WITH the UK set to have a general election taking place this July, discussions have raised the question of whether 16-year-olds should be given the right to vote.

Currently, the age to vote in an election in the UK is 18 with everyone having to wait for the next election to take place after they reach that age before they can vote.

The debate comes as Good Morning Britain (GMB) discussed today (Tuesday, May 28) that Sir Keir Starmer has said he’d like to lower the voting age to 16.

The morning news programme posted its own poll but we wanted to see what our readers think about lowering the voting age.

Should the voting age be lowered to 16 years old in the UK?

You can have your say by submitting your opinion in our poll above.

GMB’s poll generated a discussion on X, formerly Twitter, among viewers and followers with a mix of responses being posted.

Some were against the idea, suggesting that the move was only to secure “more votes” for the Labour Party.

One said: “Lowering the voting age to 16? Seriously? Most #teenagers are still figuring out what to eat for breakfast, let alone who should run the country. Sounds like a desperate move for more votes.”

Another said: “In reality, this is a policy to acquire votes as most young people think Labour are the ‘nice party’ that will make life so much easier and richer for them and others.”

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On the other hand, one said: “Most of the kids at 16 have been learning about politics in school and probably know more than some adults, and some decisions affect them so why shouldn’t they vote on them?”

Another said: “16 year olds can join the army, they can work in full time employment, they can legally procreate and have babies! Of course they should be able to vote.”

What do you think? Let us know in our poll above.