SNAP POLL: Do you agree with Nigel Farage - is Labour trying to 'rig' the next election?
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| WATCH NOW: House of Commons discuss Labour's plans to drop the voting age to 16
Angela Rayner has confirmed Labour will lower the voting age to 16 in the biggest reform to the electoral system since 1969
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Labour will hand 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in the most sweeping electoral reform in more than half a century.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner confirmed the voting age expansion will come into effect by the next general election, a pledge Labour made in its manifesto last year.
Sixteen and 17-year-olds can already vote in Senedd elections in Wales and Holyrood elections in Scotland, but this will mean up to 9.5 million more people will now be able to register their vote across all four UK nations in local, regional and general elections, according to the IPPR think tank. The latest figures show 48,208,507 people are registered to vote.
This is the most sweeping electoral reform since 1969, the year the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18.
Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: "For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline.
"We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy, supporting our Plan for Change, and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give sixteen-year-olds the right to vote.
"We cannot take our democracy for granted, and by protecting our elections from abuse and boosting participation, we will strengthen the foundations of our society for the future."
As young people have traditionally been more inclined to vote for Labour than Conservative, critics of the reform have accused the Government of trying to "rig" the next general election in their favour.
One senior Conservative MPs have accused Labour of engaging in a "political stunt", telling GB News the plan tantamount to "votes for children for a child’s play Government".
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage slammed it as "an attempt to rig the political system", adding that "we intend to give them a nasty surprise".
Do you agree with Farage - is Labour trying to "rig" the next general election? Vote below