Vote at 16?

Should the voting age be lowered to 16?  The issue is back on the agenda as Alex Salmond is keen for 16-17 year olds to take part in the Scottish Referendum in 2014.

This rather bad-tempered article from the Guardian suggests there is little point in doing so, as "young people" are too involved in their personal lives to bother to vote.

"At a time when the non-voting habit, civil disengagement, is creeping upwards towards 30...I see little point in making the turnout figures even worse by inviting 16-year-olds to join an election party most of them won't want to attend."
Do you agree with this analysis? What can be done to stop apathy amongst young voters? Please let us know.
PS: Here is the official "Votes at 16" campaign's website.

Scotland's new powers

Appropriately on St Andrew's Day, the government have published the new Scotland bill which will devolve further powers. The bill follows the Calman Commission of 2009 which put forward a series of recommendations about further devolution. These include the power to set new income tax rates from 2015, new borrowing powers and control over issues such as the speed limit and drink-driving. Agreed by the Conservatives, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, the SNP unsurprisingly do not think it goes far enough and view it as a 'missed opportunity'. With Scottish elections next year, the three national parties will be hoping that it will appease those in Scotland wanting more power without encouraging further such demands from the SNP. What do you think?

The Scottish dream fades

The controversy surrounding the case of the release of the Lockerbie bomber has hit Scotland's minority SNP government hard. Polls suggest it has also damaged their dream for independence from the UK. Here is a discussion of this issue in this week's Economist.

Will the Scots ever be happy?

There was a good overview on Panorama last night by Brian Taylor, the Scottish political correspondent for the BBC, on 10 years of Scottish devolution, which you can find on www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer. In conjunction with this, the BBC also released a new poll which revealed that most Scots people want a referendum on independence next year but that the result is wholly reliant on the question that is asked. See the BBC’s headline here plus their special Scottish devolution website here…

The Calman Report

The publication of the Calman Report yesterday has revealed what the Commission believes is the next step for Scottish devolution. The Commission was set up with support from Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems. The SNP, however, did not support it and are waiting for their own investigation... conclusion, independence perhaps?! See here.