News NI political reporter
Liam McBurney/PAPeople aged 16 and 17 will be able to vote in future Stormont and council elections in Northern Ireland.
However, plans to lower the voting age to 16 are unlikely to be implemented in time for the next Northern Ireland Assembly election in 2027, the Electoral Commission has said.
The Westminster government has announced a change to the voting age for general elections and the next one is expected in 2029, whereas Northern Ireland’s next assembly and local council elections are due in 2027.
Several Stormont parties welcomed the plans to change the voting age, but there have been calls for the change to be made sooner.
The minimum voting age is already 16 for local council elections in Scotland and Wales, and elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament).
However for other elections, including to the UK Parliament, local elections in England and all elections in Northern Ireland, it is 18.
An Electoral Commission spokeswoman said: “The lowering of the voting age will apply to all elections in Northern Ireland, including Westminster, assembly and council elections.
“The change is expected to be in place for the 2029 Westminster elections, but it’s unlikely to be implemented ahead of the 2027 assembly and local council elections in Northern Ireland.”
What have Stormont parties said?
The Stormont assembly has twice supported a motion calling for changes to the voting age – first in 2012 and again last year, but without the support of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) leader Claire Hanna welcomed the extension of voting to 16 and 17-year-olds.
“At this age many young people are already out working part-time or contributing to our society in other ways and it’s important this has been recognised in the form of voting rights,” the MP for South Belfast and Mid Down said.
In a post on X, First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she welcomed the news and that it was a “step forward for democracy and will enable young people to have a say in their future”.
O’Neill said she would “now be contacting the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, urging him to ensure that the right to vote at 16 applies to the 2027 Assembly and Council elections in the north”.
Alliance Party assembly member Sian Mulholland said the “disenfranchisement of our society’s young people” has been a “major democratic deficit”.
“However, time is of the essence and we need urgent clarification that it will be a priority to see this implemented in time for the next NI Assembly election in 2027. We cannot afford any further delay,” she added.
DUP MLA Brian Kingston said it is “not clear how the Government can justifiably set the voting age at 16 rather than the current age threshold”.
“The prime minister’s rationale for this move is essentially a ‘no taxation without representation’ argument,” he said.
“It is high time the government applied the same logic to Northern Ireland, where taxpayers here have no say on laws imposed by the European Union,” Kingston said.
In April, Secretary of State Hilary Benn said the government was “absolutely committed” to changing the law in Northern Ireland, but he did not give a timeframe.
The change is part of a raft of measures being introduced through a new Elections Bill, including changes to forms of voter ID and tightening rules on political donations to protect against foreign interference.
