When was it decided that people legally became adults at 18 in the UK? Was the age ever lowered or increased?

Question

Ah, after a lot of searching, I found something on the internet. The age of majority was lowered from 21 to 18 in 1970 in the UK. If anyone has any more information or understands why this happened I would be grateful. Thanks!

Answer 1

It used to be 21 and was lowered to 18...it happened between my 18th and my 21st so I missed out on both,...don't recall the exact year but it was between 1967 and 1970

Edit

Got curious and did a search and came up with this...

The Representation of the People Act 1969 lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. The Representation of the People Act 1985 gave British citizens abroad the right to vote for a 5 year period after they had left Britain. The Representation of the People Act 1989 extended the period to 20 years and citizens who were too young to vote when they left the country also became eligible.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_Kingdom
(in the History section)

Answer 2

It depends on what you mean by adult; If you mean have the right to vote it was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969.
The 1884 Reform Act gave the vote to every male adult (over 21) householder and male lodgers paying £10 for unfurnished rooms. In1918 women householders, householders' wives, and women university graduates over 30 years of age got the vote. The age at whivch women can vote was reduced to 21 in 1928

You have different 'adult' rights at different ages. The following is a quote from a 2003 consultation paper by the Electoral Commission

"To vote in all elections in the UK an individual must be at least 18 years old. This requirement is now contained in the representation of the People Act 1983, although it was first enacted in 1969.
To stand as a candidate, an individual must be at least 21 years old. This is found in different legal provisions, dependent on the body or office for which the election is being held.
In the UK, there is no standard legal ‘age of majority’, with different minimum ages applying in relation to different activities. For example:
• 10 (8 in Scotland): criminal responsibility;
• 13: part-time employment;
• 16: leave education, enter full-time employment, have sex, smoke, play the National Lottery, join a trade union, apply for a passport, pay tax and National Insurance, and (with parental consent) join the armed forces, get married, or leave home;
• 17: drive a car or light motorbike;
• 18: buy alcohol without a meal, gamble in a betting shop or casino, be tried in an adult court, serve on a jury, and do without parental consent those things exercisable at 16 only with;
• 21: drive larger and more powerful motor vehicles."

Answer 3

Dr. Winnie Ewing, the current SNP president, made her maiden speech in this House, in 1967, on the subject of lowering the voting age from 21 to 18. Of course, that came about, thereby allowing 81 current Members of this House to benefit directly from the last lowering of the voting age, which occurred in 1970.

Answer 4

About 150 years ago in UK people could marry at age 14, all the marriage certificates had to say was ''full age'' and as long as that was over 14.....it stopped a lot of unmarried teenage pregnancies....bear in mind that they left school at about age 12 years.

Answer 5

It was reduced from the centuries old 21 years of age around 1968 ish.

Answer 6

Well I can't recall exactly. No doubt someone else will let you know when it was reduced to that age from 21!