How Old is Old Enough?
Release Date:
04/11/2003
As part of this year’s local democracy week, Shrewsbury and Atcham Borough Council encouraged local secondary schools to debate the possibility of lowering the minimum age of voting in the UK.
Mike Croston, the Council’s Democratic and Legal Services Manager said
"This topic is the subject of a national debate and before responding to consultations on the matter the Council wanted to hear the views of young people".
Three schools got involved in debating the issue, the Wakeman and Priory Schools in Shrewsbury and the Mary Webb School at Pontesbury. Mr Croston said,
"In all three schools the majority vote of the pupils was against lowering the voting age. However at one school the pupils went on to debate increasing the minimum age, but that too was defeated".
The views of the pupils will be forwarded to the Electoral Commission along with those of Borough Councillors, who have also expressed a majority view in favour of maintaining the minimum voting age at 18.
For more information on this subject, please contact:
Mike Croston, Democratic and Legal Services Manager,
telephone 01743 281055
Email: mike.croston@shrewsbury.gov.uk
Media contact:
Celia Bahrami, Assistant Chief Executive.
Telephone: 01743 281012
email: celia.bahrami@shrewsbury.gov.uk
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