Votes at 16 will not solve the problem of youth disengagement overnight, but it will help us to address the issue

Last week MPs debated the the case for lowering the UK’s voting age to 16, following Scotland’s decision to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in the independence referendum. Sarah Champion MP initiated the debate, arguing in favour of the reform on the basis that young people demonstrate considerable enthusiasm for participating in politics. This post is an edited version of her speech, published as part of our series on youth participation.