Votes at 16 is a campaign in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 which argues in favour of the reduction of the voting age

Voting age

A voting age is a minimum age established by law that a person must attain to be eligible to vote in a public election.The vast majority of countries in the world have established a voting age. Most governments consider that those of any age lower than the chosen threshold lack the necessary...

 to 16 for all public elections.

Coalition

The Votes at 16 Coalition is a national group of major UK youth organisations, political parties and other supporters of the Votes at 16 Cause. The coalition is led by a steering group of active members who include the British Youth Council

British Youth Council

The British Youth Council is a UK charity working to empower young people to have a say and be heard. Run by young people for young people, BYC exists to represent the views of young people to government and decision-makers at a local, national, European and international level; and to promote the...

, the Children's Rights Alliance for England

Children's Rights Alliance for England

Children's Rights Alliance For England is a London-based pressure group.CRAE was set up in 1991 after the UK ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in order to monitor the UK Government's commitment to upholding the document. They aim to protect the human rights of children in the...

, The Co-operative Group

The Co-operative Group

The Co-operative Group Ltd. is a United Kingdom consumer cooperative with a diverse range of business interests. It is co-operatively run and owned by its members. It is the largest organisation of this type in the world, with over 5.5 million members, who all have a say in how the business is...

, the National Union of Students

National Union of Students

-British Isles:*National Union of Students**National Union of Students-Union of Students in Ireland**National Union of Students Scotland**National Union of Students Wales-Scandinavia:*Danish National Union of Students*National Union of Students in Finland...

 and the Scottish Youth Parliament

Scottish Youth Parliament

The Scottish Youth Parliament, also known as SYP, is a democratic, politically independent, inclusive, charity set up by a group of passionate youth workers as a national voice for young people in Scotland....

, who have all campaigned for Votes at 16 for a number of years. Trade union UNISON

UNISON

UNISON is the largest trade union in the United Kingdom with over 1.3 million members.The union was formed in 1993 when three public sector trade unions, the National and Local Government Officers Association , the National Union of Public Employees and the Confederation of Health Service...

 has also voted to support Votes at 16.

The Labour Party's Conference in 2008 voted to accept the hard won recommendation of Labour's National Policy Forum

National Policy Forum

The National Policy Forum of the British Labour Party is part of the policy-making system of the Party, set up by Leader Tony Blair as part of the Partnership in Power process....

 to support Votes at 16. North Tyneside Labour Party passed a motion in March 2011 in support of lowering the voting age to 16. The campaign is also supported by the Scottish National Party

Scottish National Party

The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

 (SNP) and its youth wing

Youth wing

A youth wing is a subsidiary, autonomous or independently-allied front of a larger organization that is formed in order to rally support and allegiance for that organization's campaigns from members and potential members of a younger age...

 the Young Scots for Independence

Young Scots for Independence

Young Scots for Independence is the youth wing of the Scottish National Party . It is not to be confused with Federation of Student Nationalists, which is for those in higher education, and whose membership is not restricted by age, unlike the YSI.The YSI is autonomous from the SNP and as such is...

 (YSI). As the SNP is now in government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

 in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 they have now officially called for the voting age to be lowered to 16 and have expressed their intention to lower the voting age to 16 for the upcoming referendum on Scottish Independence.

The campaign espouses several principle

Principle

A principle is a law or rule that has to be, or usually is to be followed, or can be desirably followed, or is an inevitable consequence of something, such as the laws observed in nature or the way that a system is constructed...

s in favour of lowering the voting age.

External links

• Official website
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7440489.stm