A Wigan student unable to vote in the Makerfield by-election discusses the lowering of the voting age

I am a 17-year-old Wigan and Leigh College student who lives in Makerfield and here discuss the pros and cons of people of my age not being allowed to vote in this week's by-election.

The Government's passing of legislation allowing 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote, opens a huge new demographic for political parties to target, with approximately 1.2 million people in that age group in England and 48,000 in Northern Ireland.

But how will it affect our local area?

Well, the legislation won’t apply until 2029, in other words the next general election.

Which has led to people of my age to be excluded from the up-and-coming by-election in my home constituency.

As a local college student, it upsets me that, simply because of a political timeline, I won't be able to vote in an election that both impacts my area but possibly the entire country with the potential of Andy Burnham challenging Keir Starmer to become Prime Minister.

If this legislation was live now, there would likely be more votes heading towards Labour’s Andy Burnham and the Greens' Sarah Wakefield, because research shows that 18 to 24-year-olds tend to vote for political parties with more left-wing policies.

So this, from the Labour point of view has been a huge opportunity missed, that the vote has not been extended to my age group yet.

Especially with the predicted close results between Labour and Reform UK.

The Opinium polling website has predicted there will only be a five per cent difference between the two parties.

Whilst speaking on the potential impact of 16 to 17-year-olds being able to vote, as 17-year-old myself I am aware that many of those my age don’t have much knowledge surrounding political voting.

Registering to vote has itself been reformed by the Government in order to not deter people from exercising their democratic right.

This has been by moving to an automated system and increasing power to share data across government departments which will make registering much more efficient.

In addition, an ID is required to vote when you go to a polling station.

Currently there are up to 20 different forms of IDs that you can use - including a passport issued by the UK or the Channel Islands, a PASS card or you can register for a free voter ID called a Voter Authority Certificate, although you must make sure you’re already registered to vote before applying.

It is also important to know that student ID cannot be used.

At the moment, though, the most I, and other people aged 16 to 17 can do is be prepared to vote when the time comes: such as the next generation.

Then we can make our presence felt at last.