Martyn Jones

Labour Party | Clwyd South

An MP At 18 - MP Welcomes Prospective "Election Idols"

Martyn Jones, MP for Clwyd South has welcomed the decision by the government to reduce the age at which a member of the public may run for Parliament from 21 to 18 years of age. 

The ministerial statement, made recently in the house of Commons by Constitutional Affairs Minister, Christopher Leslie, suggested that the government will legislate on the issue as soon as time allows.  This follows a report made by the electoral commission almost a year ago recommending such a move.

Commenting on the decision, Mr. Jones said:

“I think it absurd that 18 year olds, as adults are allowed to vote in General Elections but are not allowed to consider candidacy.

“I believe that no reasonable argument can be found to suggest that the candidacy age should not be brought in line with the current voting age and research shows that there is immense public support for the harmonization of the two.  Through my own experience I have met individuals younger than 21 who are perfectly capable of acting as effective representatives, and the election process itself allows the voters to decide for themselves whether to reject such a candidate.

“Most importantly, if we consider the turnout for 18-24 year olds in the previous general election at 39% and a staggering 11% in local elections we evidently need to act now and  implement new initiatives to encourage participation in such democratic events. 

“Role models are proven to motivate individuals to get involved – lowering the candidacy age will help to provide such 'election idols' and improve turnout.   There is no single definition of maturity and getting hung up over such worries will do nothing to address what are becoming serious democratic concerns.”

The Commission, which placed huge resources into the research programme last year was contacted by Mr. Jones and they were quick to reiterate his comments, stating that they were “delighted” that the government has made this announcement.