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Government of Wales Bill

moved Amendment No. 23:"Page 8, line 14, at end insert—" ““(1A) For the purposes of subsection (1), section 2 of the Representation of the People Act 1983 (c. 2) (local government electors) shall have effect as if for subsection (1)(d) there were substituted— ““(d) is of voting age (that is, 16 years or over)””.”” The noble Lord said: We regard Amendment No. 23 as very important as it would mean a voting age of 16 years or over. That is the main point of the amendment. It is extremely important because we believe that the non-participation of young people in elections must be reversed. One reason for that is the increasing maturity of young people who, in their middle teens, very often are frustrated by not being able to participate in the political process. The amendment would give young people an increased interest in politics. I joined a political party at the age of 15. One reason was that the leader of the party was arguing for world government, which undoubtedly will not be achieved in my lifetime nor probably in my grandchildren’s lifetime, but it is a worthy objective; the creation of a European Union—that was in 1950—and a parliament for Wales, which judging by the kind of debate that we have had today, possibly will now occur in my lifetime. We have been championing these causes for the past 50 years or so. If young people, and 16 year-olds in particular, are given the right the vote, then they will participate in the political process and develop the habit of voting. Indeed, many of us have seen, particularly when visiting schools and looking at mock elections, especially at the time of general elections, that young people are extremely keen on participating in the political process. Sometimes, when they reach their later teens, they are not motivated because earlier in their lives they have not developed the habit of voting. This amendment is an extremely worthy one, to achieve that aim for the Welsh Assembly. Amendment No. 25 is a tidying-up amendment and puts people involved in parliamentary service or in the employ of the Assembly Government on exactly the same footing as those in the Civil Service. It extends the list of those disqualified from being Assembly Members. I beg to move.