votes at 16

At 16, you can become a full member of The Co-operative and have a say in how our business is run. We believe that young people should be trusted and empowered to have a say in decisions that affect them. That's why we're campaigning for the voting age to be lowered to 16.

Video transcript – Votes at 16 documentary

young campaigners calling for votes at 16

Three passionate young campaigners starred in a TV documentary backed by our campaign, exploring whether the voting age should be lowered.

The film followed 17-year-old Tyrone, looking to stamp out homophobic bullying in schools, Rowan, 16, calling for radical changes in the recycling laws, and James, also 16, wanting to reverse the negative image of his generation.

During their campaigns, the young people consulted with leading politicians and opinion formers, including Theresa May, Home Secretary and Caroline Lucas, the first elected Green MP.

The three young campaigners travelled all over the country meeting fellow campaigners and people of power and influence to put their campaigns across- with impressive results.

From persuading journalists to think more about how they represent young people in the media, to acting as police and Government advisers, these young people are not only opinionated and fired up by issues that are important to them, but they are politically engaged, active, and worthy of the vote.

At 16 you can even marry or sleep with your MP. If you can do all these things and not actually vote for your MP on things that do actually affect you directly, I think that’s a great injustice, and definitely something that needs to be sorted out - Tyrone, 17

You can watch the full documentary on Community Channel online (opens in new window).

Find out more about our Votes at 16 campaign and join in our Votes at 16 discussion via our Facebook page (opens in a new window).