Teenage Kicks

‘IT is hardly a big leap of imagination to go from the school playground to the chamber of the House Of Commons - and soon it may not be a big leap of fact either.

‘If I have to kiss another bloody politician…’

The Times reports that the Electoral Commission is to recommend allowing teenagers to stand for Parliament by lowering the minimum age from 21 to 18 or even younger.

The paper says its recommendations are likely to be adopted by the Labour party, with activists pushing for a commitment to lowering both the voting age and candidacy age to 16.

Liberal Democrat MP Matthew Green says the current system, whereby people can vote at 18 but cannot stand for election until they’re 21, is an anomaly and is backing the proposals.

‘It does not mean there will be a rash of MPs aged 16 or 17,’ he said, ‘but if the odd teenager got on to local councils it would be a good thing.

‘When you walk into most council chambers, the majority of councillors are collecting pensions. It would be good to balance things up.’

And also to point the councillors in the direction of the nearest Post Office.’

Posted: 13th, April 2004 | In: Broadsheets Comment | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink