A PROPOSAL to lower the voting age will be considered by the Cotswold District Council (CDC) next week.

The motion to lower the voting age to 16, will be discussed at a meeting at Cirencester Baptist Church at 10am on Thursday.

Liberal Democrat councillors Jenny Forde and Juliet Layton are behind the motion and hope that CDC get behind their initiative.

Councillor Jenny Forde, who represents Chedworth and Churn Valley Ward said: “Ensuring that political interest is cultivated at an earlier age can only be a positive step.

“Political engagement is an integral part of an individual’s personal and social development.

“The right to vote at 16 years of age will serve to empower younger people with the right to influence decisions that will affect their lives.”

Cllr Juliet Layton, member for South Cerney, said: "How can we expect to get more young people engaged in the political process when they can’t even vote?

“I commend our local members of the Youth Parliament for championing the issue and look forward to debating this issue next week.”

The UK Youth Parliament has been campaigning to lower the voting age for several years, with more than 100,000 young people voting it as their top priority last November.

Hannah Doherty, a member of the Youth Parliament for Cotswold and Stroud is excited by the news.

She said: “The MP’s of Gloucestershire are very excited at the prospect of votes at 16 being discussed by the CDC.

“We have great hopes for the outcome and are anticipating more young people having their voices heard.”

CDC Conservative councillor, David Fowles also commented on the motion.

He said: “Having discussed the Liberal Democrat motion to reduce the voting age with the leader of the Conservative group Mark Annett, we would like to thank the Liberal Democrats for tabling the motion which raises very interesting points about the voting age in the UK.”

“We look forward to discussing the motion at the council meeting next week.”