Voting age
The government has committed to reduce the voting age to 16 for all elections. This briefing details the voting age for UK elections and the debate about lowering the voting age.

This briefing outlines how armed forces personnel can register to vote and sets out the background to service voting.
Armed Forces Voting (462 KB , PDF)
Armed forces personnel can choose one of three ways to register to vote.
Applications to register to vote can be made via the www.gov.uk/register-to-vote website. Those wanting to register as service voters can use the www.gov.uk/register-to-vote-armed-forces website.
The UK Regular Armed Forces Continuous Attitude Survey indicates the proportion of armed forces personnel that are registered as a service voter is about one fifth. Only about 1% of service voters are registered as overseas voters.
Those registered as service voters must renew their service declaration every five years. Electoral registration officers must send reminders. Ordinary voter registration is renewed annually during the annual canvass process, although most voters do not need to do anything unless their circumstances have changed.
Armed forces personnel registered as ordinary or service voters may vote in all election for which they are eligible. Overseas voters may only vote in UK Parliament elections.
When voting armed forces personnel can choose to vote in person if they are in the UK and able to get to their allocated polling station in the area they are registered.
Otherwise, they may apply for an absent vote and either vote by post or appoint a proxy to vote on their behalf. Voters registered in Northern Ireland cannot have a ballot paper sent outside the UK. If they are out of the UK they must appoint a proxy.
Some voters returning postal ballots from overseas have experienced problems in returning their ballot paper in the time available. The Electoral Commission has advised in the past that those based overseas may want to consider a proxy vote.
Armed Forces Voting (462 KB , PDF)
The government has committed to reduce the voting age to 16 for all elections. This briefing details the voting age for UK elections and the debate about lowering the voting age.
A briefing paper which "maps" (or summarises) the main elements of the United Kingdom's uncodified constitution.
Recall allows voters to remove an elected representative between elections by signing a petition. This briefing explains how UK recall petitions work.