THERE’S a good reason why under-18s cannot sit on juries, cannot get married (in England at least) and cannot legally get tattooed or buy alcohol or cigarettes.
As bright and as intelligent as they may be, their minds, like their bodies, are still maturing.
They often lack the life experience to inform important decisions and are more vulnerable to peer pressure or undue influence, not least from unregulated social media… which is exactly why Labour wants to give 16-year-olds the vote.
Party chiefs believe many will still have that idealism of youth before it meets the harsh realities of life.
They would like nothing better than a large new tranche of British voters being fed their opinions from TikTok. (So, by the way, would China.)
Sir Keir Starmer says if 16-and 17-year-olds can work, pay tax and serve in the armed forces they should have a vote.
But that is deliberately misleading.
Those callow youths are not generally working in any decision-making role and they are not allowed to fight.
Giving the vote to 16-year-olds would be nothing more than a cynical bid to rig future elections in favour of left of centre parties, as Labour MPs well know.
RISHI Sunak’s plan to bring back National Service for 18-year-olds is an inspired way to address both the woeful shortage in military personnel and the worrying levels of economic inactivity in young people.
But it is much more than that.
As Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer tells The Sun, a taste of military service can be the making of many youngsters.
It can teach them valuable skills, discipline, personal resilience, camaraderie, teamwork and national pride.
Not to mention the badly needed innate cyber skills the younger generation can teach the military.
The non-military alternative — meaningful work for the public good — can be equally transformative and confidence-building for young people.
With tedious predictability Labour dismisses the idea as a gimmick.
But the next generation has much to learn and offer.
A system that allows them to show their worth and to find a place in the world is a great aspiration.
AND talking of aspirations…Premier League ace Raheem Sterling has set up another brilliant goal.
The big-hearted Chelsea midfielder is again funding scholarships at elite universities for poorer black, African and Caribbean heritage students, out of his own pocket, to tackle the equality gap.
Raheem may have missed out on the England Euros squad but he’s shown he’s still a class act.
