Voters can register from the age of 14 underneath Labour’s new legal guidelines

Voters will be allowed to register at the age of 14 under Angela Rayner’s plans to lower the age limit.

New laws will be brought forward after the former deputy prime minister lent her support to Sir Keir Starmer this week.

Ministers are also trialling new measures to make voting ‘simpler’ such as opening up polling booths in train stations or supermarkets.

The Representation of the People Bill will also attempt to crack down on foreign political donations in the wake of the Nathan Gill scandal.

Gill, Reform UK’s former leader in Wales, was jailed last year after admitting he had taken bribes to make pro-Russian statements in the European Parliament.

The Bill was not in the last King’s Speech and was expected to be in the next but has been brought forward as a sop to Labour‘s soft left.

It was championed by Ms Rayner who this week gave her crucial support to the PM after he faced his most torrid day yet.

Under the plans, 16 and 17-year-olds would be able to vote in elections – a Labour manifesto commitment.

Voters will be allowed to register at the age of 14 under Angela Rayner’s plans to lower the age limit

In a previous announcement, the Government said: ’16- and 17-year-olds can work, pay tax, serve in the military, and contribute in so many ways to our society. It is right and fair that they should be able to vote.’

The legislation will reduce the age of registration to 14 so children can vote on their 16th birthday, extending the vote to 1.7million more people.

Officials are still determining how this would work, given under-16s would not be able to verify their identities given they don’t have National Insurance numbers or other ID.

New social media rules could also prevent children from seeing party political campaigns due to new restrictions on age.

Reducing the voting age to 16 has long been championed by Labour, but recent polling suggests the Green Party could be the beneficiary.

Polling commissioned for ITV found that Green leader Zack Polanski was the most popular party leader among 16-25-year-olds.

Of the 1,040 people polled, 34per cent said they intended to vote for the Greens, while 28per cent said they’d vote Labour, traditionally the party of young people.

Sir James Cleverly, shadow communities secretary, said: ‘Labour are hopelessly confused on whether 16 year olds are adults or not.

‘At the same time as proposing to give them the vote, they are also trying to ban them from perfectly legal activities like buying alcohol-free beer.

‘The Conservatives are clear that people become adults at 18 and that is when citizenship rights – such as voting – should be gained.

‘It’s also laughable to hear Labour talk about improving electoral security when they collapsed the China spy trial to appease Beijing, and are refusing to put China on the higher tier of the Foreign Influence Registration scheme.

‘Meanwhile the Welsh Labour Government has given all foreign residents the right to make unlimited donations to UK politicians and political parties – opening the door to Russian, Chinese and Iranian foreign influence.

‘Labour cannot be trusted to ensure a strong and healthy and democracy in our country.’

The Bill will also attempt to toughen up rules on political donations to prevent foreign funding influencing British democracy.

Under new rules, businesses will have to prove they have a ‘genuine connection’ to the UK before they can donate to political parties.

At present, businesses registered in the UK can donate to political parties even if they are owned by foreign nationals and do not have revenue to cover the donation.

Transparency International UK has previously warned that existing rules expose UK parties to ‘foreign interference’.

The Government said recent cases such as those of Gill and Christine Lee, who was accused of working for the Chinese by MI5, indicated the need for ‘strong action’.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed said the Bill would ‘usher in a new era for our democracy – one that protects against foreign interference and empowers young people’.

Other measures expected to feature in the Bill include tougher sentences for people engaging in electoral intimidation.