The voting age in the UK will be lowered to 16 by the next general election - Herald NOW asks whether NZ should do the same.
The UK Government will give 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections in a major overhaul of its voting system.
The move will align voting rights across the UK, where younger voters already participate in devolved elections in Scotland and Wales.
“They’re old enough to go outto work, they’re old enough to pay taxes ... and I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the Government should go,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer told ITV News.
A poll of 500 16- and 17-year-olds conducted by Merlin Strategy for ITV News showed 33% said they would vote Labour, 20% would vote Reform, 18% would vote Green, 12% Liberal Democrats and 10% Conservative.
There are about 1.6 million 16- and 17-year-olds in the UK, according to official data. Just over 48 million people were eligible to vote at the last election, in which turnout fell to its lowest since 2001. The next election is due in 2029.
Speaking to Herald Now’s Ryan Bridge this morning, Labour MP Carmel Sepuloni said the NZ Labour Party would support a similar move, and has said it would implement it for local body elections.
“National pulled that.”
The move to a lower voting age was “progressive”, she said. “I’ve always been a supporter of lowering the voting age. We know that if people vote in their first election, they’ll continue voting for the rest of their lives. At this age, they’re still optimistic, they’re still hopeful.
“Good on the UK, and boohoo to us because we’ve got a National Party that don’t support anything progressive.”
National Party minister Erica Stanford was sitting next to Sepuloni on the Herald Now panel and disagreed that lowering the voting age should be a priority for New Zealand.
“Our 18-year-olds aren’t voting, so how about we start there? Let’s focus on that.”
Stanford said she did not believe “giving kids the vote” should be a priority.
Make It 16 renews call after UK announcement
The UK’s move sees it joining countries such as Germany, Australia, Argentina and Brazil, where voting ages have also been lowered.
Make it 16 co-director Lincoln Jones renewed calls to lower New Zealand’s voting age, as the country prided itself on being a world leader in democracy since becoming the first to give women the right to vote.
Labour's Carmel Sepuloni reminded Ryan Bridge the party said it would lower the voting age for local body elections. Photo / NZME
It comes after the majority of New Zealand’s youth MPs recently signed an open letter calling for the voting age to be lowered to 16.
“The UK’s decision is a turning point for young people’s position in democracy - 1.5 million people have just been enfranchised, roughly the population of Auckland,” Jones said.
“Just like in the United Kingdom, young people in Aotearoa are already engaged and ready to participate in the systems that will shape their future.”
New Zealand had since fallen behind, and it was time to catch up.
“Young people are leaving this country en masse because they simply do not see a future here. It is paramount that, when we are making decisions on our economy, environment, education and healthcare, young people are a central part of that conversation so that we have a place in Aotearoa as well.
“The political landscape has dramatically changed since the voting age was first lowered from 20 to 18 in 1974 in Aotearoa. It is more important than ever that young people are empowered to make decisions about their future in an increasingly volatile world.
“Lowering the voting age is the key to ensuring our democracy is fair and ready to face the future head-on.”
