| 1 |
The current age of 18 has been in place since 1970, when the 1969 Representation of People Act came into effect and reduced the age from 21. |
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| 2 |
Citizenship education is now a compulsory part of the national curriculum in England at key stages 3 and 4 (from the age of eleven to sixteen) and it is an optional part of the curriculum for key stages 1 and 2 (from the age of five to eleven). |
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| 3 |
 There is a great inconsistency about the age at which a person gains various civil rights. Before a person can vote, at the age of 18, they can:
-Leave school (16)
-Take up full time employment (16)
-Get married (16)
-Leave home (16)
-Claim some benefits if they need them (16)
-Join the armed forces (16)
-Learn to drive a car (17)
-Pay taxes (16) |
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| 4 |
A number of countries use the voting age of 16,including Brazil, Nicaragua, Cuba and Bosnia Herzegovina. Indonesia has a voting age of 17. There are moves in Austria to lower the voting age to 16. |
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| 5 |
The Electoral Commission was asked by the government to set up a consultation and report back. When the report was published in April 2004 it recommended that the voting age should remain at 18. |
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| 6 |
Depending on the timing of general elections, a person eligible to vote at 18 may not get the chance to vote until they are 23. |
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| 7 |
Local councils have started to debate having policy on lowering the voting age. |
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| 8 |
There are 81 current members of the House of Commons who benefited directly from the last lowering of the voting age in 1970. These include Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes and former Conservative Trade and Industry Secretary John Redwood. |
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| 9 |
The Isle of Man, the first country in the world to introduce votes for women, lowered the official voting age to 16 in 2006. |
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| 10 |
England has over 11 million children and young people- that's about one in five of the population! |
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