After the referendum,should 16yo get the vote ?

[dazzer6666]

How is forcing people to vote democratic ?

You can't force people to vote.

 

[wellquickwoody]

Yes,bearing in mind so many youngsters do work,no taxation without representation.

Is it not going to become a legal requirement for full time education till 18 soon?

We seem to take responsibility away (no job, stay at school, most stay at Uni till 21 on a student loan, drive them everywhere at stupid hours), let them come back home and live for a tenner a week, but we think it sensible to give them the vote at 16!

Not sure who is more stupid, parent or child?

 

[Cheshire Cat]

No offence, but I would ban Bensgrandad from voting as he is clearly a liability as he has proven over the years.

Harsh, but fair if he insists on trying to vote via the interweb - his PC clearly won't be able to cope with the complexity.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

You can't force people to vote.

OK, strictly speaking you can't but you know what I mean. Vote or you get a fine is anything but democratic.

 

[Creaky]

OK, strictly speaking you can't but you know what I mean. Vote or you get a fine is anything but democratic.

If the majority voted for such a system then it would be democratic ;-)

 

[Pogue Mahone]

OK, strictly speaking you can't but you know what I mean. Vote or you get a fine is anything but democratic.

I lived in Italy for a while, and there was an election while I was there (1987?) People not only had to vote, but they had to do it in the city that they came from. I was in Northern Italy, and it was full of Southern Italians working there - life was relatively tough in the South (still is, if truth be told). There was a mass exodus - everybody travelled to their family home to vote. To say that resentment was tangible is a bit of an understatement.

Making people vote is as bad as denying people the vote.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

If you discounted narrow voters, most of the population would be discounted.

Perhaps we need to move towards politics that caters for 16 year olds. Statistically, they will have more years than the general voter, so it would be positive to give them a chance to have a say in what they do.

They are also better placed to vote according to educational issues than the regular parent.

Fair points.

 

[Bulldog]

About 300 hundred years ago, 15000 people, all toffs, had the right to vote and justified it on the basis that every one else was too stupid to understand the real issues.

The tens of thousands of brave men that were slaughtered in the trenches of the first world war, had never experienced the ability to vote and were considered too stupid to to understand the real issues. Clever enough to die for the establishment, but not clever enough to have a say in the establishment.

Only after hundreds of years of struggle were working class men able to influence the tory toffs and start pressing for votes for women, sadly, women were considered too stupid to understand the real issues.

When it was proposed that 18 year olds should get the vote, guess what, they were considered too inexperienced to understand the real issues.

It is always the establishment that are against the expansion of suffrage because they deem it as a loss of their ancient inherited power to rule.

 

[wellquickwoody]

About 300 hundred years ago, 15000 people, all toffs, had the right to vote and justified it on the basis that every one else was too stupid to understand the real issues.

The tens of thousands of brave men that were slaughtered in the trenches of the first world war, had never experienced the ability to vote and were considered too stupid to to understand the real issues. Clever enough to die for the establishment, but not clever enough to have a say in the establishment.

Only after hundreds of years of struggle were working class men able to influence the tory toffs and start pressing for votes for women, sadly, women were considered too stupid to understand the real issues.

When it was proposed that 18 year olds should get the vote, guess what, they were considered too inexperienced to understand the real issues.

It is always the establishment that are against the expansion of suffrage because they deem it as a loss of their ancient inherited power to rule.

Long post, found to be a waste of time in the last paraphrase. (You would not know a paragraph obviously).

 

[Bulldog]

Long post, found to be a waste of time in the last paraphrase. (You would not know a paragraph obviously).

Would you like to comment on the contents of the post rather than appointing yourself as head of the NSC grammar hit squad?

Perhaps you are a perfect example of people who are desperate to prove your superiority over others and thus have the right to select who can vote and who can't?

 

[BensGrandad]

No offence, but I would ban Bensgrandad from voting as he is clearly a liability as he has proven over the years.

Good job nobody takes any notice of you then isnt it.

 

[Kaiser_Soze]

How is forcing people to vote democratic ?

People can vote or they can abstain if they don't wish to you a vote. There's no reason why people shouldn't be compelled to register a vote of some sort. It's compulsory in Australia.

 

[GingerBeerMan]

Good job nobody takes any notice of you then isnt it.

Based on your posts on this forum, I know many, many sixteen year-olds who are more well-placed to vote than you.

 

[BensGrandad]

Do I show my true colours on here No I play to the crowd to keep people posting as anybody who knows me would tell you.

 

[£1.99]

With age hopefully comes maturity and a more logical mind.

Shame this doesn't apply to you!

 

[catfish]

You're old enough to get your leg over and fight for your country at 16 so I don't see why you should be denied the vote.

 

[Blackadder]

Good thread.

Normally I would say no but I don't think this is cut and dried.

When I was 16, in the 6th form, I was borderline Communist. I had a weekend job at the local hospital and whilst I didn't pay tax, I did pay National Insurance.

Move on a couple of years and I got a job in Lloyds Bank and was old enough to have the vote. The first General Election came up and, to my eternal regret, I voted Maggie Thatcher in (I voted against in all subsequent elections). To be fair, The Callaghan labour govt were all over the place.

Anyway, back to topic. I moved from extreme left to extreme right in a couple of years. I am now slightly left of centre, like many I know.

Generally, I think 16 is too young but if He/She is working and paying taxes.... I am not so sure.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

No too immature and easily lead in the majority of cases. They will believe what suits them even if it is not practical.

Just like a lot of adults..?

 

[drew]

You're old enough to get your leg over and fight for your country at 16 so I don't see why you should be denied the vote.

Do 16 yr olds fight for their country? Thought you had to be 18 to serve on the front line!

 

[The Buttery Biscuit Base]

Given how they spectactularly managed to cock-up the Scottish result - No!

Maybe I'm missing your joke, but how can you mess up a yes/no referendum?

There isn't a right or wrong answer.