The British government announced plans on Thursday to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds in general elections, a landmark reform that would make the United Kingdom one of the countries with the lowest voting age globally.

This move fulfills a key campaign promise by the Labour Party, which won power last year, and is part of broader reforms aimed at addressing what critics describe as a “crisis” in the democratic system, particularly declining voter turnout.

The decision is expected to spark debate, especially from those who argue that the change benefits the ruling party politically, given younger voters are seen as more likely to favour the centre-left Labour platform.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer defended the reform, saying: “I think it’s really important that 16- and 17-year-olds have the vote, because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes, so (they) pay in.”

“And I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go,” he added.

To implement the reform, the government must present a bill to parliament. With Labour holding a strong majority, the legislation is widely expected to pass.

Globally, only a few countries allow 16-year-olds to participate in national elections. Austria became the first EU country to do so in 2007, followed by others such as Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, and Cuba.

Labour ministers have framed the reform as a necessary step to “modernise our democracy” and improve civic participation.

They also noted that the change aligns with the current voting age already in place for regional elections in Scotland and Wales.

Additional reforms include automated voter registration, a system already used in countries like Australia and Canada, and expanding acceptable voter ID to include UK-issued bank cards.

These measures follow controversial electoral law changes by the previous Conservative government, which mandated photo ID at the polls, a move the Electoral Commission estimated prevented around 750,000 people from voting in last year’s election.

Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director at the Institute for Public Policy Research, praised the government’s proposals as transformative.

“The biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969,” referencing the last time the voting age was lowered, from 21 to 18.

He emphasized the impact such reforms could have: “Lowering the voting age and introducing automated voter registration could add 9.5 million more people to the voter rolls.”

“Our democracy is in crisis, and we risk reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy,” Quilter-Pinner warned, endorsing the government’s plans.

Israel conducted an airstrike on the Syrian military headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday after issuing a stern warning to the Damascus government to “leave the Druze in Sweida alone.”

The move comes amid escalating sectarian conflict in the Druze-majority region of Sweida, where nearly 250 people have been killed.

Syrian government forces entered Sweida on Tuesday under the guise of enforcing a fragile ceasefire with Druze leaders, following deadly clashes with local Bedouin tribes that killed more than 100 people.

However, eyewitnesses reported that government troops joined Bedouin fighters in mounting a brutal attack against Druze civilians and combatants.

This marks the most violent episode in the region since April and May, when similar clashes near Damascus resulted in over 100 deaths.

In response, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz said:

“As we have made clear and warned, Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarisation policy we have decided on.”

He urged Syrian forces to withdraw and warned that military pressure would continue until “the message is understood,” vowing to “raise the level of responses against the regime if the message is not understood.”

Shortly after, the Israeli military confirmed it had struck the main entrance of Syria’s military headquarters near Damascus in a targeted operation.

Syrian state TV reported two people were injured in central Damascus.

The Israeli military also announced it was deploying additional troops along the armistice line separating the occupied Golan Heights from Syrian-controlled territory, saying:

“In accordance with the situational assessment, the (Israeli military) has decided to reinforce its forces in the area of the Syrian border.”

Sheikh Mowafaq Tarif, head of Israel’s Druze community, described events as an “existential battle for the Druze community.”

In contrast, Syria’s defence ministry accused “outlaw groups” of initiating the violence and maintaining that its forces were responding to attacks from within Sweida.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reports that at least 248 people have died in Sweida since clashes began on Sunday.

Among the fatalities were 92 Druze, including 28 civilians, with 21 believed to have been summarily executed by government forces.

Additionally, 138 Syrian security personnel and 18 allied Bedouin fighters were killed.

Witnesses recounted that sporadic gunfire continued in Sweida on Wednesday, with heavy artillery and mortar fire also reported.

AFP correspondents counted around 30 bodies in military and civilian attire near the city center.

The conflict reportedly began after a Druze vegetable merchant was abducted, sparking retaliatory abductions that spiraled into broader violence in an already tense region.

Since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December, Syria’s Islamist-led authorities have faced accusations of systematic repression against religious and ethnic minorities.

Israel has presented its intervention as a defence of the Druze, though analysts suggest it also serves to maintain a military buffer in southern Syria.