Votes for 16-year-olds - here's what county MPs make of the controversial change
County MPs have had their say on plans for 16-year-olds to get the vote, as the government confirmed the seismic and controversial change.
The next general election will see 16-year-olds able to vote for the first time, ministers have confirmed in wide-ranging plans to “modernise our democracy”.
Labour’s manifesto committed the party to lowering the voting age for parliamentary elections to 16, in line with Scottish and Welsh elections.
But plans announced on Thursday go further in an effort to increase participation in elections.
Ministers have proposed introducing automated voter registration, which is already used in Australia and Canada, and making UK-issued bank cards an accepted form of ID at polling stations.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said “far too many people” had been put off voting by the voter ID rules introduced by the previous government, with the Electoral Commission finding around 750,000 people did not vote due to a lack of ID.
The plans have had a been backed by a number of county MPs - with Labour's Julia Buckley and Shaun Davies unsurprisingly giving their support.
The Liberal Democrat MP for North Shropshire, Helen Morgan, has also backed the plans, but the Conservative MP for South Shropshire, Stuart Anderson, said the proposals were "illogical".
