Would you trust a 16 year old with a country ?
By Traceyjayne
@Traceyjayne (3288)
United Kingdom
July 17, 2025 5:32pm CST
So, today in the UK we have heard the news that the Government have said that 16 and 17 year olds will now be able to vote ….
I don’t want some hormonal crazed, pimple popping, wet behind the ears, who think they know everything but infact know nothing individual making decisions that can change the whole course of our entire country !
What are your thoughts …..
11 people like this
11 responses
@Vikingswest1 (6929)
• United States
15h
I wouldn't trust a sixteen year old with my car, much less a country.
16 year old kids do not have the experience and aren't normally aware of the consequences of bad decisions. I was 16 once and I wouldn't trust that version of myself.
I'm surprised that the leaders in the UK have thought this was a good idea.
2 people like this
@Traceyjayne (3288)
• United Kingdom
15h
Unfortunately the leaders in the UK are idiots !
3 people like this
@Ineeddentures (10911)
•
14h
Well
Why shouldn't they vote
They can get married, join the military
Tell them they can get killed fighting for us
But can't vote!!
Aye right
Let them.marry and have kids who will go to schools
But don't let them have a say on what they think of the manifestos on offer
Let them work and pay taxes, but don't give them a say on how the money they pay is spent
Our 16 year olds are quite the enlightened generation
They deserve to be trusted to vote, given all they can already do it should have been anything they could do years ago
I applaud the Government for making this decision
But hey, now the side that doesn't have the winning party can blame the kids for their own candidates and parties short comings
The times they are a changing
We should all get used to it
@Ineeddentures (10911)
•
14h
@Traceyjayne
No
They are not idiots, none of them
The idiots are the backward thinking insular wee people in England scared of real change
My degree is Economics and Politics
And I would have advocated for this change under Thatcher.
Milton Friedman would have approved, and he wasnt an idiot either.
Alex Salmond certainly was no idiot and he first brought this up in the 90,s
If you let them serve in the military, pay taxes, get married, have kids,
Then you have to by default start listening to them at the ballot box.
I bet more of them are more au fait with each parties policies than you , or Imight be
@Deepizzaguy (111982)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
15h
A 16 year old child is not ready to decide who to vote for in my opinion.
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (111982)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
10h
@Ineeddentures I got it. Like I always say "Different strokes for different folks"
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (10911)
•
14h
@Traceyjayne
You might have been a child at 16
I.was in the military
My brother was married and was a father
My mother had me before she was 16 and carved out a very good legal career for herself
The stereo types you use are as dated as your attitudes.
So there,!!
Lol
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (3288)
• United Kingdom
15h
It certainly is real ….i honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing …..
I wouldn’t trust some of them to feed my goldfish ….certainly not vote on such important decisions
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (10911)
•
14h
Whoa hang on Tracey Jayne
They can join our military and get married
Let them vote
They might just get it right where we have got it wrong for so long
It's their country too, let them.have a say
@Traceyjayne (3288)
• United Kingdom
2h
Hang on there yourself …..
Whether or not they can join up …or get married, which is only if a parent agrees, is not the issue. Many ‘people’ of that age are not mentally, emotionally, or intellectually ready for such ….they do not have the insight to ‘ real life ‘.
Teenagers today are very different from teenagers in yesteryear. Although they seem streetwise and knowledgable they are often not. I would want people with experience and knowledge of the world and how things work before they have such an important say.
1 person likes this
@Traceyjayne (3288)
• United Kingdom
1h
@Ineeddentures
What is the point in having a go at the English ! …..especially when you only quote housing estates. All of merry England is not like that.
The put in your pipe and smoke it attitude is typical of people who think they are right therefore everyone else must be wrong.
I don’t think a 16 year old should have the same rights as me to vote. For all the points previously mentioned.
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (10911)
•
2h
@Traceyjayne
More insight Intoo real life than the little Englanders who think they know it all.
I'm glad they are.getting the vote
And you naysayers can put it in the proverbial pipe and puff away in disdain
Give the youngsters the power to decide
It's high time we had a different perspective
And a 16 year old now has exactly the same rights to vote as me or you.
And the people who took the decision to make it law .are to be applauded
Oh and another thing
On my travels I have met more as thick as sh1t people on housing estates in England who only know about Labour because the dole used to be called the labour exchange
Power to the youth.
@Ineeddentures (10911)
•
1h
Now
When the UK public voted the Labour Party into power in the last general election
Part of the Labour Party Manifesto did say that Democracy in the UK would be modernised and that 16 year olds would be given the vote to bring them into line with Scotland and Wales where people of that age have had the vote for some time
So this was a democratic decision based on an election promise stated in black and white in a party which would win the elections Manifesto.
No good bringing something up that we all knew was going to happen almost 2 years ago.
Of course maybe.your total disinterest in politics and political matters resulted in you not being aware it was a Manifesto pledge by the Labour Party
And that is typical of what see continually see from South of the Border
People seemingly surprised by Manifesto promises actually being carried out.
@Traceyjayne (3288)
• United Kingdom
1h
I wasn’t aware , but think it’s unfair to say …total disinterest.
However, whether it was said or not , I don’t think it’s the right decision….and I have the right to say do.
Just because the decision was mentioned or made previously doesn’t make it right or mean I have to agree with it.
I am not bringing something up which was talked about two years ago ….i saw the article on the news yesterday….and then posted straight away.
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (10911)
•
50m
@Traceyjayne
People voted for parties based on what was promised in the Manifesto
So democracy prevailed.
The Labour party won
And decided to bring your nation , lol, into line with Scotland and Wales.
It was talked about two years ago.
Quite a lot as it was seen as important at the time.
@snowy22315 (192955)
• United States
3m
Brains aren't even fully developed until 25. What's the reason for the change?
@Traceyjayne (3288)
• United Kingdom
Just now
No idea why they have changed it but it doesn't seem like a good idea to me. I agree with you .
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (153609)
• United States
11h
No, I wouldn't trust a 16 year old to vote but I don't trust the 70-something in charge of the US to run a country competently, either. Both ends of the age spectrum can be stupid as all get out! I might feel differently when I get that old but I'm not stupid, either.
I do think some of the laws here and there are misplaced, though. We let 18 year olds drive tanks and fight in wars but don't trust them to drink responsibly.
@LooeyVille (50)
• United States
3h
Coincidentally I just saw that news article this morning and also wrote about it. I think it's crazy
