Sir Keir Starmer was accused of an attempt to “rig the political system” after the Government announced it was handing the vote to 16-year-olds.
The change, which was promised in Labour’s manifesto last summer and will be in place in time for the next general election, will bring the voting age down in line with Scottish and Welsh elections.
The Prime Minister said 16 and 17-year-olds were old enough to pay taxes and they should therefore get a say in the running of the country.
But he faced a furious backlash from Tory and Reform UK figures who claimed Sir Keir had only pressed ahead with the move in an attempt to boost Labour’s chances of re-election.
‘Shameless gerrymandering’
Labour continues to trail Reform in national opinion polls after suffering a post-election slump in popularity but a recent Merlin Strategy survey suggested Sir Keir’s party was ahead of its rivals amongst 16 and 17-year-olds.
Nigel Farage, the Reform leader, suggested the move could backfire and told The Express: “It’s an attempt to rig the political system but we intend to give them a nasty surprise.”
Sir James Cleverly, the former home secretary, claimed Labour had made the change because the party was “tanking in the polls”.
He posted on X: “The cynicism is breathtaking. Labour dropped it from the King’s speech after getting a big majority without it. Now they’re tanking in the polls they announce it again.”
Sir Simon Clarke, the former Cabinet minister, described the move as “shameless gerrymandering”.
Downing Street denied that lowering the voting age was an attempt to keep Labour in power.
Asked if it was a bid to shore up Labour’s voter base, a No 10 spokesman said: “No, I absolutely reject those claims. This Government was elected on that specific manifesto commitment to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections, and that’s what we’re doing.”
