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Representation of the People Bill: Votes at 16 and Donations

MPs passed the Representation of the People Bill 411-102 on 2 Sept. It would lower the voting age to 16 and tighten donation rules. The Lords are next.

ByPeter
Tiered green leather benches in the House of Commons chamber lit by warm golden light
AI-generated illustration

The House of Commons passed the Representation of the People Bill by 411 votes to 102 on 2 September. The bill would lower the voting age to 16 for UK Parliament elections and for local elections in England and Northern Ireland, add bank cards to the accepted voter ID, and tighten rules on political donations, the House of Commons Library reports. The House of Lords held its second reading, the debate on a bill’s principles, on 14 September. Committee stage in the Lords has yet to be scheduled.

At a glance

  • Bill: Representation of the People Bill, introduced 12 February by Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed (bills.parliament.uk).
  • Commons vote: 411-102 at report stage and third reading, 2 September (division 2416).
  • Reach: lowering the voting age gives around 1.7 million additional people the vote, the Electoral Commission says.
Tiered green leather benches in the House of Commons chamber lit by warm golden light
AI-generated illustration

What the bill does

  • Votes at 16. The voting age falls from 18 to 16 for UK Parliament elections and for local elections in England and Northern Ireland (gov.uk).
  • Registration. It creates powers for more automatic voter registration and for pilot schemes before rollout.
  • Voter ID. Bank cards would be accepted, so long as they show an expiry date and have not expired.
  • Donations. After the Rycroft Review of foreign financial interference, amendments cap donations from overseas voters at £100,000 a year, impose a moratorium on cryptoasset donations and base company donation limits on post-tax profit. The bill also adds “know your donor” checks and strengthens Electoral Commission enforcement, the Library reports.
  • Electoral Commission. It repeals the power for ministers to set a strategy and policy statement for the commission, a power created by the Elections Act 2022.

Where it stands

  • 12 February: introduced in the Commons.
  • 2 March: second reading. The Conservative reasoned amendment, a motion to reject the bill, was not carried.
  • 18 March-16 April: Commons committee stage over nine sittings.
  • 29 April-14 May: the session ends; as a carry-over bill it is reintroduced on 14 May in the new session.
  • 6 July: the government accepts all recommendations of the Rycroft Review.
  • 2 September: report stage and third reading pass 411-102. No opposition or backbench amendments were agreed.
  • 3 and 14 September: first reading in the Lords, then Lords second reading.

What supporters and critics say

The Electoral Commission, the independent elections regulator, said the bill “has the potential to significantly improve the electoral system” and welcomed votes at 16. It also said the timetable for automated registration is unlikely to deliver benefits before the next general election without a more ambitious approach (Electoral Commission). The Liberal Democrats, Greens and SNP welcomed lowering the voting age but sought stronger donation measures, such as caps on all donations, the Library reports.

The Conservatives opposed the bill. Their spokesman at second reading argued that 16 is inconsistent with the age of majority of 18 and that automatic registration would make registers less accurate, and they voted against votes at 16, automated registration and bank-card ID in committee. Reform UK also opposed lowering the voting age; its MP Danny Kruger called the bill “a flagrantly partisan attempt to kneecap Reform UK” over its donation provisions. Steve Reed said at second reading that the donation rules aim to minimise the risk of foreign donations entering British politics, the Library reports.

What happens next

Peers will go through the bill line by line at Lords committee stage, followed by report stage and third reading. If the Lords change the text, the Commons must agree before Royal Assent, the monarch’s formal approval that makes it an Act. Both Houses return from conference recess on 12 October, and no Lords committee date appears on the bill page as of 3 October. No Lords committee date has been announced.

Sources

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