CDP event | Dr Andy Mycock - Will the kids be alright? Implementing 'Votes at 16’: Politics and Policy

Andy Mycock - Will the kids be alright? Implementing 'Votes at 16’: Politics and Policy

Date: Wednesday 29^th October 2025

Time: 14:00 – 15:00

Location: Baines Wing SR (3.06) or live streamed via MS Teams

The Centre for Democratic Politics (CDP) in the School of Politics and International Studies (POLIS) at the University of Leeds is pleased to invite you to our next event with Dr Andy Mycock, Chief Policy Fellow of the Yorkshire and Humber Policy Engagement and Research Network (Y-PERN), entitled ‘Will the kids be alright? Implementing 'Votes at 16’: Politics and Policy’.

Abstract:

The announcement that the UK Government will universally lower the voting age across the UK to 16 during the current parliament brought to a successful conclusion a 20 year campaign led by youth and electoral reform organisations, some political parties, and young people from across the UK. Universal ‘Votes at 16’ will address current asymmetries in youth electoral rights in different parts of the UK. There remains however strong political and public opposition (including from many young people) to voting age reform, and significant policy challenges in its implementation. This seminar will briefly provide an overview of the ‘road to Votes at 16’ before exploring contemporary political and policy debates, and how they inform UK Government’s current approach to lowering the voting age. It will argue that Votes at 16 could spark a political ‘franchise war’ while failing to adequately support 16 and 17 year-olds to vote unless a radically different approach is undertaken. It will conclude by outlining an evidenced-based policy pathway that is founded on a decade of research and working with policymakers across the UK by Dr Mycock and his research colleagues.