Votes at 16 & tougher rules on foreign interference in our elections through the Representation of the People Bill …

𝟭𝟲 & 𝟭𝟳 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗹𝗱𝘀 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲, the biggest expansion of the franchise in almost 60 years

𝘁𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝘂𝗹𝗲𝘀 on political donations

𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗲 of those participating in public life

zero tolerance approach 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 to protect our democracy

moves towards automatic 𝘃𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

Last week the Government introduced the Representation of the People Bill and with it, votes at 16 is finally set to become law. This has been a long time coming.

Back in 2017, I worked alongside the brilliant Oldham Youth Council to draft a Private Members’ Bill to make votes at 16 a reality. Young people in Oldham didn’t just support it, they helped write it. They made the case and led the charge.

And they’ve never stopped leading.

I was proud to be Leader of Oldham Council when we became the first in the country to formally recognise our Youth Council in the council’s constitution – giving them real powers to submit motions to Full Council so the issues that matter to them are heard and debated.

That wasn’t symbolic. It was structural. It gave young people a seat at the table.

Votes at 16 becoming law isn’t a gift to young people. It’s recognition of what they’ve already proven – that when you give young people power, they use it responsibly and with purpose.

This is their moment. And it’s well deserved.