London, United Kingdom – Britain’s next political battleground could be shaped by a generation of young Muslim voters coming of age faster than Westminster realises.A new report by the Muslim Council of Britain released this week found Muslims make up 6.5 percent of the population of England and Wales, with a median age of just 27 – 13 years younger than the national average. Nearly half are under 25, meaning British Muslims are one of the youngest and fastest-growing groups in the country.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listResearchers say that shift could become politically significant if the voting age is lowered to 16, potentially adding about 150,000 more Muslim voters to the electorate.“This is a young, British-born, highly educated generation, and politicians who still think of Muslims as outsiders are reading from a script that is 20 years out of date,” said Miqdad Asaria, associate professor in health policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science. “Lowering the voting age to 16 would amplify a generation that is already shaping British public life. Half of British Muslims are under 25. They are not waiting for permission to participate.”Last year, the Labour government proposed to lower the voting age to 16. To become law, the bid is being debated in Parliament and must be approved by MPs in the House of Commons and peers in the House of Lords. British Muslims remain one of the youngest populations in England and Wales, with a median ag …
