Scottish teens to cast symbolic vote

Date: 25th October 2012
Category: Respect for the views of the child

Scotland will cast its independence vote in 2014 and, for the first time, 16-year-olds will head to the polls. Though they're unlikely to swing the vote, Europe will be listening closely to what they have to say.

To some young people in the United Kingdom, the harrumphing going on around them is almost unbearable. Parents, professors, grandparents, and politicians across the generations are voicing their concern: The sky may fall when 16- and 17-year-olds in Scotland are allowed to cast a ballot in the 2014 Scottish independence vote.

"If the franchise is to be extended, is it not inevitable not least that it will bring politics into our schools?" a worried Lord Forsyth asked in the British Parliament's House of Lords earlier this month.

• Read the full article here.