-olds are more than capable of taking important political decisions"
Whether it is local or national elections, we need to encourage young people to be involved rather than shut the door on them.
This petition was rejected
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/119769
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.