Jeremy Clarkson has conceded that a "nightmare" Labour government is "here to stay" following Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's decision to lower the national voting age.
The government confirmed earlier this week it plans to lower the voting age to 16 for all UK elections by 2029, in what ministers are calling the "biggest change to UK democracy in a generation".
The reform will allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in general elections for the first time, bringing England and Northern Ireland in line with Scotland and Wales, where younger voters already participate in devolved elections.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner lauded the policy, saying: "For too long, public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline."
The change marks the first reduction in voting age since 1969, when it was lowered from 21 to 18.
However, while Rayner and her Labour cohorts may be encouraged by the news, one voter who isn't is Clarkson's Farm star and former Top Gear host, Clarkson.
Writing in his latest newspaper column, Clarkson reminisced about the Labour government of 1976 and its parallels with today's state of affairs under Starmer.
He used the rollout of hosepipe bans, strikes, a tanking economy, and "a Labour government in power who were busy making a complete mess of everything" as points of comparison.
AMAZON | Jeremy Clarkson is no stranger to taking aim at this Labour government
"And the Prime Minister was claiming that he’d inherited all the problems from the Tories," Clarkson continued. "Meanwhile, there were calls for the party to lurch to the left, and in the middle of it all, the country had to go to the International Monetary Fund and take out what at the time was the biggest loan the world had ever seen."
Reflecting on how Britain was nicknamed "the sick man of Europe" at the time, Clarkson explained how the country is facing the same problems today.
However, there was a difference back in the 1970s. "We were all eventually rescued by Mrs Thatcher, who told us we had to take our medicine and turned us into an economic powerhouse," he remarked in The Sun.
Turning his attention to the younger generation today and the future ahead, he was slightly more damning. "Today, we have Pink Pony Club and a promise that in the next election, a bunch of people who aren’t old enough to drink in a pub and get all their information from TikTok will be allowed to vote in the General Election," he continued.
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|Sir Keir Starmer has defended lowering the voting age
Summarising his damning verdict on what lies ahead with the introduction of the lower voting age, he concluded: "Which virtually guarantees the nightmare is here to stay."
It isn't just Clarkson who doesn't appear convinced by the change, with the very age group the government is aiming to appeal to revealing their hesitations.
A poll by Merlin Strategy found that 49 percent of 16 and 17-year-olds disagreed with lowering the voting age, whilst only 51 percent supported the move.
Perhaps more concerning for democratic participation, just 18 percent of teenagers surveyed said they would definitely vote if an election were held tomorrow, with 13 percent saying they would not participate at all.
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|Jeremy Clarkson says that letting 16-year-olds vote guarantees the "Labour nightmare is here to stay"
The survey of 500 young people also revealed voting intentions, with 33 percent saying they would support Labour, 20 percent backing Reform UK, and only 10 percent choosing the Conservatives.
Opposition parties have condemned the move as a cynical electoral ploy.
Critics argue the reform is self-serving, as younger voters are seen as more likely to support centre-left parties.
Prime Minister Starmer defended the change, telling ITV News: "I think it's really important that 16 and 17-year-olds have the vote because they're old enough to go out to work, they're old enough to pay taxes, and I think if you pay in you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on."
PA | Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised by opposing parties for the move
The electoral reforms extend beyond the voting age change, with ministers proposing to expand acceptable voter ID to include UK-issued bank cards and veterans' cards.
The government plans to introduce an "increasingly automated voter registration system" similar to those used in Australia and Canada, reducing the need for citizens to repeatedly fill out details across different government services.
The Electoral Commission found that approximately 750,000 people did not vote in the last election due to a lack of acceptable ID under current rules.
The reforms also include tighter campaign finance rules to prevent foreign interference, with the Electoral Commission gaining powers to levy £500,000 fines for breaches.