Labour has long been the great reforming force in politics, challenging conventional thinking, taking on the status quo and questioning the rights and wrongs in society. Throughout the 20th century we fought the ills of social injustice and took on prejudices. But not only were we a party of social reformers, but one of constitutional reformers as well. From 1997 we reshaped the UK’s constitution, from devolution to Lords reform to the Human Rights Act. Now it’s time for Labour’s next great challenge: to extend the voting franchise to 16- and 17-year-olds.

A view commonly held by people of my age is that politics is irrelevant to them, simply because they cannot shape nor have a say in its outcome. Many have questioned, perhaps rightly, why they should listen to the politicians, when they make no effort to listen to them. There is no incentive and no opportunity for young people to get directly involved in the political process. They are told to wait patiently until they reach 18 before they can take part democracy.

And yet these very disenfranchised young people, between the ages of 16 and 17, contribute just short of £50 million a year in taxes. The scandal of so many people helping to fill the public coffers with their earnings yet being denied any say over how their earnings are spent is totally unjust. As the party that fights injustices, Labour needs to be firmly and convincingly calling for this to change, and for young people, aged 16 and 17, to be enfranchised.

Young people are forever told by the political establishment to take responsibility, to get involved in politics, to put down our Xbox remotes and take to CLP meetings in droves. Yet we are deemed just not quite responsible enough to have a say in the direction of our country. Responsible enough to marry, join the army or pay taxes, but not quite responsible enough to vote. Young people will take responsibility, but it cuts both ways.

We promised a free vote in this parliament on reducing the voting age to 16 in our last election manifesto and Ed Miliband has been clear that he personally supports this reform.  With Liberal Democrat support (unless this is to be yet another issue on which they have sold out) there is scope for cross-party pressure for this vote to take place. If 16-year-olds were to be given the vote, governments would no longer be at liberty to abuse young people’s silence by hitting them hardest, as the current government has done – not least in withdrawing the EMA.

Introducing votes at 16 would prove to disenfranchised young people that the political establishment wants to listen to their opinions. By denying 16-year-olds the vote we are alienating them from our democracy instead of getting them involved early. There should be a cut-off, but to fight against political apathy and for fairness in the electoral system, that cut-off should be 16.

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Rory Weal is chair of Kent Young Labour and tweets @roryweal

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