TWO Oxfordshire councils have given their support to extending the power to vote to 16 year olds in the future, hot on the heels of the general election.

When South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils met last week they both discussed whether the voting franchise should be given to 16 and 17-year-olds.

Vale of White Horse met on Wednesday, December 18, and South Oxfordshire met on Thursday, December 19.

Both of them agreed that letters should be sent to the UK government, expressing support for younger people to vote.

In both councils, the motion to debate the younger voting age was put forward by a Liberal Democrat councillor.

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The Vale of White Horse motion on extending voting rights was made by Lib Dem councillor Hayleigh Gascoigne for Blewbury and Harwell ward.

In it, she called for '16 and 17-year-olds to have the right in all elections and referendums across the UK,’ describing them as ‘knowledgeable and passionate about the world in which they live and are as capable of engaging in the democratic system as any other citizen.’

A similar motion was made by Sue Cooper, Lib Dem leader of South Oxfordshire District Council.

Teenagers of these age groups are currently able to vote in elections in the devolved administrations of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

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The council leaders of Vale and SODC, Emily Smith and Sue Cooper respectively, will now write to the government to express their authorities' support for giving 16 and 17-year-olds the vote.

Both councils will next hold a full meeting in February.