By Joe McCann
A FIERCE debate over lowering of the voting age to 16 and 17 year olds caused a rift amongst local councillors who ultimately rejected the notion of enfranchising younger people.
A notice of motion was put to councillors on Ards and North Down Council’s Corporate Services Committee by SDLP councillor Joe Boyle which called for councillors to agree with the lowering of the voting age for 16 and 17 year-olds for Westminster, Assembly and Council elections and for the First and Deputy First Minister to write to the UK government for them to implement this in time for the 2027 Council and Assembly elections.
Proposing the idea, councillor Joe Boyle said: “Young people march, they organise and campaign for change. They care deeply about the future and are often ahead of politicians on major issues like climate inequality. Letting them vote could shift our politics to a better, reflect their needs and priorities.
“The arguments against votes at 16 are the same ones used and since disproven when the vote was lowered to 18. Scotland and Wales have already led the way. It’s time that Northern Ireland caught up.
“These young people can work, pay tax and serve in the armed forces and get married. They should have a right to have a say in the future that we are trying to create for them. They have a right to help shape that future through voting.”
Seconding the motion, Alliance councillor Hannah Irwin said: “Votes at 16 and 17 is something I feel particularly strongly about as a young person in politics, as the youngest member of this council.
“I got engaged in politics at about 16 years old. It’s about building confidence in young people, building resilience, and so much of that comes with being politically engaged.” The motion was however opposed by the DUP who stated that giving voting rights to young people would rob them of their childhood and force them to grow up too soon.
Opposing the motion, DUP Alderman Stephen McIlveen said: “I have consistently disagreed with extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year olds and I remain of that view.
“We should be cherishing childhood. And we seem wanting to force them to grow up and burden them with the responsibilities of adulthood. Instead, we should be allowing them the time and space to develop as individuals.”
Alderman McIlveen next listed a number of things which 16 and 17 year olds cannot do, such as drink alcohol or buy tobacco, marry without permission, work longer than 40 hours per week, take out a loan or mortgage or serve on a jury.
He concluded, stating he believed left-wing parties were advocating for this because they believed young people to be more politically progressive.
He said: “I thought it was very interesting whenever the mover of the motion said about they’re much more progressive at that stage, and isn’t it interesting that the left-wing parties are the ones who are pushing for the lowering of these ages.”
Agreeing with this, Independent councillor Stephen Irvine said he believed in letting kids be kids and said that while young people can work at that age, they are only beginning their careers and trades.
DUP Alderman Alan Graham stated he believed some young people lacked political maturity and said young people can develop at different speeds, and worried that some young people had been influenced by far-right ideology.
“Young people can mature at different speeds, some are very mature for their age but I have heard of some young people about 16 years of age, having a fascination for some of the far right politics, which to my mind is very, very disturbing, very dangerous. It’s because of immaturity. It’s because they haven’t had life experience.”
The motion fell with 10 councillors voting against the motion and only four voting for it, with one absence. Expressing his disappointment in the vote, councillor Joe Boyle said: “I’m disappointed at some of the things that I’ve heard. I think it completely sends out the wrong message.”
He continued: “I think something that maybe crept out was maybe the fear of voting for other parties. I think that’s really the whole thrust behind it, keeping 16 to 17 year olds off that voting page. I think it’s negative thinking from this Council, but not a surprising one, because we are a little bit Bally-go-backwards in this Council on some issues.
“I do look forward to the day in the not-so-distant future when 16 and 17 year olds can walk the streets of ours in North Down, can count themselves as important within our Council area, can count themselves that they can go and exercise their right to vote.”
