AN MP has claimed young people have become “disempowered” as politicians were left with less than half an hour to debate lowering the voting age to 16.

Peter Kyle, Labour MP for Hove and Portslade, has urged MPs to support his private members bill, which was debated in the House of Commons on Friday.

The bill would allow 16 and 17-year-olds to be added to the voting register and enable them to vote in their schools and colleges by having polling stations located on site for elections.

Addressing the House, Mr Kyle said: “Young people today emerge into an economy that is much more complex than ever before.

“The challenges our country faces are increasingly long term.

“These are the challenges that our government hands down to the next generation.

“This political system leaves out the people who will be dealing with these consequences the longest.

“It is politically unsustainable.

“We must think about what kind of democracy we should be.

“Do we want to be a democracy that looks to the future?”

He said that young people are becoming disenfranchised from the political system and are “losing out” as a result.

The bill has gained cross-party support and is sponsored by Liberal Democrat MP Norman Lamb and Conservative MP Nicky Morgan.

However, Mr Kyle was given just under half an hour to present his bill to the House and for other MPs to debate the proposals.

MPs will be given another chance to discuss the bill later this year after they spent hours debating an earlier bill to do with paid leave for bereaved parents and guardians.

Luke Graham, MP for Ochil and South Perthshire, said: “This isn’t about party politics, it is about political engagement. It is a positive civic engagement.”

The bill has also received support from youth organisations including the British Youth Council, Debate Mate, the National Union of Students and the Association of Colleges.

Some MPs called for the law to be changed to at least allow 16 and 17 year-olds to be able to vote in local elections as is being planned for young people in Wales and as has already been allowed in Scotland.

Questions were also raised about whether 16 and 17-year-olds should also be allowed to sit on a jury.

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Kemptown and Peacehaven, questioned how much more time is needed for the bill to be debated before a vote is taken.

The bill is set to be debated further in October.