Voting at 16? Labour's Plan Could Backfire

The UK’s left-wing Labour government has announced it will lower the voting age for the next general election, allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote. According to Labour, this is part of a broader electoral reform aimed at “modernizing democracy.” While, according to the polls, most young people support Labour, the plan could still backfire.

Photo: AFP/Andy Buchanan

Could Labour’s Plan Backfire After All?

The move could still backfire on the Labour government. Only 43 percent of young people support the UK’s two traditional parties, Labour and the Conservatives, and data show they sympathize with both left- and right-wing issues.

As far-left MPs like Zara Sultana and former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn are discussing the possibility of forming a Labour breakaway party, and with Reform UK achieving undeniable success in the last general election using social media to target young voters, Keir Starmer’s party could find itself squeezed from both sides.

A similar situation has already backfired for the British Left regarding migrants. Although the left-wing Labour Party has repeatedly tried to court mainly Muslim immigrants by promising easier registration and other benefits, in this year’s local elections, it was often independent Muslim candidates who defeated Labour candidates in traditional Labour strongholds.

This trend, which began in last year’s general election, continued in local elections, with pro-Gaza, single-issue independent candidates drawing traditional left-wing immigrant voters away from Labour. This year’s vote was particularly painful for Labour, as not only did Nigel Farage’s Reform UK gain ground, but so did the Greens and Liberal Democrats, while independent Muslim candidates also weakened the left’s position.