Topic Two (1.2): A Wider Franchise and Debates Over Suffrage

Introduction

In this topic, you will explore the key milestones in the widening of the franchise (the right to vote) in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including the work of the suffragists and suffragettes. You will also consider the work of a current movement to extend the franchise – The Votes at 16 Coalition.

Read and Make Notes

  • Read pages 9 to 12 of Colclough and make notes.
  • As part of your notes, make a table of the arguments for and against the extension of the right to vote to those aged 16 and 17, presented on page 12.

Tasks

  • Complete the activity in the ‘Pause & Reflect’ box on page 10 of Colclough.
  • To make sure you have a good understanding of the Votes at 16 Coalition (which is coordinated by the British Youth Council), read the information on the webpage below, which sets out the Coalition’s case for votes at 16. Add any further key points to the table you created as part of your notes from Colclough.

READ - The Case for Votes at 16 (British Youth Council) Links to an external site.

  • Watch the series of MASSOLIT lectures on the voting age debate and take notes. Make sure you have good notes on the case against lowering the voting age to 16, especially from Lecture 2 and Lecture 4.

WATCH – UK Politics – The Voting Age Debate (MASSOLIT) Links to an external site.

  • Consider the question “How have recent developments strengthened the case for lowering the voting age?”.
  • Identify which you think are the two strongest arguments on each side of the debate, and briefly note why you think they are the strongest arguments.

Case Studies

  • Make sure you have completed the tasks above about the movement to extend the franchise to those aged 16 and 17. It is a REQUIREMENT of the syllabus that you know about a current movement to extend the franchise.

Wider Reading and Research

  • You do not need in-depth knowledge of the historical milestones in the extension of the franchise, but if you would like to learn more about any of the key milestones you have studied then the following research paper is a useful reference guide:

Download READ – The History of the Parliamentary Franchise (House of Commons)

  • If you would like to consider the arguments for and against extending the franchise to those aged 16 and 17 in more depth, you may wish to read the following document from 2014:

READ - Should the UK Lower the Voting Age to 16? (Democratic Audit) Links to an external site.

  • If you are interested in more recent debates on the issue, see the transcript below of a parliamentary debate from 2019 in Hansard.

READ – Votes at 16 (Hansard) Links to an external site.