Reuters. British newspapers on Friday morning (July 18) led with the government's move to lower the voting age by two years to 16 in all UK elections.
The reform is a major overhaul of the country's democratic system that immediately split opinion over whether they should or would cast ballots.
The proposed changes were designed to boost participation and trust in the electoral system, which suffered its lowest turnout at the last national election in 2024 since 2001.
It would also align voting rights across Britain, where younger voters can already participate in elections to devolved parliaments in Scotland and Wales, but under 18s are barred from voting in elections to the British parliament.
The change in Britain will require parliamentary approval, but it should pass given the policy was part of Prime Minister Keir Starmer's election campaign last year which gave him a large majority.
Despite that large win, Starmer's popularity has fallen sharply in government after a series of missteps set against a difficult economic backdrop.
His party sits second in most opinion polls behind Nigel Farage's right-wing Reform UK party.
