Five decades after the vote was given to 18-year-olds, our youngest people deserve a voice in British politics

If all those aged 16 and over were granted the right to vote, it would make way for the most politicised generation in history

A couple of years ago, my grandfather told me that “if you want to be anything, you have to be a nuisance”. This advice is worth taking notice of, especially in the context of votes at 16. If young people really believe in the value of their voice at the ballot box, this is the time to become a nuisance and make change happen.

We stand at a crossroads in British political history. Institutions are brittle and trust in traditional politics is low. So, do we progress or regress?

This is also, however, a point in time during which young people are incredibly engaged with politics and political activism. These are people deeply connected with certain political issues and who have no formal outlet for their voice.

It was 50 years ago today that the voting age was reduced to 18, under the Representation of the People Act (1969). It only seems fitting that we do the British thing and ask for more.

I recently set up the centrist group Young Independents, a youth group backing the new Change UK party, made up of MPs who are defectors from Labour and the Tories. As part of my role new I’ve spoken to hundreds of young people, many interested in getting involved with our work – even though the centre ground is not traditionally linked to youth.

There’s no doubting there’s a change in appetite. In 2016, 64 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds registered to vote turned up at the polls to cast their ballot. Imagine what that figure would be like now, after Brexit.

Given this, why are votes at 16 still so controversial? I can only see that it is a case of a political establishment fearing the traditionally radically young. It’s a well rehearsed argument but worth remembering that at 16 you can give your life to the Army, or to another person by getting married. You can change your name by deed poll, buy premium bonds and pilot a glider. You can leave home and drive an invalid carriage (whatever that might be). All this, and yet no representation within our democracy. There’s no sense in this archaic voting system.

Fear and complacency is no excuse for keeping young people out. If the Votes at 16 campaign were to succeed and make history five decades after the last extension in enfranchisement, it would bring into suffrage the politicised generation in British history.

To me, that sounds like no bad thing. If young people were more encouraged to vote, and better understood the the importance of doing so from an early age, politicians would no longer be able to give them and their views the cold shoulder.

Activism is not enough. Without votes at 16, young people will never be listened to. How many of us are comfortable with that?

Joshua Curiel is the founder of the centrist grassroots organisation Young Independents