Votes at 16
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 11/22/2011 11:48 AM
- Pages: 5
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John Bendo
Word Count: 994
Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
United Kingdom, a country which prides itself on democracy is depriving 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote for who runs their country. Is this really democratic? The voting age is the minimum age a person is held eligible to vote in a public election. Currently the voting age is 18 but should it be reduced to 16?
The right to participate in an election is a basic human right; it gives every member in society the right to vote on which political party run the country. A century ago the UK and almost every other democratic country denied woman the right to vote, which showed that women took a backseat in the political arena. However now that is not a problem and all democracy lead countries accept all adult citizens as eligible voters. In Scotland you are officially classed as an adult at 16, under the Scotland's Age of Legal Capacity Act 1991. Given that 16 and 17 year olds are of legal responsibility they should be given the same rights as every other adult citizen in the UK.
At 16 you are given the rights to join the Armed forces. According to the votes at 16 coalition on April 1 2007, there were 4560, 16 and 17 year olds serving in the armed forces and 18 of the young people have been deployed, 15 of which have been sent to Iraq. It is government policy that a person under 18 is not to be deployed into a situation which would see them engaged in hostilities. Young people in the armed forces should be given the right to vote for a party that has their every need for doing their jobs included in their policies.
"No taxation without representation." The slogan was coined by Reverend Jonathan Mayhew back in 1750 which quite rightly said people should not have taxes imposed on them without their consent. So whether you work full time or part time, all money earned is taxable including job seekers allowance. Recent figures show that 548000 of 16 and 17 year olds are in some form of...
Word Count: 994
Should the voting age be lowered to 16?
United Kingdom, a country which prides itself on democracy is depriving 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote for who runs their country. Is this really democratic? The voting age is the minimum age a person is held eligible to vote in a public election. Currently the voting age is 18 but should it be reduced to 16?
The right to participate in an election is a basic human right; it gives every member in society the right to vote on which political party run the country. A century ago the UK and almost every other democratic country denied woman the right to vote, which showed that women took a backseat in the political arena. However now that is not a problem and all democracy lead countries accept all adult citizens as eligible voters. In Scotland you are officially classed as an adult at 16, under the Scotland's Age of Legal Capacity Act 1991. Given that 16 and 17 year olds are of legal responsibility they should be given the same rights as every other adult citizen in the UK.
At 16 you are given the rights to join the Armed forces. According to the votes at 16 coalition on April 1 2007, there were 4560, 16 and 17 year olds serving in the armed forces and 18 of the young people have been deployed, 15 of which have been sent to Iraq. It is government policy that a person under 18 is not to be deployed into a situation which would see them engaged in hostilities. Young people in the armed forces should be given the right to vote for a party that has their every need for doing their jobs included in their policies.
"No taxation without representation." The slogan was coined by Reverend Jonathan Mayhew back in 1750 which quite rightly said people should not have taxes imposed on them without their consent. So whether you work full time or part time, all money earned is taxable including job seekers allowance. Recent figures show that 548000 of 16 and 17 year olds are in some form of...