Voting Age

[Butts]

It seems that the referendum on Independence in Scotland is going to extend the franchise to 16 year olds.

Leaving aside the political machinations of the predeliction of younger people to vote in favour, surely this will set an irrevocable precedent for future Elections in both Scotland and ultimately the rest of the UK.

This in turn will in my view raise further anomalies namely you can marry or vote at 16 but not:

Buy Alcohol ,Fireworks, Cigarettes and Glue .........

What sort of logic dictates this ludicrous juxtaposition

 

[Johnuk123]

The great majority of teachers tend to be left wing and they'll obviously be very keen to influence children to vote accordingly.

 

[Butts]

The great majority of teachers tend to be left wing and they'll obviously be very keen to influence children to vote accordingly.

That may well be true, but what about the prevention of the purchase of items that currently require you be 18 ?

 

[90019]

The great majority of teachers tend to be left wing and they'll obviously be very keen to influence children to vote accordingly.

[citation needed]

 

[Johnuk123]

That may well be true, but what about the prevention of the purchase of items that currently require you be 18 ?

Well exactly, surely if you can vote you ought to be able drink alcohol and buy knives.

Will m.p's be allowed into schools to canvas ? if they are I don't expect many Tories will get invited.

 

[tbtc]

The whole "sixteen" thing is mainly because Salmond knows that the young are more idealistic/ swayed and more likely to vote for independence, no getting away with it.

There's always got to be a line in the sand when it comes to ages. Since there's no one age when you suddenly become mature overnight, there's bound to be a gradual increase in responsibility over age.

Sure, it means some daft situations like being able to have sex at sixteen but not watch other people do so on film until eighteen, but that's never going to change.

I can't see any Scottish voting decision affecting other countries - after all we've been in the EU for a long time and different countries still have different ages for drinking/ sex/ driving.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

18 is quite reasonable for voting age.

 

[Johnuk123]

[citation needed]

When I was A Police officer for a period of 18 months I had a job visiting schools and colleges.
My impression was that overwhelmingly the teachers were left wing.

We used to be met with hostility on a regular basis from teachers some of whom I would call downright insolent.

We would be told from pupils that some teachers had told them never ever to co-operate with the Police.

I was told to my face by a London headmistress that "All Police are racist and not to be trusted"

I would say 70-80% very roughly are at the very least left leaning with a lot being very political.

 

[Butts]

18 is quite reasonable for voting age.

So how would you equate being able to get married but not vote at 16 ?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Well exactly, surely if you can vote you ought to be able drink alcohol and buy knives.

Will m.p's be allowed into schools to canvas ? if they are I don't expect many Tories will get invited.

There a few left in the Borders and dotted around the Country - believe it or not
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The whole "sixteen" thing is mainly because Salmond knows that the young are more idealistic/ swayed and more likely to vote for independence, no getting away with it.

There's always got to be a line in the sand when it comes to ages. Since there's no one age when you suddenly become mature overnight, there's bound to be a gradual increase in responsibility over age.

Sure, it means some daft situations like being able to have sex at sixteen but not watch other people do so on film until eighteen, but that's never going to change.

I can't see any Scottish voting decision affecting other countries - after all we've been in the EU for a long time and different countries still have different ages for drinking/ sex/ driving.

I think you may be wrong with regard to the voting age, once a precedent is set the ball will start rolling.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

So how would you equate being able to get married but not vote at 16 ?

How would you equate being able to vote at 16 but not buy a DVD with any violence in?

 

[tbtc]

When I was A Police officer for a period of 18 months I had a job visiting schools and colleges.
My impression was that overwhelmingly the teachers were left wing.

We used to be met with hostility on a regular basis from teachers some of whom I would call downright insolent.

We would be told from pupils that some teachers had told them never ever to co-operate with the Police.

I was told to my face by a London headmistress that "All Police are racist and not to be trusted"

I would say 70-80% very roughly are at the very least left leaning with a lot being very political.

So because you don't like the generalisations that some people make about the Police, you are making generalisations about those people?

 

[Yew]

Will a majority of the voters be required to vote for independance, or the majority of the scottish population?

 

[ainsworth74]

How would you equate being able to vote at 16 but not buy a DVD with any violence in?

I would equate it as being as pretty much the same as being allowed to have sex but not watch pornography.

 

[SS4]

When I was A Police officer for a period of 18 months I had a job visiting schools and colleges.
My impression was that overwhelmingly the teachers were left wing.

We used to be met with hostility on a regular basis from teachers some of whom I would call downright insolent.

We would be told from pupils that some teachers had told them never ever to co-operate with the Police.

I was told to my face by a London headmistress that "All Police are racist and not to be trusted"

I would say 70-80% very roughly are at the very least left leaning with a lot being very political.

By citation he means verifiable, not anecdotal, evidence. Besides didn't the Stephen Lawrence case show institutional racism in the Met?

 

[transportphoto]

I am a firm believer in votes at 16.

At 16, I can be trusted to go out and consent to sexual relationships, I can get married, I can risk all the money I've got on lotteries, I can obtain tax credits and social protection\welfare benefits, I can change my name by deed poll and I can even join the armed forces. BUT I CAN'T have a say in the politics of the country I live in, I can't have a say in the decisions that have affected my daily life from before I was born. Tad ironic don't you think?

I also believe that the age restrictions on buying products such as Tip-Ex should be reduced, maybe to twelve/fourteen.

TP

 

[Oswyntail]

Will a majority of the voters be required to vote for independence, or the majority of the scottish population?

Or the majority of those potentially directly affected? Oh, sorry, those in the rest of the United Kingdom have no say

 

[SS4]

The whole "sixteen" thing is mainly because Salmond knows that the young are more idealistic/ swayed and more likely to vote for independence, no getting away with it.

There's always got to be a line in the sand when it comes to ages. Since there's no one age when you suddenly become mature overnight, there's bound to be a gradual increase in responsibility over age.

Sure, it means some daft situations like being able to have sex at sixteen but not watch other people do so on film until eighteen, but that's never going to change.

I can't see any Scottish voting decision affecting other countries - after all we've been in the EU for a long time and different countries still have different ages for drinking/ sex/ driving.

This (especially the second paragraph). I'd like to see better education about voting but a test to determine eligibility to vote doesn't sit well with me.

 

[43021HST]

The great majority of teachers tend to be left wing and they'll obviously be very keen to influence children to vote accordingly.

The great majority of newspapers and reports are right wing and they'll obviously be keen to influence the public to vote accordingly.

Most teachers are Liberal not left wing.

 

[90019]

I would equate it as being as pretty much the same as being allowed to have sex but not watch pornography.

Being allowed to have consensual sex at 16, but not being allowed to purchase a sex toy until you're 18.

 

[Cable Car]

Strange but true, the vast majority of those who fought (and died) in WW1 had never voted.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

I am a firm believer in votes at 16.

At 16, I can go out and consent to sexual relationships, I can get married, I can risk all the money I've got on lotteries, I can obtain tax credits and social protection\welfare benefits, I can change my name by deed poll and I can even join the armed forces. BUT I CAN'T have a say in the politics of the country I live in, I can't have a say in the decisions that have affected my daily life from before I was born.

I also believe that the age restrictions on buying products such as Tip-Ex should be reduced, maybe to twelve/fourteen.

It's interesting that nothing you have written here provides any argument to support your opinion - I was expecting that you might have wanted to support the 'votes at 16' argument.

 

[Johnuk123]

By citation he means verifiable, not anecdotal, evidence. Besides didn't the Stephen Lawrence case show institutional racism in the Met?

I wasn't racist then and I'm not now thank you.

I knew some racist policemen but I would say the percentage was probably about the same as in the general population.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The great majority of newspapers and reports are right wing and they'll obviously be keen to influence the public to vote accordingly.

Most teachers are Liberal not left wing.

I would say Left wing leaning Liberals as it's impossible to be Liberal and right wing.

You only have to look at the audience at an N.U.T. conference it is a socialist worker one in a different hall.

 

[ainsworth74]

I would say Left wing leaning Liberals as it's impossible to be Liberal and right wing.

In what way is it impossible to Liberal and right wing (bearing in mind that the former Liberal party and the current Lib-Dems =/= Liberalism the political philosophy)?

 

[Johnuk123]

In what way is it impossible to Liberal and right wing (bearing in mind that the former Liberal party and the current Lib-Dems =/= Liberalism the political philosophy)?

A right wing Liberal ? yes there are simply loads of them about.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Looking at Europe, was Austria the first country to adopt a voting age of 16 (on most issues) in 2007 ?

 

[SS4]

So the implication that voting age shouldn't be lowered because it'll increase the vote share of the left?
In that case surely gerrymandering and political leanings in the media should also be barred?

That's notwithstanding the implication that a vote for the left is somehow less worthy than one for the right (not that we have a major party of the left of course)

 

[ainsworth74]

A right wing Liberal ? yes there are simply loads of them about.

Before going further perhaps you could tell me your definition of Liberalism?

 

[caliwag]

Regardless of all that what you can and cannot do before 18...Thatcher took away 16-18 year olds right to benefit in the late 80s, regardless of homelessness, aggressive relations etc, and now the nasty party are planning to extend that to 25...what?

 

[Eagle]

A right wing Liberal ? yes there are simply loads of them about.

Yes, there are. Liberalism can be leftist, centrist or rightist.

 

[Mojo]

Surely one only has to look at the political parties of Australia to realise that right-wing and Liberal aren't necessarily distinct concepts, with Labor [sic] and Liberal being the two major parties there.

Although the Wikipedia page notes that there is somewhat a different meaning between ''Liberal'' in Australia and in other English-speaking countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Party_of_Australia