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The History of Voting Age Reform
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The Voting Age Debate
In this course, Dr Andrew Mycock (University of Huddersfield) explores the debate around lowering the voting age to 16 in the UK. In the first module, we discuss the history of voting age reform in the UK, beginning with the 1832 Reform Act and concluding with the lowering of the voting age to 18 in the 1960s. In the second module, we cover the voting age debate in the UK from the 1980s to the present day. In the third module, we discuss the voting age debate in Scotland and Wales and the implication of the asymmetrical implementation of franchise rights in these UK regions (where young people aged 16-18 are able to vote in national and local elections, but not general elections). In the fourth module, we consider the politics of votes at 16, focusing in particular on its implications for devolution and the complicating factor of the so-called “culture wars”. Then, in the fifth and final module, we conclude with a discussion of the future of voting age reform.
The History of Voting Age Reform
In this module, we discuss the history of voting age reform in the UK, focusing in particular on: (i) the Reform Acts of the early nineteenth century, particularly the 1832 Reform Act; (ii) the expansion of the electorate during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, in which the voting age was clearly established at the age of 21; (iii) the importance of the suffragettes and the votes for women movement; (iv) the 1918 Representation of the People Act; (v) changes during the Second World War; (vi) debates over the voting age in the 1960s, including the case for lowering the age of both majority and enfranchisement to 18; (vii) public opinion during these debates; (viii) the 1970 general election.
Hello. I'm Dr Andy, my cock reader in politics at the University of Huddersfield.
00:00:06And today we're going to be looking at debates about lowering the voting age to 16.
00:00:10That's going to require to look at both the historical debates around the issue
00:00:14and also look at different aspects of the contemporary debate.
00:00:18In this section, we're going to look at historical debates about voters. 16,
00:00:22An interim point about voters 16 or the idea of the voting age has been, as it's been,
00:00:27a sporadic theme within British politics over the last 200 years,
00:00:31but one that's become increasingly important
00:00:35when we look back in history. The one thing we can tell you is
00:00:39that
00:00:42the issue of the voting age is often been allied to times of crisis political crisis.
00:00:43And when we look back and we think about when was
00:00:48the first time that there is an established voting age,
00:00:50well, it's back in the reform acts of the early 19th century,
00:00:53particularly 18 32 Reform Act, when, for the first time
00:00:57the very limited number of male voters were qualified to vote at the age of 21
00:01:01there were caveats that meant that those that vote
00:01:07typically had to have some kind of property rights.
00:01:10But during the 19th century, we see a slow but sure expansion of the electorate,
00:01:13and more and more men are allowed to vote.
00:01:18However, the voting age is clearly established at the age of 21.
00:01:20As we move into the early 20th century,
00:01:26we, of course increasing, become aware of the rights for women to vote as an issue.
00:01:29The so called suffragette campaign
00:01:34and the suffragettes campaigned during
00:01:37the initial period before the First World War to greater effect.
00:01:39And that effect means
00:01:43that by the time the United Kingdom enters the First World War,
00:01:44the issue of the voting age
00:01:48is one which is situated within a much larger
00:01:50debate around whether women should be given the vote.
00:01:53The 1918 representation of the People Act sees for the first time
00:01:57full enfranchisement for all men
00:02:02aged 21 or over.
00:02:05From that point.
00:02:06At the same time,
00:02:08it introduces votes for some women,
00:02:10and it's interesting here that the issue of age becomes part of that process.
00:02:13So we associate 1918 as being a significant historical
00:02:16moment where women are brought into the franchise,
00:02:21and yet
00:02:24it is not at the same point.
00:02:26Women are enfranchised at the age of 30 and not 21.
00:02:28And it is noteworthy that during the 19 twenties,
00:02:32a debate about the extent to which women are
00:02:35mature enough to have the right political and knowledge
00:02:38that they are able at the age of 21 to be the equal of men
00:02:42become something which defines debates about female enfranchisement.
00:02:46And indeed, those largely conservative opponents of women
00:02:51being enfranchised at the age of 21 argue that
00:02:55the women, the so called flappers, as they're called,
00:02:58they don't have the same kind of
00:03:01moral capacity or the ability to understand politics
00:03:02as their male counterparts.
00:03:05And in many ways, that makes
00:03:07the 1928 representation of People Act
00:03:09a more significant piece of legislation in the 1918 legislation.
00:03:13In that for the first time,
00:03:19it equalises the voting age for both women and men.
00:03:20It accepts that women and men both have equal capacity
00:03:24and the equal right to vote.
00:03:28After 1928
00:03:31we do see another lowering of the voting age, but it's only temporary.
00:03:33It's during the Second World war,
00:03:37where male conscripts those allowed to have signed
00:03:39up to serve in the military are briefly given
00:03:42the vote.
00:03:45But once the war ends in 1945 the voting age is back. Once again, University
00:03:46returned the age of 21.
00:03:53But as we know,
00:03:55the 19 fifties and the 19 sixties are
00:03:56a period of profound social and political change.
00:03:59We see a number of arguments slowly grow during the late 19 fifties and 19 sixties
00:04:03that the voting age should be lowered to 18.
00:04:10But these debates about the voting age are around a much wider set,
00:04:13debates about what it is to be an adult.
00:04:17And during the 19 sixties
00:04:20there are a number of different movements that start to push
00:04:22toward the idea that the voting age should be lowered.
00:04:25Firstly,
00:04:28there are concerns
00:04:29that some young people are rejecting democracy, democracy,
00:04:31particularly those associated with the anti Vietnam War campaign
00:04:35and those radical left wing students
00:04:38that seem in some ways not just to question how democracy
00:04:40works but also the validity of the democratic system itself.
00:04:43The argument here is
00:04:47if the voting age is lowered to 18,
00:04:48then you get those young people into the habit of voting at a much earlier age.
00:04:51At the same time,
00:04:56there's a social liberalisation in the United Kingdom.
00:04:57We see abortion laws, homosexuality, laws
00:05:00and societies itself become generally more liberal.
00:05:03And more than that,
00:05:07there's a recognition
00:05:09that young people at the age of 18
00:05:10take on many of the rights associated with adulthood.
00:05:12Buying a house, getting married,
00:05:16bringing up a family, getting a job.
00:05:18And that means
00:05:21that there's a real strong sense that both the general public and
00:05:22policymakers have a desire not only to lower the age of majority
00:05:26the age of adulthood from 18 21 to 18,
00:05:31but also there's an argument that if you lower the age of majority
00:05:34that you also need to lower the age of enfranchisement
00:05:381968. The so called Lady Commission
00:05:43recommends that the Labour government at the time
00:05:46should lower the age of majority to 18.
00:05:49This stimulates a debate in Parliament about whether the
00:05:52age of enfranchisement should also be lowered to 18.
00:05:55Those who oppose it, particularly those in the Conservative Party,
00:05:59once again use the argument that 18 year olds like the maturity,
00:06:02the political knowledge in the life experience to be able to be able to vote.
00:06:07Those who are very much in support of lowering the voting age
00:06:13say that if a young person could be an adult 18,
00:06:16then surely they have the right to vote at the same time.
00:06:19The interesting point here is is that although the Conservative Party
00:06:23are somewhat opposed to lowering the voting age to 18,
00:06:26they often argue that maybe the voting age
00:06:30should be lowered to something less than that 20
00:06:32that there should be a slower process of lowering the voting age.
00:06:35But that strength of opposition isn't particularly
00:06:38determined,
00:06:41and when Labour brings legislation into parliament in 1969
00:06:42it is passed without too much political trouble.
00:06:46One of the main reasons for that is
00:06:50is that there isn't a particularly strong sense of public opinion about the issue.
00:06:52When the public are asked about the issue,
00:06:56they are in the main supportive of the idea that
00:06:59if the age of majority is being lowered to 18,
00:07:01well, then surely it's logical to lower
00:07:03age of enfranchisement.
00:07:06What we can say, though, is
00:07:08is that lowering the voting age to 18
00:07:10is not driven largely by young people themselves.
00:07:13We don't see mass demonstrations on the street.
00:07:15We don't see the student unions or the national union student even
00:07:18particularly campaigning on the issue.
00:07:22And so it's an elite led process. It's driven by the Labour Party
00:07:25and it is very much applied universally across all elections in the United Kingdom.
00:07:29The first election we see the voting age lowered
00:07:34is in 1970
00:07:37interestingly enough, it's expected that Labour will get some return.
00:07:39That those 18 to 21 year olds have been
00:07:43enfranchised will reward labour by giving them their vote.
00:07:45The reality is
00:07:50it's a political lesson for all
00:07:51Is that although Labour lower the voting age to 18
00:07:54large numbers of those who have given the vote vote for the Conservative Party
00:07:57and indeed it is Edward Heath's conservative party
00:08:01that win
00:08:04that election
00:08:05
Cite this Lecture
APA style
Mycock, A. (2022, August 15). The Voting Age Debate - The History of Voting Age Reform [Video]. MASSOLIT. https://massolit.io/courses/uk-politics-the-voting-age-debate
MLA style
Mycock, A. "The Voting Age Debate – The History of Voting Age Reform." MASSOLIT, uploaded by MASSOLIT, 15 Aug 2022, https://massolit.io/courses/uk-politics-the-voting-age-debate