Coffee House Shots18 Jul 2025

Will 16 year olds vote Labour?

Lots to discuss today, between Diane Abbott being suspended (again) and Labour handing the vote to 16-year-olds just before we head into recess.

Abbott’s suspension comes after she was accused of ‘doubling down’ on previous claims that Jewish people experience racism differently from black people. She is the latest Labour troublemaker to be left out in the cold, with seven MPs punished this week for voting against the government – four of them suspended from the party. Is Starmer confusing toughness with strength? And will Abbott’s suspension stick this time?

Elsewhere, 16-year-olds have been given the vote. Those in favour point to the political maturity of young people in the country and welcome this as a move towards fairness and encouraging responsibility, while detractors are crying gerrymandering and a raw attempt to swing the political arithmetic in the governing party’s favour. But will it actually matter? Polling suggests that very few 16–17-year-olds will actually vote – and that many of them prefer the insurgent parties. So who stands to win, and who stands to lose from the very modest youth-vote bump?

Lucy Dunn speaks to Tim Shipman and the pollster Luke Tryl.

Produced by Oscar Edmondson.

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