I see that the land of my birth – the Isle of Man – intends to lower the age at which people can vote from 18 to 16. The intention is to attract young people to get involved in politics. Hmm, well good luck to them, it will be interesting to see whether it makes any difference.
The story in the Guardian also comments that this is not the first time that the Island has led the way in democratic reform, it granted the right to vote to women of property back in 1881. I couldn’t help but have a wry smile at that "led the way" line. The Island also kept the birch (corporal punishment for male offenders) well into the 1970s, and kept anti-gay legislation on the books until well into the 1990s. There was a right little hotbed of anti-gay bigots on the Island, and at least one gay man I knew of committed suicide as a result of the poisonous atmosphere there at the time.
Geoff Coupe's Blog 
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