A House of Lords committee has criticised the plan to transfer power from Westminster to Holyrood to enable 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. The proposal has the backing of all the political parties involved in the Smith Commission. But the House of Lords Constitution Committee said it had concerns about the way the process was being handled and the impact in the rest of the UK. The criticism was dismissed by both the UK and Scottish governments. The UK government said the proposal to give votes to 16 and 17 year olds at Holyrood elections would be fully scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament.
And the SNP – which forms the administration at Holyrood – said it was “utter hypocrisy” for unelected peers to “put roadblocks in the way of Scotland’s young adults being given the vote”.
The voting age was reduced to 16 for the Scottish independence referendum in September.
Full Article: BBC News – House of Lords raises voting age concerns.