Labour peers and MPs are planning to table a range of amendments to the Queen’s speech. Due to the government only having a majority of 13, a rebellion of 7 Tory or DUP MPs on a specific issue would give Labour a victory.
The Queen’s Speech itself is expected to be “wafer thin”, as Andrew Gwynne put it on Sky News. While Labour are expected to table amendments on a range of issues, one in particular would give the party a huge boost if it were to pass, and that is votes at 16. Continue reading
One of the main arguments against extending the franchise to 16 year olds is that ‘they’re not interested’ and Ill be blunt; many are not. A lot of 16 year olds find politics dull, they’re uninspired by politicians, bored by rhetoric and believe that ‘they’re all the same’, in regards to political parties.
And yet, despite this, when I tell even the most politically apathetic that I’m involved in politics, they’re impressed and intrigued. Politics to a 16-year-old seems elusive and alien. Reserved for suit-wearing, forty-something year old Oxford graduates with millionaire grandparents.
