In 2029, for the first time ever, teenagers will be able to vote: the current Labour government vowed in their manifesto to extend the franchise to sixteen and seventeen year olds. This move could be monumental – for democracy, for politics and for giving young people a voice. But this change can only be a positive one if done in the right way, and that means that more political education must be provided in schools.
The 2026 Representation of the People Bill
The bill represents the first extension of the franchise in nearly sixty years. Not yet passed, it has completed the committee stage, and a report on the legislation has been in progress since 14 May. On the government website, information about the bill reads that “votes at 16 is critical to engaging young people in our democracy” – but will the ability to vote actually result in more young people caring about politics? A person who is seventeen in 2026 has seen six prime ministers, with Keir Starmer being the seventh. And with the direction that Starmer’s current premiership is going in, who knows how many prime ministers we will have seen by 2029? So, it is not a surprise that many young people today feel disillusioned by politics, or confused about how it all works. Many don’t know and don’t care who their current leader is, and getting the vote will not change that – at least not by itself. This is where political education is vital.
Low turnout: a politically apathetic generation?
In 2029 – the year of the next scheduled general election – there are projected to be around 1.7 million sixteen and seventeen year olds in the UK, and all of those will have the ability to register to vote. However, statistics from the 2024 general election show that young people are actually less likely to use their right to vote than older generations. The British Election Study found that in 2024, the lowest turnout was in the 18-25 age group, with 65.4% voting, compared to a turnout of 88.6% in people aged 66 or above. In fact, the younger the age group, the lower the turnout was. This begs the question, what will happen when even younger people are given the vote by this government? Will turnout in their age group be even lower, or will they feel enthused to use their vote because it has been newly given to them?
The Children’s Commissioner’s survey of voting intentions in young people found “many [teenagers] say they don’t know which political party they would support, or even if they would vote at all”. This is a clear sign that it’s not that children don’t care about politics, but that they don’t know enough about it in order to effectively participate. However, there could be a scenario in which, once given the vote, young people will be even more radical in their political participation than older people. A YouGov poll found that 33% of 18-24 year olds would vote Green, for example – the only age group where the Greens have a clear backing. Therefore, there is an argument to say that sixteen and seventeen year olds could actually produce a relatively high turnout, because they are more radical in their politics. They simply need to be given the tools and knowledge to do this. For example, in Scotland, which has had votes at sixteen for over ten years, greater turnout is seen in those who were able to vote at sixteen, than in groups who voted for the first time at eighteen years old.
The political education that already exists, and how it can be better
In local authority secondary schools, Citizenship is mandatory. Sometimes called PSHE (Personal, Social, Health and Economic education), it takes different forms in different schools, and this is only one of its many problems. While the Department of Education has committed to making Citizenship mandatory in primary schools too – as part of the 2026 Representation of the People Bill – its lessons are often not taken seriously by pupils, because they are not seen as ‘real’ lessons. Writing from experience, they are often just squeezed into registration time or sacked off in the last week or so of term. Additionally, the subject of Citizenship covers everything from domestic abuse to finances, so the politics section can get lost, or only given two or three hours over the span of a whole academic year.
This is not enough to equip pupils for the real world of political participation. Many young people see politics as a far-away entity which does not affect them; they simply don’t believe that it actually influences their everyday lives. If the vote is to be given to people from the age of sixteen, a more mature, deeper understanding of politics must be conveyed through the education system. What we need is not more Citizenship lessons, but perhaps a separate subject. Just half an hour every week on the basics and essentials of understanding what their vote really means, and why it matters.
