Teenage clicks: how parties will try to woo young voters

With the voting age set to fall to 16, the next general election will present a fresh challenge to politicians in Westminster

- HARRIETTE BOUCHER

Keir Starmer has vowed to reduce the voting age to 16 by the next election, opening the door for more than a million teenagers to have their say about the leadership of the country.

The impact could be seismic. Last year's election saw dozens of MPs win their seats by small margins - including seven seats which were decided by fewer than 100 votes - and the introduction of this new cohort of young voters could be decisive in key areas.

Seasoned election strategists say this new politically valuable group of voters is up for grabs, but the key question for parties across the political spectrum will be how to appeal to these younger voters and convince them that they are the best option to govern the country.

The shift to targeting young teenagers with political messaging online requires a different approach from older voters, and could spark a fresh wave of ethical concerns on how they can target the under-18s.

Political campaigner Sean Topham knows how to win an election. His ad agency Topham Guerin was involved in the election campaigns of former prime minister Boris Johnson, Australia's former prime minister Scott Morrison, and New Zealand's current prime minister Christopher Luxon, all of which led to victory.

They even helped to develop Johnson's parodied "Love Actually" ad that urged Britain to vote for the Conservatives to get Brexit done.

They even helped to develop Johnson's parodied "Love Actually" ad that urged Britain to vote for the Conservatives to get Brexit done.