Elections, Voting and Voter Turnout
Who Has the Right to Vote?
The right to vote in elections is not universal across every type of election held in the United Kingdom. To vote in a UK general election you must be aged 18 or over, a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a qualifying Irish citizen, and you must be registered on the electoral roll. Being on the electoral roll means providing your name and address to your local council so that you appear on the official list of voters for your constituency.
The voting age differs for Scottish Parliament and Senedd (Welsh Parliament) elections, where the age is 16. This difference has prompted a national debate about whether the voting age for UK general elections should also be lowered to 16.
The minimum voting age for a UK general election is 18. The minimum voting age for the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) is 16. These are different rules in different elections within the same country.
Who Cannot Vote?
Certain groups are excluded from voting in UK general elections. Members of the House of Lords cannot vote in general elections because they are already part of Parliament as unelected members. People convicted of a serious criminal offence who are currently serving a custodial sentence are also excluded from voting during their time in prison. Additionally, anyone who is not registered to vote cannot cast a ballot, regardless of age or nationality.
Who Can Stand for Election?
To stand as a candidate in a UK general election, you must be aged 18 or over and a British citizen or qualifying Commonwealth or Irish citizen. However, some people are disqualified from standing even if they meet the basic requirements. Members of the House of Lords cannot stand for the Commons as MPs because they already sit in Parliament. Sitting judges are excluded to preserve the separation of powers between the judiciary and the legislature. People who have been declared bankrupt and not yet been discharged are also disqualified, as are those who hold certain Crown offices or civil service positions that require political neutrality.
Students often mix up voting ages under exam pressure. The key distinction is that 18 applies to UK general elections and most local council elections in England, while 16 applies to Scottish Parliament elections, Senedd elections, and local elections in Scotland and Wales. In some recent local elections in England, proposals have been made to lower the age to 16, but no change had been made to general election law as of 2026. Similarly, being old enough to vote does not automatically mean you can stand for election in all contexts — some elections have separate minimum ages for candidates. Always check which election the question refers to.
What Is Voter Turnout?
Voter turnout is the percentage of registered voters who actually vote in a given election. In the 2019 UK general election, turnout was around 67 per cent. In the 2024 UK general election, turnout fell to approximately 60 per cent — one of the lower figures recorded in modern times. By contrast, turnout in the 1992 general election was around 78 per cent. These figures show that turnout varies significantly between elections.
When large numbers of eligible voters choose not to vote, this is described as voter apathy. Voter apathy is a concern for democratic health because a government elected on a very low turnout may lack a strong mandate — the democratic authority a party claims after winning enough seats to form a government.
UK general election turnout has ranged from roughly 59% to 84% in the post-war period. The 2001 general election recorded approximately 59% — the lowest in decades — while 1992 recorded around 78%. Turnout tends to be lower in local elections and European Parliament elections than in general elections.
Why Is Voter Turnout Low? Two Viewpoints
There are different perspectives on what causes low turnout and whether it signals a crisis in democracy.
One viewpoint holds that low voter turnout reflects a genuine democratic crisis. Supporters of this position argue that when fewer people vote, the winning party represents a smaller proportion of the overall population, weakening its mandate and its claim to represent public opinion. They point to research suggesting that non-voters are disproportionately young, economically disadvantaged, or from minority communities, meaning their interests go unrepresented in Parliament.
A contrasting viewpoint suggests that low turnout does not necessarily mean citizens are disengaged from democracy as a whole. Some political scientists argue that when people do not vote, it can reflect satisfaction with the status quo rather than hostility to politics. Others point out that citizens engage politically in many other ways — through petitions, social media campaigns, pressure groups and community action — and that elections are only one channel of democratic participation.
Suggestions for Increasing Voter Turnout
A range of measures has been proposed and in some cases tested to increase participation in elections. Supporters of compulsory voting argue that making voting a legal requirement, as in Australia, ensures high participation and a stronger mandate for elected governments. Critics argue this forces people to vote without genuine engagement and may undermine the freedom not to participate — which some see as equally important to democratic freedom.
Other proposals include online voting, which supporters argue would remove barriers of travel and mobility; lowering the voting age to 16, which advocates say would build civic habits earlier; more voter education in schools; and making election day a public holiday so that working people find it easier to get to a polling station. Critics of some of these proposals argue that convenience alone does not address underlying disengagement and that quality of participation matters as much as quantity.