Don't call it gerrymandering...

The Labour MP for Wigan, Lisa Nandy, is proposing that 16 year olds be allowed to vote. Apparently:

...lowering the voting age to 16 was a way of "this generation showing respect for the next generation" and giving them a share of power.

In this game, you must earn respect, Lisa my old chum. And part of that earning could be, for instance, paying some tax and NI. Essentially what you're proposing is that an age group which are massive net receivers of income from the state be allowed to determine how much more income they receive. What could possibly go wrong?

The usual suspects are crawling out of the woodwork and expressing enthusiasm:

Neal Lawson, head of Compass, added: "Young people don't just need policies, they need power – then they'll have a stake in the nation's future".

I think that "need power" is a "want power", actually Neal. They clearly don't need it as they've managed several hundred years without it. This is nothing more than naked self-interest by the Labour (and, probably, Lib Dem) politicos who see themselves as disproportionate beneficiaries of the youth. I'd bet that the reason for their concern at this time is hinted at in the article:

The report follows the publication of the first tranche of the 2011 census results, which show the UK population is older than ever: over-65s now make up 16% of the population.

Damn all those Tory-leaning old people with money! Let's enact a pre-emptive demographic mugging with 16-18 year olds!

The truly terrifying prospect, however, is self-righteous 16-18 year olds appearing in the Question Time audience and random BBC interviews, being respectfully interviewed by journos.