00:00After years of debates, 16 and 17-year-olds will now be given the right to vote in the next general election under new government plans.
00:08This makes it the first time the UK has seen the age lowered since 1969, when it changed from 21 to 18.
00:15In a poll done by the Merlin strategy, 500 16 and 17-year-olds revealed a near-even split on whether or not they think the voting age should be lowered to 16,
00:24with 51% for it and 49% against.
00:27So I'm here in Maidstone to speak to young people who could be casting their vote at the next general election to find out what they think about the change.
00:35I feel like I'd be quite excited to vote if I could vote now, because I think it's good for everybody to have a say in what's happening with the country.
00:41I think it's good, because it will show that it will give you a chance to do something before you're 18.
00:48I'm pretty excited to vote, because I feel like this generation is becoming more and more aware of politics,
00:54and they're becoming, like, they're forming at people.
00:57I think that it's really great that 16-year-olds get to vote in the next election,
01:02because I think young people have probably more opinion than people who are older.
01:07I think that it's really good that we're, like, the first generation to vote,
01:10because it really shows, like, all the older generations, like, an insight on how, like, we can improve the world.
01:15It's quite crazy, because you've got to pay, like, the government for all this stuff,
01:18and, like, you've got to then, like, you have a say in what everyone's doing around you, but you can't drink alcohol.
01:22I do think that that's going to be an issue, and that people are going to be influenced,
01:25especially by MPs, because they think that, because we're younger, that they can influence us.
01:31I feel like they should, like, make younger people more aware,
01:33because, like, in school, we don't know much about it, like, at all.
01:36Drinking and voting are two very different things.
01:39Like, I mean, drinking is, like, obviously, it's bad for you.
01:42Like, it's not great, it's, like, it's addicting, but, like, voting is, like, voicing your opinion.
01:47While young people in Maidstone feel confident about the change, some parties disagree.
01:52Yeah, I think it's a desperate decision from a desperate government.
01:55You know, you can't get married at 16, you can't go to war at 16, you can't drive at 16,
02:00you can't buy alcohol, you can't buy cigarettes, you can't go into lottery,
02:04you can't even be a jury, and you can't even view an 18-plus film at the age of 16.
02:08But the idea that you're going to get the constitutional right to then vote in elections,
02:13which is a very, it's a massive, massive thing.
02:15You know, something which cannot be taken for granted.
02:19And this idea we're going to give to people who, quite frankly, irrespective of how talented, bright they may be,
02:24haven't got the necessary experience and are not classified as adults, I don't think that's right.
02:29This wasn't the only change that's been announced, as now bank cards will be accepted as voter ID under the new proposals.
02:36The government hope that overall, this will make a huge difference to voter turnout,
02:40as the last general election seen the lowest figure since 2001, sitting at just under 60%.
02:47So whether or not 16 and 17-year-olds will turn up to increase the turnout, it's up to them.
