Should young people have the right to stand in local elections?
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain why local council elections are important and the arguments for and against young people being able to become local councillors.
Key learning points
- Local councils are responsible for services that affect daily life, like education, transport and housing.
- In all parts of the UK, individuals must be 18 or over to stand as a local councillor.
- 16 and 17 year olds can vote in local elections in Scotland and Wales, but they are not allowed to stand for election.
- To be a councillor, a person must live, work, own or rent property or be registered to vote in the area for 12 months.
- Youth Councils enable young people to express their views but do not hold legal decision-making power.
Keywords
Local council - a group elected to make decisions and provide services in a specific area, such as a town, city or borough
Local councillor - a person elected to represent their ward or division, and the people who live in it
Common misconception
Local councillors get a salary.
Local councillors do not get a salary. They are entitled to receive an allowance to cover costs associated with their role. This allowance is intended to reimburse them for time spent on council duties and is a basic allowance.
Teacher tip
Research who your local concillor is before the lesson and what they have recently been involved in. You can use this information as evidence when debating whether young people should be allowed to stand in local elections and become local councillors.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the start of the sentence to its ending.
can reach more people and decision-makers.
it has a clear goal and message.
keep momentum and check for results.
Q2.Campaigners should always look at whether their method led to real and lasting to decide if it was successful.
Q3.Which of these is an example of a campaign with good timing?
Q4.Not all campaign work for every campaign; different ones should be used or a combination of them for maximum success.
Q5.Match the campaigning to when it is best used.
when you want to show mass public support in writing
when you want to get attention quickly in person
when you want to influence formal decisions in Parliament
when you want expert support and wider reach by an organisation
Q6.Campaigners must check whether their actions led to meaningful __________, not just attention.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the word to its definition.
a group elected to make decisions and give services in a specific area
a person elected to represent the people in their ward or division
the voting process to select a person for a public local position
Q2.If you were voting in a local election in May 2025 in England, how old do you have to be?
Q3.A local council provides public to the community, like transport, youth centres and waste disposal.
Q4.When do local elections usually take place? Every ___________ years.
Q5.Order these words to create a correct sentence about local government.
Q6.What does a local councillor NOT do?
To help you plan your 9 citizenship lesson on: Should young people have the right to stand in local elections?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 9 citizenship lesson on: Should young people have the right to stand in local elections?, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 3 citizenship lessons from the How can young people play an active role in democracy? unit, dive into the full secondary citizenship curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.