Earlier this year, legislation was introduced to Parliament with a landmark proposal: to give 16- and-17-year-olds the right to vote in UK elections. If passed, the representation of the people bill will give almost 1.7 million young people the opportunity to have their voice heard at UK general elections. For the first time, a new cohort in England and Northern Ireland will be joining their counterparts in Scotland and Wales in being able to participate in democracy much sooner than the generations that came before them. But changing the law on who can vote is only part of the story. If this change is to strengthen our democracy,young people also need to be equipped with the knowledge, confidence and critical thinking skills to participate. That work starts in the classroom. The evidence is clear. The earlier a young person receives high-quality, impartial democratic education, the more positive their civic and political engagement tends to be. Pupils want to learn more We recently published research that found that, while most young people report trusting the information about politics they receive at school, only 30 per cent of under 18s say they have actually been taught about politics there. At the same time, 78 per cent say they want to learn more about democracy in school. This gap matters even more in this age of social media, where young people are navigating an increasingly complex information environment. Social media platforms are now the primary way young people consume political information, and 48 per cent report routinely encountering false or misleading political information on them. Without a solid grounding in how our democratic system works, how elections are run, and how to assess information critically, we risk letting young people navigate this environment alone. This has real consequences: among those who say they would not vote in a future general election, the most common reasons are a lack of interest and not knowing who to vote for. Embed democratic education We hear loud and clear that both educators and students have an appetite for teaching and receiving democratic education. This is why the Electoral Commission has consistently made the case that democratic education should be embedded in the English curriculum. Through our work with schools and youth organisations, we see the direct link between learning and confidence. When young people have the chance to discuss politics, ask questions and explore how decisions are made, their interest grows. We see this most clearly during our annual ‘welcome to your vote’ week, which seeks to help young people understand how elections work and how they get involved. In 2025 alone, the week engaged more than 590,000 young people and over 4,800 educators and partners. Our partners’ campaigns reached an additional 1.7 million young people, with support from dozens of elected representatives across the country. These figures reflect not just reach, but a keenness to participate. Learning from abroad International experience tells a similar story. Research across several countries and states that have lowered their voting ages shows that when enfranchised, 16 and 17-year-olds tend to vote in greater numbers than those enfranchised at 18. Sixteen and 17-year-olds can already vote in Scottish Parliament, Senedd, and local elections in Scotland and Wales, and many will on 7 May. If the UK Parliament agrees to extend this franchise, it must be paired with support for schools to facilitate high-quality democratic education. New programmes That is why the Electoral Commission has launched seven new democratic education programmes, in partnership with organisations including The Politics Project, the Association of Citizenship Teachers, Shout Out UK and Young Citizens. The programmes run across England and Northern Ireland, covering primary, secondary and post-16 settings. They bring new lesson materials, teacher training and dedicated support for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. Young people care about the world around them and the decisions that shape their lives. They deserve the tools to engage with democracy now. Schools are uniquely placed to provide trusted, impartial spaces where democracy can be explored and understood. If we seize this moment, we can help create a generation of informed, confident voters – and in doing so, strengthen our democracy for decades to come.