Voting age

There was a rising level of interest in this issue following the Scottish Independence Referendum, although most polls do show that a majority of adults oppose the change. In the 16-18 cohort, there is a modest majority of 16 year olds in favour, 17 year olds are evenly balanced, and 18 year olds are against.

In the UK there is no single moment when someone moves from childhood to adulthood. Instead responsibilities and permitted activities build up over time. For example, a person must be 17 before they can leave home without parents' consent or hold a license to drive and 18 before they can sit on a jury or buy alcohol. I think this illustrates that, so far, we have viewed attainting adulthood as a process rather than a single event.

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