Gordon Brown has restated his commitment to Votes at 16 in a BBC interview on the Andrew Marr Show.
Most of the discussion was (surprise surprise) about MPs expenses - but in talking about how he wanted to solve the problems, Prime Mnister Gordon Brown twice restated his commitment to Votes at 16.
The Prime Minister admitted that "major constitutional reform is necessary" and that, as part of a response to the current scandals about MPs expenses but also to improve democracy for good, he proposed "a new consititutional settlement." Explaining more precisely what that means, Gordon Brown said "I'm looking at the case for Votes at 16... We're proposing Votes at 16 as an issue that young people should look at themsleves."
We welcome the fact that Votes at 16 is a priority in the Prime Minister's thoughts, and a clear part of any constitutional settlement. However, young people have looked at the case for Votes at 16 themselves - and overwhelmingly said yes! The great majority of young people have long supported lowering the voting age to 16, and the submissions to the Youth Cittizenship Commission and the young people's cconsultations showed this very clearly.
It seems, then, that the Prime Minister is convinced about Votes at 16 - after all, giving young people a say is a key part of fulfilling his commitment that "Parliament has to be more accountable to the people". We know we've shown how the vast majority of young people want to see Votes at 16 happen, but if we can keep on demonstrating it over the next few months we've got a real chance to make sure the politicians live up to their promises and make Votes at 16 a reality.
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