Letter: Should the voting age be lowered to 16?

As part of our education in citizenship studies at school, we have been discussing the issue of lowering the voting age from 18 to 16.

In our lesson, we worked in groups to address the issue and we would like to express our views and how we are going to campaign about our decision.

Firstly, when we turn 16, we take on a number of other rights such as the right to smoke, the right to marry with parental consent and the right to have sexual intercourse.

If it is legal for us to smoke at the age of 16 then why not let us try something less harmful and more beneficial by voting in the elections?

Secondly, as a group we feel uncomfortable with the fact we will be affected massively when we leave school and start a new life if a new political party was to be elected.

If we were given the chance to vote, we would benefit as we could help determine what will happen in the future so we will not be affected by the party in power.

Finally, we would like to know what you think.

Is it a good idea to lower the voting age to 16 or keep it the same?

It would be appreciated if you could let us know what you think.

Year 11

Idsall School