Laura Smith
Main Page: Laura Smith (Labour - Crewe and Nantwich)Department Debates - View all Laura Smith's debates with the Cabinet Office
(6 years, 4 months ago)
Commons ChamberRead Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Mr Lidington
My right hon. Friend makes an interesting and valid point. I would add, of course, that we make specific protections in our law in respect of criminal justice and the asylum system, recognising that people under 18 need special protection.
Laura Smith (Crewe and Nantwich) (Lab)
During a debate in 2015, the hon. Member for Norwich North (Chloe Smith), said:
“I am one of those who believes that we should allow voting at 16”.—[Official Report, 17 November 2015; Vol. 602, c. 572.]
Since then, a range of senior Conservatives have outlined their support, including the former Chancellor, who said that the Conservative party risked
“being on the wrong side of history”
if it refused to back the measure. Does the Minister agree with his colleague and will does he support votes at 16?
Mr Lidington
I stand by the manifesto on which I stood in 2017, and, as has been made clear this morning, by the position that the Labour party took for the 13 years during which it was last in government.