The government is “out of step” with public opinion for refusing to consider reducing the voting age from 18 to 16, according to David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC). He was responding to comments made by David Lidington, minister for the cabinet office, earlier today.

Lidington told MPs: “The government stated in its manifesto a commitment to maintain the voting age at 18, we therefore have no plans to lower the voting age in elections.”

The minister was responding to a question from former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell, who raised the issue during Commons Cabinet Office questions. She cited the “growing support for votes at 16 on the Government’s own benches”, including former education secretaries Justine Greening and Nicky Morgan.

Rights and obligations

Lidington added: “We continue to believe that the voting age should remain aligned with the age of majority at 18. This is the point at which many of the key rights and obligations are required and is in line with international comparators.”

He said: “The responsible thing for the government to do is to stand by not just the policy that we stood on in the recent general election but on what we believe to be right.”

But his remarks have been criticised by the AoC. David Hughes told Tes: “Young people at 16 can get married, they can start work and yet they have no say in the running of the country.”

There is growing momentum for change, with cross-party support for the voting age to be lowered, according to Hughes.

He said: “I think the government is increasingly out of step with public opinion on engaging young people more in politics and that the voting age will get lowered at some point in the next decade.”

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