'Now give all 16-year-olds the vote' say Lib Dems

Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire district councils are due to debate the subject at their last full meetings of the year tonight and tomorrow.

At Vale, councillors will also discuss changing the voting system from the current first-past-the-post to a proportional representation system which can give smaller parties more success.

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The Liberal Democrat and Green Party-led councils will be discussing both issues hot on the heels of the landslide Conservative General Election victory on Thursday.

Neither council has any direct control over these issues, but the motions for debate encourage the council leaders to write to the government and urge it to make changes to the way democracy works in the UK.

The offices for South and Vale district councils are shared.

The Vale of White Horse motion on extending voting rights was made by Lib Dem councillor Hayleigh Gascoigne for Blewbury and Harwell ward.

In it, she ‘calls for 16 and 17-year-olds to have the right in all elections and referendums across the UK,’ describing them as ‘knowledgeable and passionate about the world in which they live and are as capable of engaging in the democratic system as any other citizen.’

She also added that extending the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds would help to create a more equal system of voting across the UK, as teenagers of these age groups are currently able to vote in elections in the devolved administrations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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Ms Gascoigne’s motion added: “People aged 16 and 17, who can consent to medical treatment, work full-time, pay taxes, get married or enter a civil partnership and join the armed forces, should also have the right to vote.”

It concluded by asking the council leader Emily Smith to write on behalf of the council to government ministers and local MPs to express the council’s support for the Votes at 16 campaign, and extend the franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds in all elections and referendums across the UK.

A motion by councillor Sue Cooper, Lib Dem leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, also suggests SODC should write to the government and MPs asking them to extend the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds.

A further motion due for debate at Vale of White Horse’s meeting is about proportional representation.

The motion by Lib Dem councillor for Drayton, Andy Cooke, said that ‘confidence and trust in both Parliament, the UK’s democratic system and politicians has been falling for some time’.

It adds: “The UK’s First Past the Post voting system curtails voter choice, makes millions of votes ineffective, and leaves millions feeling unrepresented.”

Mr Cooke’s motion then suggested the council leader writes to the government and two local MPs representing Wantage, and Oxford West and Abingdon, asking them to run all elections on a system of proportional representation.

The UK's current first-past-the-post system means the election candidate who gets the most votes wins.

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Under a proportional representation system, voters could make first, second and third-place choices, each with different values, which would then be tallied up so that a party with the most first-place votes would not necessarily win.

The motion said this system should make sure ‘all votes count equally and seats match votes.’

Vale of White Horse District Council meets at 7pm tonight at the Beacon in Wantage.

South Oxfordshire District Council meets at 6pm tomorrow at the Fountain Conference Centre, Crowmarsh Gifford.