Labour‘s plans to lower the voting age to 16 would be a boost for Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Party, according to an exclusive poll for The Mail on Sunday.
No 10’s plans to add 1.5 million 16- and 17-year-old voters to the electoral roll – expected to be included in a new Elections Bill later this year – were drawn up when support for Sir Keir Starmer among the age group dwarfed that of his rivals.
But the new survey indicates that the wider Farage surge since Labour took power has been particularly pronounced among teenagers.
The poll was conducted by Find Out Now, who asked parents of 16- and 17-year-olds how their offspring were likely to vote. Its findings put Mr Farage’s party at 30 per cent – ahead of the 25 per cent Reform receives from the over-18s.
Labour is level-pegging on 30 per cent, while the Tories are out of sight on 7 per cent.
And when the 16- and 17-year-olds were asked if they thought that immigration was too high – a central plank of Mr Farage’s appeal – a total of 51 per cent agreed, while just 17 per cent disagreed.
Last night Mr Farage told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Labour should be careful what they wish for.’
Reform has used social media platforms such as TikTok and Instagram to blitz younger voters with its messaging at a time when many under-20s have started to rebel against ‘woke’ orthodoxies about gender, migration and patriotism, as well as despairing about their chances of landing a secure job and a home of their own.
Nearly a third of parents of 16 and 17-year-olds said their offspring would back Nigel Farage’s Reform party at the next election, a new poll has shown
Labour and Reform were tied in the poll with 30 per cent of voters each, while 51 per cent agreed immigration is too high
Sir Keir has been accused of trying to ‘rig’ elections by extending the franchise, in what would be the first change to the UK-wide voting age since 1969
Helping to explain the effectiveness of Reform’s strategy, three-quarters of parents said their child received information about politics and current affairs primarily from social media.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has also influenced the debate. His deputy, JD Vance, used an incendiary speech on Friday to accuse European governments, including Britain’s, of ignoring voter concerns on migration and free speech.
Sir Keir has been accused of trying to ‘rig’ elections by extending the franchise, which would mark the first change to the UK-wide voting age since 1969.
Find Out Now surveyed 511 parents of children aged 16-17 on February 12. Find Out Now is a member of the British Polling Council and abides by its rules.