With Plaid Cymru Youth a long-standing supporter of the campaign to lower the voting age to 16 years old, the announcement of the report today by the Welsh Assembly supporting such reform should be welcomed.
Despite this, we’re disappointed that such an announcement was not supported earlier, especially considering the substantial support the campaign had within the National Assembly. In a sense, a generation of 16 and 17 year olds have had their vote at next years’ Assembly election stolen from then, especially considering the fact that their contemporaries of a same age in Scotland will be allowed to vote there. This stolen voice, not only is a disservice to the young people of Wales, but also goes straight to the heart of Wales’ third-rate devolution settlement.
With the consultation now over, we call on the Welsh Government to act immediately to ensure that 16 and 17 year olds will be able to vote from 2017 onwards, whilst also lobbying Westminster to allow them to vote in the all-important European Union Referendum.
Finally, despite the fact that this support for votes at 16 is a huge step in the right direction, it will not in itself solve the question of youth engagement in politics. Vitally, we need to consider it as an aspect of a broader campaign to engage young people, going hand in hand with a Youth Parliament, and registering young people to vote. There’s a long way to go.
