Welcome to the first edition of my soapbox. Here you find some Air3 News editorial comment on a current issue that has featured in the news.

My first is an issue that may of you may not be at first concerned with nor feel that it is relevant to you. I will first of all state that I hold this issue dear to my heart and have argues the case for it for many years.
The issue in question you ask? Lowering the voting age to 16. The SNP announced last week that it would be allowing 16 and 17 year olds the right to vote in an independence referendum that is due to be held in the second half of the parliamentary term. I am sure many listeners to the programme will be over 18 and may have exercised their democratic right to vote in an election. However if I could take a little wander down memory lane to when you turned 16, yes for some that may be a while ago and it is not seen to be a very big landmark and is usually overshadowed with your 18th birthday.

However when you turn 16 the government deems you to be of adequate age to be given many new and exciting rights and responsibilities. These include being allowed to work full time and paying tax, getting married, joining the armed forces, playing the lottery, learning to drive some forms of transportation, consent to sexual relationships, leave school, become a director of a company and the list goes on. For many people these rights are seen as life changing decisions that would require a good level of maturity and ensuring that an informed decision is made when exercising these rights.

From this long list, you would assume that 16 is when the government believes you are a mature enough individual and are responsible. However there is the small issue of not being allowed to vote for another two years. Why then does the government give such conflicting messages to our young people? Mature for some things but not to vote?

Our democracy is in some what of a turmoil with record low turn out rates across the recent elections. People are becoming disillusioned with our political system and I believe that lowering the voting age would help it restore the public trust. When most people are 16 they are still in full time education and receive a high standard of impartial education that informs them and allows them to think for themselves. Young people are more informed on current issues then many of our older generation. Twitter, Facebook and a 24 hour media culture that we live in makes accessing information very easy indeed. Our young generation many not use traditional methods of accessing information such as newspapers but they are through social media.

We should not simply cast aside the views held by these young people. They are playing an active role in our society and are yet being denied their democratic right to vote in elections. Our neighbours in the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man have already lowered the voting age to 16 so is it not time we did too? By getting young people engaged and empowering them it will breathe a new lease of life into our democracy. The arguments surrounding maturity are the same arguments used to deny the under 30s the right to vote at the beginning of the 20th century.

A 16 year old in the UK can currently marry their MP, have a sexual relationship with their MP, own a house with their MP and even drive them to work and yet cannot vote for their MP? Something crucial is lacking in our outdated democratic structures. No taxation without representation!