YOUNG people in Northwich have been denied the right to vote following a debate in the House of Commons.

Members of Parliament for Eddisbury and Tatton declared their support for the voting age to remain at 18, while the MP for Weaver Vale supported a motion to reduce it to 16.

A private members bill to get younger people into democracy was proposed for the first time on Friday.

Antoinette Sandbach, MP for Eddisbury, added: “Engagement in politics is an extremely important subject for me but I cannot support this bill.

“The real argument at the moment is the age of responsibility. We don’t allow people to buy alcohol before they are 18. Teenagers must remain in education until they are 18 and while they 16-year-olds can join the army, they are not allowed on the front line.

“Involvement is politics is still open to 16-year-olds despite not having the vote. They are free to join a political party if they wish and engage in debates.

“We have to be very careful about where we draw the line.

“I represent eight and 10-year-olds in my constituency but that doesn’t mean we have to give them the vote.”

Following the House of Commons debate, deputy speaker Eleanor Laing said further discussion was needed on the Votes at 16 bill and adjourned the matter until December.

Esther McVey MP for Tatton, added: “I have always been open-minded to any change of the law, but as we followed the debate on Friday it was clear that 18 remained the preferred age of adulthood with 16 to 18 being seen as a transition age to adulthood.

"However, I’m personally delighted so many young people want to get involved in politics and I'd like to support them in their aim to get involved.

“I have great young people in the constituency, some of who I work with as part of a youth advocacy group."

Weaver Vale MP Mike Amesbury, Labour, has blasted suggestions that allowing young people to vote could be harmful to them.

He also claims that Conservatives members drew out the length of the debate so that there was no time to vote.

He told the Guardian: “I have been a long standing supporter of votes for 16-year-olds and it is a Labour manifesto policy.

“I can’t see why anyone would oppose it and we’ve seen support from across the board for this.

“The responsibility of young people in the Scottish referendum proved that they can be taken seriously.

“At 16 you are eligible to pay tax, get married or even join the army and this is a set of circumstances where I believe 16 and 17-year-olds deserve a vote.