Petition
A petition for a national referendum on the reduction of the voting age to 16
Rejected
19 signatures
What the petition asks
People younger than 18 years of age are consider by law to be children.
This petition calls for a referendum of the current UK electorate on whether the voting age should be reduced from 18 to 16 years of age.
This petition calls for a referendum of the current UK electorate on whether the voting age should be reduced from 18 to 16 years of age.
In the UK a person below the age of 18 is not allowed to make decisions on consuming alcohol or cigarettes and are banned from proscribed establishments such as sexually explicit entertainment venues. People under 18 years of age are not considered adult in many sectors of the law, including employment and criminality.
The law implies that a person younger than 18 has not reached maturity and requires state protection and guidance. This is incompatible with the proposed age reduction.
The law implies that a person younger than 18 has not reached maturity and requires state protection and guidance. This is incompatible with the proposed age reduction.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
You may wish to sign the following petition, which calls for similar action:
We call for a referendum before extending voting rights to 16 & 17-year-olds: We call for a referendum before extending voting rights to 16 & 17-year-olds
We call for a referendum before extending voting rights to 16 & 17-year-olds: We call for a referendum before extending voting rights to 16 & 17-year-olds
Timeline
| 21 Jul 2025 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 1 Aug 2025 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
19
Status
Rejected
Rejected
1 Aug 2025
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 8 Aug 2026.