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Sinn Féin has called on the British Government to reduce the voting age in Northern Ireland to 16.
In a press release on the Sinn Féin website, West Belfast MLA Danny Baker has said the British government should “honour the democratic will of the Assembly by transferring powers to extend the vote to 16 and 17 year-olds.”
“Extending the franchise to 16 year-olds would be positive democratically and encourage young people to engage politically,” he said after the Assembly today backed a Sinn Féin motion calling for the change to be implemented.
“Young people should not be forced to depend on older voters to represent their distinct interests and varied values.
He went on to say that the UK Labour Party government’s manifesto had committed to allowing 16-year-olds to vote.
“Sinn Féin, along with others, tabled and successfully passed a motion in the Assembly calling for the vote to be extended to 16 and 17-year olds,” he said.
“While this was an important recognition, the British government retains the power to make the required legislative change and has, to date, refused to do so.
“However, the Assembly has again today backed votes for 16 and 17 year-olds so the onus is now on the new British government to honour this.
“Labour’s own manifesto committed to votes at 16 so it should now either legislate for this or transfer the necessary powers to the Assembly so we can do it ourselves.”
The same policy has received widespread cross-party support in the Republic of Ireland, being endorsed by Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil, The Green Party, The Labour Party, Social Democrats, People Before Profit, Sinn Féin, and many Independents.
FLASHBACK: A Fianna Fáil Senator previously said there's "no question" but that 16-year-olds would vote for the government due to their climate policies, while a Sinn Féin TD said 16s should vote as they're "more engaged" with issues like climate change and Black Lives Matter. pic.twitter.com/mNjpY7Mvba
— gript (@griptmedia) May 14, 2024
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