The answer to the question, "If 16 and 17-year-olds can join the Armed Forces or get married, then why can't they vote?" is to stop them from joining the Armed Forces or getting married.
And how can they still be paying tax, if the school leaving age has gone up? Like their leaving home, that was unusual even 20 years ago. It is practically impossible now.
The great Labour landslides of 1945 and 1966 were before the lowering of the voting age to 18. As were the skin-of-their-teeth Labour victories of 1950 and 1964, and as was the winning of the popular vote in 1951.
Whereas that lowering led to an unexpected Conservative victory in 1970. It took Labour two attempts to scrape home in 1974, after which it did not win again for 23 years.
All in all, keeping the voting age where it is sounds just fine and dandy.
But all resident Commonwealth citizens to have a vote? Their countries' ties to Britain can be distinctly tenuous, or, in the case of Mozambique, nonexistent.
The Commonwealth has not been about us for a very long time. In many ways, even the Queen belongs to the world these days.
Either British Citizens only, and possibly also Irish ones in Northern Ireland. Or everyone legally here. Over the age of 18, of course.
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