Holyrood elections to include 16 and 17 year olds

Young people aged 16 and 17 look set to be able to vote in the next Scottish Parliament election, following an agreement at a meeting today between Prime Minister David Cameron and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

An order under section 30 of the Scotland Act 1998, such as was used to enable the Scottish Parliament to set up this year's independence referendum at which 16 and 17 year olds were also able to vote, will enable the Parliament to make such provision in time for the election to be held in 2016.

After the meeting Ms Sturgeon said she was "very confident" that that timetable would be met.

The power to lower the voting age was one of the recommendations of the Smith Commission on further devolved powers. All parties in Scotland support the move, though Mr Cameron is not yet persuaded that it should be applied across the UK.