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UK government to lower voting age to 16 before next national election despite strong conservative opposition
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The United Kingdom is lowering the voting age from 18 to 16 before the next national elections – a move which opposition figures decry as a way to sway the electorate to benefit the left.
The U.K. government, controlled by the Labour Party, announced Thursday that 16- and 17-year-olds will be given the right to vote as part of other new «seismic changes.» Other election reforms include extending voter ID to bank cards, issuing new rules meant to «guard against foreign political interference and abuse of campaigners,» and tightening laws restricting foreign donations to British political parties.
In an accompanying policy paper included in the announcement, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said that «declining trust in our institutions and democracy itself has become critical, but it is the responsibility of government to turn this around and renew our democracy, just as generations have done before us.»
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Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks at a civil society summit in London, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Frank Augstein, Pool)
«I think it’s really important that 16- and 17-year-olds have the vote because they’re old enough to go out to work, they’re old enough to pay taxes, so to pay in. And I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go,» British Prime Minister Keir Starmer told reporters on Thursday. «I’m really pleased that we’re able to bring more young people into our democracy.»
«Young people already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military. It’s only right they can have a say on the issues that affect them,» Rayner wrote on X. The deputy prime minister also elaborated in a statement, adding: «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.»
The minimum age of service in the British Armed Forces is 16, but those under 18 need written consent from a parent or guardian and may not be deployed to combat zones.
British opposition politicians accused the Labour Party of trying to manipulate the electorate in their favor by lowering the voting age.
«Why does this government think a 16‑year‑old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket or an alcoholic drink, marry or go to war, or even stand in the elections they’re voting?» Member of Parliament (MP) Paul Holmes, a conservative, said in the House of Commons on Thursday. «Isn’t the government’s position on the age of maturity just hopelessly confused?»
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Angela Rayner arrives in Downing Street to attend the weekly Cabinet meeting in London, United Kingdom on July 15, 2025. (Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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Holmes accused Labour of «governing by press release» and questioned whether allowing bank cards – which do not include photographs – as a form of voter ID will undermine security measures at the ballot box.
Nigel Farage, leader of the right-wing Reform UK Party, said giving 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote «is an attempt to rig the political system.»
«The problem with this is, not only do half of youngsters not want the vote, but they have to stay at school now until they’re 18,» Farage said in a video shared to X. «The educational establishment is full of left-wing prejudice, is full of anti-reform bias, and frankly, if 16 to 18 year olds at school are going to be able to vote, we’re going to have to make sure that our education system is teaching kids to make their own minds up and not indoctrinating them.»
The change still requires parliamentary approval but was a campaign promise by the Labour Party, which won last year’s general election and holds majority control. The next general election is in 2029.
Rayner noted that 16- and 17-year-olds can already vote in Scotland and Wales in local elections and country-level parliamentary elections. The minimum voting age for local elections in England and Northern Ireland is 18.
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, left, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hold a press conference during a visit to the Airbus factory in Stevenage, England, Thursday July 17, 2025. (Stefan Rousseau/Pool via AP)
In an opinion piece in the British newspaper «The Times,» Rayner, who was a single mother at the age of 16, said the change makes 1.6 million 16- and 17-year-olds eligible to vote in the United Kingdom, which has a population of roughly 68 million.
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«This is about fairness and transparency and giving the young a stake in our country’s future, bringing them into our communities, not excluding them,» Rayner wrote. «It’s about delivering on our manifesto to commitment to secure votes at 16. But it’s also about strengthening our electoral system so that it is fit for the 21st century — because we cannot take our democracy for granted.»
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Top Republican slams Katherine Clark for admitting suffering families are ‘leverage’ in shutdown battle
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EXCLUSIVE: A top House Republican is criticizing one of Democrats’ senior leaders for saying the government shutdown and its effects are a «leverage point» to accomplish their goals on healthcare.
«It’s appalling to see the number two House Democrat openly admit that the left is weaponizing hardworking Americans as ‘leverage’ for political gain, even acknowledging families will suffer in the process,» Republican Study Committee Chair August Pfluger, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital.
«This isn’t governance — it’s calculated hostage-taking, with struggling families caught in the balance as Democrats attempt to force through their radical agenda. Families are seen only as leverage by Democrats. We always knew it, now they’re saying it out loud. Absolutely shameful.»
House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., sat down for an interview with Fox News’ Chad Pergram last week. At one point, Clark was asked about who Americans would find responsible for the ongoing shutdown.
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Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger is criticizing House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s comments in a recent interview on the government shutdown. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
«I mean, shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have,» Clark responded.
«It is an inflection point in this budget process where we have tried to get the Republicans to meet with us and prioritize the American people, and it’s been an absolute refusal, and they were willing to let government shut down when they control the House, the Senate and the White House rather than come and talk about an issue as important to the American people is if they can afford healthcare.»
Fox News Digital reached out to Clark’s office for a response to Pfluger’s comments.
The government is in a shutdown after Congress failed to reach an agreement on federal funding. (Getty Images)
The government shutdown is now in its 23rd day after Senate Democrats rejected the GOP’s federal funding bill for a 12th time on Wednesday evening.
Republicans proposed a measure that would keep federal funding roughly flat until Nov. 21, a spending patch called a continuing resolution (CR), so that negotiators would have more time to strike a longer-term deal on fiscal year (FY) 2026.
The bill passed the House largely along partisan lines on Sept. 19.
But Democrats have been pushing for any funding deal to include an extension of Obamacare subsidies that were enhanced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Those enhancements are set to expire at the end of 2025.
Republican leaders have signaled a willingness to negotiate on those subsidies, but have ruled out doing so in the current package.
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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on the 10th day of the federal government shutdown in Washington, Oct. 10, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)
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«Mike Johnson said, we have an eternity to talk about this, an eternity. This impact of the ACA is in the next few weeks,» Clark said. «Yes, there are repercussions to a shutdown that are terrible for people.»
She continued, «I feel for military families that even if they get paid, you know, there are lots of spouses that also work that are feeling these cuts because we’ve encouraged military spouses to become federal workers to accommodate all the travel and moving that military families so frequently experience. And now we’re saying to them, you’re not going to be paid for your work. I mean, let’s get it together here. The Republicans need to come to town. They need to sit down with us.»
Republicans have seized on Clark’s comments in recent days, however.
House GOP Chairwoman Lisa McClain, R-Mich., said in a statement on Wednesday, «Democrats are holding American families hostage to advance their political agenda, and they’re admitting it.»
house of representatives politics,politics,republicans,government shutdown
Transporte
Un semisumergible en exhibición en una base naval de Guayaquil, Ecuador, el 19 de octubre de 2025. Una exhibición de embarcaciones confiscadas en una base naval de Ecuador ofrece un vistazo a por qué es tan difícil detener el narcotráfico. (Daniele Volpe/The New York Times)Amenaza
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Louvre director grilled on spectacular security failures, including camera pointing away from key balcony
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The director of Paris’ iconic Louvre Museum is facing scrutiny over apparent security failures that allowed thieves to make off with more than $100 million worth of jewels.
In her first public address since the heist, Louvre Museum director Laurence des Cars acknowledged there was a «terrible failure» and said, «Despite our efforts, despite our hard work on a daily basis, we failed,» The Guardian reported.
Des Cars admitted that security around the Louvre’s perimeter was an issue and that the only camera monitoring the outside of the museum was facing away from the balcony that led to the gallery where the precious jewels were kept, according to reports. The Guardian also noted that des Cars confirmed all the museum’s alarms were functioning during the burglary.
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Louvre Museum director Laurence des Cars made her first public remarks since the recent jewelry heist at a press conference on Oct. 22, 2025, in Paris, France. (Edward Berthelot/Getty Images)
«We failed these jewels,» des Cars said, according to the BBC. The outlet also quoted the director as saying that no one is safe from «brutal thieves — not even the Louvre.»
On Sunday, burglars appeared to use a truck-mounted electric furniture lift to conduct the heist, Laure Beccuau, the Paris prosecutor, said in an interview with RTL radio, according to The New York Times. She added that the thieves obtained the lift by pretending it was for a move. Additionally, Beccuau noted that it would not be easy for burglars to sell the stolen jewels for what they’re worth if they tear the pieces apart or melt them, according to the Times.
Police secure the area outside the Louvre Museum in Paris, where burglars used a truck-mounted moving lift to reach a second floor window and steal royal jewelry valued at more than $100 million. (Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
HOW LOUVRE BURGLARS OBTAINED TRUCK-MOUNTED LIFT TO MAKE OFF WITH JEWELS WORTH MORE THAN $100M
The thieves got away with a total of eight objects, including a sapphire diadem, necklace and single earring from a set linked to 19th-century queens Marie-Amélie and Hortense. They also stole an emerald necklace and earrings tied to Empress Marie-Louise, Napoleon Bonaparte’s second wife, and a reliquary brooch. Empress Eugénie’s diamond diadem and her large corsage-bow brooch — an imperial ensemble of rare craftsmanship — were also part of the loot.
«The theft committed at the Louvre is an attack on a heritage that we cherish, for it is our history,» French President Emmanuel Macron said in an X post on Sunday. «We will recover the works, and the perpetrators will be brought to justice. Everything is being done, everywhere, to achieve this, under the leadership of the Paris prosecutor’s office.»
Forensic police officers arrive at the Louvre Museum after reports of a robbery in Paris, France, on Oct. 19, 2025. (Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters)
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The heist has prompted a national reckoning, with some officials comparing the shock to the 2019 burning of Notre Dame cathedral. Beccuau told RTL radio that the team investigating the heist had grown from 60 investigators to 100, underscoring the importance of the case on national and international levels.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
crime,france,emmanuel macron,museums exhibits
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