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- Modernisation of UK democracy will see 16 and 17 year olds able to vote in next general election
- Voter ID to be extended to include bank cards to help more people exercise their democratic right
- Tougher new rules to guard against foreign political interference and abuse of campaigners
Sixteen year olds will be given the right to vote in all UK elections as part of seismic changes to modernise UK democracy, delivering a key manifesto commitment and helping to restore trust in politics through our Plan for Change.
This will mean young people, who already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military, will be given the right to vote on the issues that affect them. This will bring UK-wide elections in line with Scotland and Wales and is a major step towards meeting a manifesto commitment, ushering in the biggest change to UK democracy in a generation.
The plans, published today [17 July] in a new strategy paper, will boost democratic engagement in a changing world, and help to restore trust in UK democracy.
As part of the plans, the government is going further to make sure eligible voters are not deterred from voting, by expanding voter ID to permit the use of UK-issued bank cards as an accepted form of ID at the polling station. This is alongside harnessing more digital options to support voters and polling station staff, including allowing accepted IDs such as the Veteran Card and UK driving licence to be used at polling stations when they become available in digital format.
A new digital Voter Authority Certificate will also be created to ensure Electoral Registration Officers can meet the digital needs of voters, reduce printing costs and ensure faster delivery.
An increasingly automated voter registration system will also make it easier for people to register to vote and reduce the need to fill out their details across different government services on multiple occasions.
Major new changes will boost transparency and accountability in politics by closing loopholes that would allow foreign donors via ‘shell companies’ to influence UK political parties. Meanwhile, new requirements on unincorporated associations will mandate checks on donations over £500 to tackle foreign interference and protect UK democracy from those who attempt to undermine it.
Alongside this, the reforms will allow the Electoral Commission to take action and enforce heavier fines of up to £500,000 on those who breach political finance rules, and enable tougher sentences for those who abuse election campaigners – stabilising the foundations of UK democracy.
Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said
“For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline.
“We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy, supporting our Plan for Change, and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give sixteen year olds the right to vote.
“We cannot take our democracy for granted, and by protecting our elections from abuse and boosting participation we will strengthen the foundations of our society for the future.”
Minister for Democracy, Rushanara Ali, said
“We are modernising our democracy, so that it is fit for the 21st century. By delivering our manifesto commitment to extend the vote to 16 and 17 year olds, we are taking a generational step forward in restoring public trust and boosting engagement in UK democracy, supporting our Plan for Change.
“By reinforcing safeguards against foreign interference, we will strengthen our democratic institutions and protect them for future generations.”
Alongside expanding the right to vote, we are going further to restore and maintain public trust by ensuring elections are as accessible as possible for legitimate voters.
That’s why the government is making common sense changes to move towards an automated electoral registration system, stripping complexities and barriers for voters to make their lives easier. Learning from countries such as Australia and Canada, which have high rates of legitimate voter registration via automated systems, the government will bring the UK’s democracy into the 21st century.
At the same time, far too many people are being deterred from voting because of voter ID rules, with the Electoral Commission finding that 4% of non-voters at the 2024 General Election saying that a lack of voter ID was a key reason they didn’t vote, equating to around three quarters of a million people across Great Britain.
Boosting participation is crucial to restoring faith in democracy, and adding the Veteran ID card last year to the accepted forms of Voter ID was just the start of this. Through the new plans, the government is going further to allow UK-issued bank cards to be used as ID when voting, making it far easier for more voters to meet the requirements.
This change will allow us to continue to protect the integrity of the UK electoral system, while allowing greater accessibility. Bank cards, which are issued after the applicant has passed necessary security checks for a bank account, will add a widely and commonly carried item to the range of documents already accepted. Research on the ownership of bank cards shows that over 96% of the UK population has a bank account, with the majority expected to also have a bank card.
These measures will strike the right balance by continuing to protect voters from the risk of impersonation, while also removing barriers to ensure legitimate voters are not prevented or discouraged from exercising their right to vote.
Another key aspect of the reforms is ensuring UK democracy is protected and all voters, candidates, campaigners and electoral staff are safe from intimidation, harassment and abuse.
This behaviour is on the rise, particularly against women and ethnic minorities – with recent Electoral Commission research showing 55% of candidates at the 2024 General Election experienced abuse. The reforms will crack down on these unacceptable practices, delivering tougher sentences for those who intimidate campaigners and stronger protections for candidates in public life by removing the requirement for their home address to be published and openly available.
This supports ongoing work including through the Defending Democracy Taskforce, which was given a new mandate by the Prime Minister to coordinate and drive forward government’s response to the full range of threats to UK democracy.
That includes working across government with the police, parliamentary authorities, and the Electoral Commission to actively review our levers to tackle the harassment and intimidation of elected representatives, candidates, and electoral staff.
In relation to political finance, the changes being brought by the government will effectively meet an evolving and sophisticated threat of illicit money being funnelled from abroad to political parties. Tough new rules will ensure that in the future, ‘shell companies’ will not be permitted to make political donations to UK political parties.
This will end the status quo, where a new company registered today, owned by anyone, funded from anywhere, without even a single day of trade, can donate and have influence in UK politics.
The introduction of ‘Know your Donor’ checks will increase scrutiny of donations, requiring recipients to conduct enhanced checks to decrease the risk of illegitimate donations entering our system, guarding against foreign interference. This will close loopholes, reinforce our democracy and protect our citizens from those who seek to undermine and harm our society.
Further information
- To deliver these changes, we will bring forward an elections bill. The bill will deliver the Government’s manifesto commitments and wider ambitions set out in this Strategy by putting in place the legislation required for these important reforms.
- A subsequent programme of secondary legislation will set out the detail for implementation and we will provide more detail on implementation timings in due course.
