LABOUR IN FOR 'NASTY VOTER SURPRISE'

Reform's Nigel Farage predicts decision to give 16-year-olds the vote will backfire

- Jonathan Walker

GIVING the vote to 16-year-olds will backfire on Labour with "a nasty surprise", Nigel Farage has claimed.

Critics accused Sir Keir Starmer of trying to ensure he clings to power at the next election by dropping the voting age from 18.

But Mr Farage insisted that his Reform UK party was enjoying a surge in support from young people, and added of Labour's move: "It's an attempt to rig the political system, but we intend to give them a nasty surprise." Polling experts also claimed teenagers were rejecting Labour in favour of more radical alternatives such as the Green Party.

The voting age will be lowered for the next election, under plans announced by Sir Keir and Deputy PM Angela Rayner.

He said: "It's really important that 16 and 17-year-olds have the vote because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes." Electoral Reform Society campaigners welcomed the move, saying it would "strengthen democracy" and get young people into the habit of voting.

But Sir Simon Clarke, director of think-tank Onward, called Labour's announcement "a cynical attempt to rig the system in their favour".

The former Tory Communities Secretary said that it made no sense to enfranchise people who could not buy a pint or rent a flat.

He added: "Let's call it what it is: gerrymandering [electoral manipulation] in a school uniform." Younger people have traditionally been more inclined than the elderly to support Labour pollsters YouGov estimated 41% of voters aged 18 to 24 backed the party in 2024, compared with 28% of 60 to 69-year-olds.

However the current Labour administration may not be popular with youthful voters, said polling expert Prof Sir John Curtice.

He claimed: "Labour lost a lot of ground among the youngest age group at the last election.