UNN’s Oliver Down has learnt that the Liberal Democrat leadership contender Layla Moran, who was defeated by Sir Ed Davey today, has previously called for 11-year-olds to be given the vote. Ms Moran, who was defeated in the Liberal Democrat leadership race with only 36.5% of the vote compared to Sir Ed’s 63.5% has said she thinks minors should be able to vote when they “feel ready”.
Ms Moran said in 2017 during a party conference fringe event “I’m going to lob a crazy idea, and see where it goes – Why 16? I met some really, really on-point 12, 11 and 14 year-olds. My personal view is that you should be able to vote when you feel ready”. Ms Moran has stated that these comments no longer reflect her views and the Oxford West MP admitted that this statement was a “crazy idea”.
Layla Moran was many peoples favourite to win the leadership contest and some may cite these and other similar comments as the reason for her defeat to the older Ed Davey. The Conservative MP Maria Caulfield ridiculed these comments when she said: “We knew things were bad for the Lib Dems, but offering to give primary school kids the vote is desperation. They’ll be offering free Fortnite tokens next”.
A considerable number of social media accounts have been discussing the reasons for Layla Moran’s defeat in the Liberal Democrat leadership election. One Twitter user @jowilliams293 said, “ So, was it arguing for votes for 11-year-olds, her inability to define the word ‘woman’, attention-seeking statements about pan-sexuality or just plain old cr*p politics that did it for Layla Moran?”.
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Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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