Representation of the People Act 1969

The Representation of the People Act 1969 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.[1] This statute is sometimes known as the Sixth Reform Act.[2][3] The 1970 United Kingdom general election (18 June) is the first in which this Act had effect.

Minimum age for electors and candidates

It extended suffrage to 18- to 21-year-olds. Previously, only those aged over 21 permitted to vote. Votes were extended to undergraduate students in their university town following an appeal to the High Court led for the National Union of Students by the Junior Common Room, the official student body of Churchill College, Cambridge.[4] Significantly, it did not extend the right to stand as a candidate for election to Parliament to under-21s. The age of candidacy for elections in the United Kingdom was lowered from 21 to 18 in 2006, with the passing of the Electoral Administration Act 2006.

Local government

It abolished plural voting in local government.[5][6]

References
  1. "Representation of the People Act 1969". Hansard.
  2. "1969 Representation of the People Act". www.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-02. 1969-sixth-reform-act
  3. "Members of Parliament Chadderton". www.chadderton-historical-society.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-01-02.
  4. Richard Henry Tizard.
  5. Halsey, Albert Henry (1988). British Social Trends since 1900. Springer. p. 298. ISBN 9781349194667.
  6. Peter Brooke (24 February 1999). "City of London (Ward Elections) Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). United Kingdom: House of Commons. col. 452.

See also


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