NICK Clegg has urged David Cameron and his fellow Conservatives to "look carefully" at extending the voting franchise to 16 and 17-year-olds for general elections in light of the experience of engaging young people in the Scottish independence referendum.
During Commons Question Time, the issue of extending the franchise was raised by his fellow Liberal Democrat Charles Kennedy, who described the engagement of young Scots as one of the "singular successes" of last year's referendum campaign.
The Skye MP and former party leader said he could not believe that what had happened in Scotland was "not a reflection of the level of potential interest that exists throughout the rest of the UK as well with a view to building, perhaps in a future parliament here, what Holyrood is likely to do for next year's Scottish elections and that's to extend the franchise for House of Commons and all levels of parliamentary elections in the future".
The DPM said for those politicians who still doubted the wisdom of giving young people the vote, they should "look carefully at the experience of the Scottish referendum".
He told MPs: "It not only mobilised huge public participation across all communities and across all age groups but perhaps most especially among 16 and 17-year-olds.
"Any doubts anyone might have had about the wisdom of extending the franchise of the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds really should be dispelled by that experience and I, like him, look forward to a time when we have cross-party consensus in giving all 16 and 17-year-olds across the UK the right to vote."
The only party leader, north or south of the border, now holding out against extending the vote in general elections and UK referendums to young people is David Cameron.
Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, who had been against giving Scotland's 100,000 or so 16 and 17-year-olds the vote in the referendum, has subsequently admitted that, because of the engagement of young Scots in the campaign, she has changed her mind.
Ex-Tory Minister Damian Green recently said it was time for his party leadership to reconsider its position.
But No 10 last month insisted the PM remained of the view that it was right that those who voted in general elections should be 18 but declined to say why.
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