This would be enough to reanimate Thatcher’s corpse
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It’s having the same effect of Conservative Party members since Rishi proposed it.
Generation that never had to do national service: “wwwoooooooaaaaaaahhhh yeah bring back National Service, teach these kids the value of blah blah blah”
Same generation if it were suggested they should also do something to help the country:
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I’m not surprised at how bad Rishi is at campaigning, I’m surprised at how bad his advisors are. It’s hilariously hapless but in 40 years of following UK politics, I’ve never seen anything this inept before, even Michael Foot ran a better campaign than this.
We’ve not seen him sharing an ice-cream moment with old people yet, that’s probably next. How can he fuck that up?
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Definitely.
If you’re old enough to walk to school, you should be allowed to vote. 
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I think they hate him and are trying their best to tank everything.
Or he is in on it
They can’t seriously think this is how they win?
I absolutely hate the policy, I’m curious to know why you like it?
So the Tories desperately need to get youngsters to vote for them, so they commit to a policy that 18-21 year olds will think is a total pile of shit. I feel that Labour are misreading the national mood but the Tories are totally off the scale.
Do they? I don’t think Tories have ever relied on the youth vote to get elected and it’s essentially a given that they’ll never have the youth on side.
Basically a waste of time trying to get their vote, so might as well throw them under the bus in the name of expediency if they think it’ll win them a few more votes from grumpy old bastards.
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Also pretty sure youth turnout is usually quite awful. Even when Corbyn was running it wasn’t great.
Spot on. Reform polling at 11% on average, which is the most damning thing for the Tories, necessitates a shift toward rightwing populism.
Developing policy on the basis popularity with boomers isn’t sustainable or conservative. It’s been the issue since BJ and generally within British politics
I really don’t see what the issue is TBH. While I respect that you have an in-principle objection to voting, I think you are firmly in the minority with this stance. The majority of people don’t vote because they can’t be bothered. Going to a polling station once every couple of years to vote is not an onerous task, and with ‘none of the above’ as an option on the ballot paper, people can protest against the current state of politics if they wish.
I also agree that politicians need to do more. But if we keep doing the same thing, things are not going to get better. One of the reasons why I am encouraged about the prospect of 16+ getting the vote is because it may inspire the younger generation to really get involved in politics.
I’m not anti-democratic. I want things to get better in our County but unfortunately the state of politics is so bad, a party can now win an election with 40-45% of the vote based on a turnout of 50-60% of the population. This isn’t good for democracy and has to change. I’m also not just banging this drum, but also want other changes too, such as a change to our electoral system, fixed term parliaments, scheduling of all other elections, giving 16+ the right to vote, reform of the second chamber, reform of local government - the whole lot needs to be changed.
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With you on that. I’d make voting in the House of Commons using technology and banish the way the commons votes now. I’d also introduce a fully interactive Parliamentary computer system that sends alerts out to tell you how your MP has just voted and make they explain why, it could also involve virtual surgeries and an ability to send a secure message to your MP. By bringing Parliament into full public gaze and modernising it, we may just end-up with a slightly better, less grubby type of democracy.
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Loads of what you suggest is available already.
I heard about this at a conference i attended a few years back.
Yeah, that site is a pretty good start on the road to what I think Parliament itself should be providing to the public.
You don’t get what the issue with saying people should be threatened with poverty and prison if they don’t do what you want them to is?
Your view on how I’m somehow different to others who don’t vote is also off the mark. Just because I express myself at length and somewhat articulately does not make a fundamental difference compared to someone who thinks “they’re all cunts anyway, why should I bother?” And the way you’ve put that makes me think of the kind of person who says “you’re alright, it’s the other ones who are the problem”
Spoiling a ballot is a different message to not voting at all. Not voting at all shows people who are so disengaged by politics they don’t want to engage with it at all. In a democracy, that’s a legitimate choice.
Also if you think I’m firmly in the minority you might want to check if there are many people who think not voting should carry £500 and escalating fines with the threat of prison.
We don’t need to go over this again. I am against enfranchising children, and it’s not the only way to engage young people in politics. Many choose not to vote when they can and that’s not an issue with British society, that’s just a common feature of democracies.
Using the threat of ruinous fines and possible prison sentences to get your way is as undemocratic as it gets without shooting people who don’t do what you want them to. Reforms don’t get made by disengaged and resentful voters and they certainly won’t be made because people turn up to a polling station with a financial gun to their head. They’d elect Count Binface and be right to do it.
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Not really election related but lololol
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