Should over 70 year olds be banned from voting in referendum to decide the country future

It's no longer the country I once knew and loved So no !

Democracy is the wisdom of crowds.

I f I was 18 and looking at the mess the world is in I might be one of those who think over 70.s have done enough damage.Look around at your "great" Britain and see what decades of bad management and sheer criminality of successive governments have done .My part of this "union" haven't voted for a majority of tories since the mid 1950's thats over half a century ago and yet we get lumbered with them time after time .
The circus thats in place now at Downing Street has reached an all time low ,with incompetent ,lying crooks
Are the Tories on here proud or bitterly ashamed of what they voted for?.
Maybe we need to step back and let the people who will be affected for the longest time take the reins .NOT that I've ever voted for any unionist party so I absolve myself of blame .....lol

I was not old enough to vote in referendum about joining the common market. Glad I got to vote in Brexit referendum. Everyone older than 18 should be able to vote. A younger persons vote is not more important than an older persons views. All views should be equally respected.

Why? Utterly stupid idea , more reasonable to ban under 21’s with little or no life experience so cannot make sensible decisions.
What group would be discriminated against next?

Same here, I agree , everyone over the legal voting age is equally entitled to a vote

The poem resonates with me as well maddyone once we start down this road there will be end to it.

If all seventy -year olds or those approaching it were as unbalanced and biased in their political judgements as Paddy anne appears to be, there might be some justification for removing their entitlement to vote.

Fortunately, very few are.

Possibly. I am older although not retired. Some of my opinions are outdated and don't suit modern life.

By being so offensive eazybee, you have unfortunately scored a bit of an own goal, proving the point of many young people.

I thought a lot of Remainers listened to their grandchildren when it came to voting in the Referendum.
Should they not be listened to now?

It's fine to listen to each other and consider different points of view.
That's not the same as being completely excluded.

I think the point is (quite reasonably IMO) that the future direction of the country is going to have a much longer-lasting impact on the younger generations than it is on over-70s - true, surely?

Over 70s will take this into account, surely?
I see many people posting online that their political decisions are shaped by what they hope will be a good future for their grandchildren.

Well said!

This is old news, from over a year ago, resuscitated a month ago and now again - and it was only SOME youngsters who thought this - 300 of the 2013 who replied to the online questionnaire, itself a self-selected sample, not a representative one. Plus, the "poll" was badly designed and the reporting of it highly selective.

As I posted a month ago -

1) There is reporting bias - Only this question is reported on, not other questions in the poll, such as the ones on the Brexit vote-

^Q18. In matters of potential major permanent change such as Brexit there should have to be a majority of the vote in each of the four nations of the UK separately, as well as in the UK as a whole, in order for the change to take place. 63% yes 37% no.

Q20b. Regardless of how you answered the last question, {which items should be on the ballot paper} do you think there should be a new referendum on Brexit?
59% yes, 39% no^

How come those newspapers (Sun, Express) don't mention these results, yet make headlines of the 32% yes, 68% no, "disenfranchise the over-70s" one?

Once again when a "shock poll" apears, we need to consider -
2) How many people were consulted for this survey? 2013 [not a lot, and out of those only about 300 were under 34 ]
3) How were they chosen? The poll was online. (That is, they were self-selected by those who had an axe to grind, and were computer literate - so not many over-70s were asked their views, then.)
4) Exactly what questions were asked, and how were they worded? See the detailed results here for them - www.drg.global/our-work/political-polls/wings-over-scotland-poll-11th-october-2019/
5) What was the choice of answers? Limited
6) Who is reporting on the poll? The Sun, the Scottish Sun, The Express. All papers who like a nice sensational headline.

I was at a party in London the weekend immediately following the Brexit referendum. I was 55 at the time.

There were around half a dozen folks in their 20's there who were very upset about the result and they very strongly felt that anyone over 50 should not have been allowed a vote on the referendum.

I voted Remain myself and was in sympathy with them......but.....if you start disenfranchising people who you dont think are going to vote the way you want them to, where does it end?

One only needs to look at current Trumpian efforts in the US to make the case that votes for the opposition were illegal.

Scary stuff

One word answer. NO!!!

Asian people respect their older people because they have the sense to realise that they have learnt a lot. The attitude is palpably different to our some of the nastier Anglo Saxon values. They also look after their older folk and wouldn’t dream of packing them off to homes.

This thread title reminded me of a time when a young man from the local council came to the Luncheon Club I helped run for “Young at Heart” people, who were mostly in their 80s & 90s. They had to put coloured stickers onto a list of suggested community facilities, to show which they’d most like. They all took part dutifully. As soon as the young man departed one said, “Dunt matter much what we think anyway, I s’pect we’ll be dead by the time they get round to doin’ any on ‘em”.

humptydumpty

But Callistemon, since the referendum there are a lot more young people who could vote if we had a second referendum, whose voices should be heard.

Then they should have listened first time, no good crying over spilt milk when they could have had their way 1st time.

SueDonim

No taxation without representation! I'll stop voting when I no longer have to pay tax.

Agree, and as I am still paying taxes , will do the same, went to vote yesterday.

Grab a teenager while they still know it all.

But remember that age brings experience, so the oldies may have seen the problem before and know the solution.

Also, at 70 you could still have 30 years ahead of you.
In three years time SOMEONE will need to send a telegram to the Queen!

Age should be an attitude of mind not just a timescale.
Remember the tale about the young bull and the old bull!

Only if they are also excused paying all taxes. No taxation without representation.

Certainly not.however I do not and never have seen the sense In Having :can work pay tax and NI get married have sex legally at age 16 drive a moped on roads...give birth! BUT! .can't drive car till 17 can't drink alcoholic drinks in pub etc but still can't vote.can drive and vote at 18 but not HGV. And another anomaly can be arrested and has to have a responsible adult accompanying you under questioning under 18. Then go to young offenders rather than prison. Big boys and girls prison at discretion of judge! Crazy! We should bite the bullet and say: up to 16 you're a child for all intents and purposes.over 16,YouCan do it all and go to big boy' and girls prison for big boys and girls crimes? If you're ok to have a child legally at 16 im bloody sure you have the right to vote on you and your child's future!!!!

Callistemon

I agree with varian.

Perhaps younger voters will be energised to exercise their right to vote and not be so complacent in future.

Here here! I have 2 DS who are 38&40 and have NEVER voted and one of them is forever moaning about something or other , I get sick of telling them that if they don't like the current bunch of idiots in power then to VOTE!!! ( Then another bunch of idiots can have a go at it.....)
On subject: I think a better idea would be to lower the voting age to 16/17 to encourage those youngsters to take part in deciding their futures?

No. As others have said, which group would be next? Who would decide?
When you’re young, you think you know better than others, but being young doesn’t last and what you vote for will come round and bite you on the rear-end. You learn that as you get older!

I dont have your faith in 16/17 year olds I'm afraid Gabrielle56.
Ask them to vote for contestants on Love Island ect. But to have interest in grey men/women in suits?
Yes I know they like everyone else, should not be stereotyped and I actually know quite a few youngsters who are interested in the governing of the country.
But.....

It's such a stupid idea that I can't take it seriously.