Votes at 16: seeking a more enlightened debate on youth disengagement from politics

Democratic Audit recently produced an collection of pieces which addressed the question of whether it is right to re-examine the UK’s minimum voting age. The aim of the publication was to heighten the level of debate around the issue, an aim which one of the contributors, Andrew Mycock, shares. Here, he argues that one of the most encouraging things about the contributions is the consensus amongst their authors that, regardless of their views of the specific issue of votes at 16, it it alone is not a panacea to youth disengagement, and that a wider package of progressive reforms is needed.