16-year-olds talk about lowering the voting age

In two years’ time, five students that spoke to BBC News NI at Belfast High School in County Antrim will turn 16, meaning they’ll be able to get a job, donate blood or even join the armed forces.

By 2027, they might also be counted among the first 16-year-olds in Northern Ireland who could be able to vote.

It’s a prospect that excites some of them, like 14-year-old Bea, who said if young people are contributing to society they should get a say on who makes the rules.

“It would be amazing, 16-year-olds should have a say, especially if they are getting jobs.”

There’s already been a long-running grassroots campaign to change the law in Northern Ireland, but things ramped up a gear when Labour made a promise in last year’s election manifesto to reduce the voting age from 18 to 16.

The Northern Ireland Assembly has twice supported a motion calling for the change – first in 2012 and then again last year, but without the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Without full-party agreement at Stormont it remains in the hands of the Labour government at Westminster, which is already playing catch-up with governments in Scotland and Wales, where 16-year-olds can already vote.

In April, Secretary of State Hilary Benn said the government was “absolutely committed” to changing the law in Northern Ireland, but couldn’t give a timeframe.

“It’s just about getting legislative time in parliament – politics is about the future and if you can be a company director at the age of 16 I think you should be able to vote,” he said.

That sentiment goes down well with fellow pupil, Freya.

She said: “It does get annoying when governments can make laws and we don’t have any say, if the government changes the minimum wage I don’t want to be trying to get a job at 16 and being paid little.

“They think it’s okay because we’re younger but it makes you feel like you’re in a minority.”

Alliance is among the parties at Stormont who want the voting age to be lowered.

Assembly member Sian Mulholland said those against the move should realise that “the sky didn’t fall in when they changed the law in Scotland”.

“It showed that young people were more likely to go on and vote in subsequent elections, it started and fostered a lifelong journey.”

But the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)’s Deborah Erskine said there could be “unintended consequences” if the law is changed.

“I was always very politically in tune but my friends weren’t when I was 16. Did I want to vote at 16? Probably not actually.

“This is not just about party political gain, we need to take a lot into consideration including schools in terms of the political nature and how that could manifest itself in debates.”

Rory can understand the arguments against change, adding: “16-year-olds don’t need any more pressure, they already have a lot going on.

“If pressure can be minimised a lot of us probably would want to vote even if we don’t know much about politics.”

Ethan feels lowering the voting age would mean schools could do more to engage with students about the basics of politics.

“Schools set us up for life in a lot of aspects but the one it doesn’t really is politics, they don’t teach us that much about what voting is, I think this would encourage us as well to find out a bit more on our own.”

Sai would like to see schools bringing in politicians more regularly to explain their policies, as he thinks sometimes parties take younger people for granted.

“Telling us what they’re trying to achieve and what they stand for would make a big difference to us when we might be voting, whether that’s at 16 or 18 or later.”

Northern Ireland’s Chief Electoral Officer David Marshall said it could be a number of years before any changes take effect.

“This would be the biggest change in voter registration age laws since franchise was changed in 1969 from 21 to 18; there are substantial changes required,” he said.

He added that his office “stands ready” to support the government if it goes ahead to implement the policy.

As for whether the students at Belfast High School stand ready to vote when they turn 16, their message to the politicians is: “Get it done.”

You can watch the full report on The View on Thursday at 22:40 BST on BBC One Northern Ireland.