The wheels of democracyA system of government based on the idea of rule by the people. are turning in Britain. On Wednesday evening, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stood in the pouring rain and announced a surprise July general election.

Sunak could have waited for a better moment. PollsWhen people are asked what their opinion is on a certain topic or who they are voting for in an election. suggest his party will lose. But he has placed his fate in the hands of the electorateAll the people eligible for voting in a country..

Globally, however, democracy is in poor health. The United States might even slide into autocracyA society ruled by a single person or group with absolute power.: neoconservativeRelating to or denoting a return to a form of a traditional viewpoint, in particular a politics characterised by an emphasis on free-market capitalism and an interventionist foreign policy. scholar and commentator Robert Kagan believes that a Trump dictatorship is "increasingly inevitable".

Across democracies, people are growing dissatisfied with their political system. And no-one is more alienated from electoral politics than the young.

Political advocacyGiving support to help others express their views and wishes, and to stand up for their rights. organisation Freedom House reports that young people are "voting less, rejecting party membership and telling researchers that their country's leaders aren't working in their interests". In one UNUnited Nations. An intergovernmental organisation based in New York that aims to maintain international peace and security. global survey, 76% of under-30s said that politicians do not listen to them.

Politics is dominated by the old. The current medianThe median is the middle point in a group of numbers: half of the numbers are smaller than the median and half are larger. age of world leaders is 62. In the United States this November, a 81-year old will battle a 78-year old to keep his presidency.

Europe has a dramatically ageing population. People are living longer and having fewer children. As the proportion of young people decreases, so does their democratic voice - one that is often at odds with the views of older voters.¹

Young people, says politics professor David Runciman, are "massively outnumbered, resulting in an inbuilt bias against governments who plan for the future".

In Britain, youth turnout in elections is notoriously low. In the 2019 UK general election, just 47% of 18-24 year olds voted, as opposed to 74% of those over 75.² 

Some think that radical change is needed. One is expanding the electorate. Labour leader Keir Starmer has claimed he would lower the voting age to 16 if Labour won power. This would follow countries such as Austria and Brazil.

In Britain, 16 year olds can join the army, work full-time, get married and open a bank account. Surely someone who can take on such responsibilities should be able to have a say in how their country is run?

The 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum let 16 year olds vote. Research has found that Scots who were enfranchised at 16 have continued to vote in higher numbers than those who were only able to vote from 18. As AristotleA student of Plato, tutor to Alexander the Great and the father of political philosophy. wrote: "Good habits formed at youth make all the difference."

Not everyone is on board. Opponents of change point out that many of the freedoms given to 16 year olds require parental permission. They say that young people might be easily influenced by parents or other authority figures. 

Younger voters might be prone to chasing popular trends or misinformation  - although some research has shown that older voters are more likely to share fake news.³ And data from Brazil, according to UNICEFA UN agency responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to children worldwide., shows that "levels of political knowledge and media consumption are indistinguishable for those above and below 18".

Should the voting age be lowered to 16?

Yes: Young voices are already undervalued. As populations age, younger people will become even less represented. Enfranchising 16 year olds should help to balance things out.

No: When someone has the ability to vote, they become an adult. And when they are an adult they lose some of the protections that being a minor gives them. The loss might outweigh the gain.

Or... It is not a big issue. Democracies face huge problems. Politicians need to start thinking about major, long-term global issues rather than local political ones.