extending the franchise

franchise

right to vote

who is able to vote

everyone over the age of 18 who is not a criminal , mentally incapable, or a peer

who had the franchise in 1832

property owners

who had the franchise in 1867

extended to skilled workers

who had the franchise in 1918

extended to all men over 21 and women over 30

who ahad the franchise in 1928

extended to all women over 21

who had the franchise in 1969

extended to everyone 18+

what did the Great Reform Act 1832 do?

• extended the right to vote to another 300,000 people as the value of property (rather than land) became a key factor in awarding the franchise

• during the Industrial Revolution

Representation of the people act 1918-why were women considered

as women were partaking in the war effort and taking up more jobs, they were being for the franchise. also DAVID LLOYD GEORGE was PM and he was much more supportive of women’s right to vote than Herbert Asquith.

what did the representation of the People act 1918 do?

extended the franchise to all women over the age of 30 , as well as men over the age of 21

what did the representation of people act 1969 do?

anyone over the age of 18 could vote regardless of race, gender or wealth

what sparked suffrage movements

• in 1866 - first petition to give women the right vote was presented to parliament

  • following its failure to extend the franchise to women ,a variety of movements across the country were created

  • unified eventually by Millicent Fawcett under NUWSS (nicknamed ‘Suffragists’)

  • by 1914 , it had more than 100,000 members in 400 branches spread across the whole country

what is Votes at 16

coalition of a number of different groups that believe the franchise should be extended to 16 and 17 year olds

on the principle of Engage , Empower and Inspire

Point 1- 16 year olds SHOULD be given the vote

would increase participation and resolve issues of apathy

would increase participation and resolve issues of apathy

Example (s):

• 2014 Scottish referendum-turnout 75% of 16-17 year olds voted, with 109,000 registering to vote

  • helps to combat voter apathy- reversing democratic deficit

• 97% of them said they would vote again in the future

HOWEVER:

• Isle of Man enfranchised 16 and 17 year olds in 2006 .

  • in every election since then, voter turnout among this age group has decreased

    • 55% in 2006 to 46% in 2021

Evaluation-on the loom of a participation crisis within the UK, maybe a change is needed to improve the legitimacy of certain elections and decisions and get people who are actually willing to vote to reverse this participation crisis

Point 2- 16 year olds should be given the vote

Would ensure that perspectives of the youth is introduced into parliament

Would ensure that perspectives of the youth is introduced into parliament

Examples (s):

• elderly dominated parliament- only 3.5% are under 30 (as of 2023)

• 194 MPs aged 50-59 despite only 29.5% of the population being 40-59

therefore there is argubaly a lack of variation among perspectives in the House of Commons, resulting in stagnant political climate

HOWEVER, a lack of resposnbility and awareness of complex issues among 16 year olds means they lakc the emotinal maturity to influence major political decisions- arguably fatal to British politics

COUNTER ARGUMENT-

UNFINISHED