Labour Pledges Votes for 16-Year-Olds and Abolition of the House of Lords

Labour has proposed changes to the UK’s democratic mechanisms, including lowering the voting age to 16 and replacing the House of Lords with a chamber of “regions and nations.” Launched by party leader Sir Keir Starmer on Thursday, the manifesto says a Labour government would “increase the engagement of young people” in the democratic process by extending the franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds, giving them “the right to vote in all elections.” Smaller, left-wing parties including the Green Party and Liberal Democrats have made similar promises. But with polling consistently suggesting a comfortable win for Labour on July 4, the pledge could become government policy....