Session 8. Citizens decide: four nations, a referendum and votes at sixteen
Key question: Who has a voice in British democracy, and is the United Kingdom still united?
What do you remember from session 7? Answer alone in five minutes, then check.
1. Who was the first Prime Minister?
2. What is a by-election?
3. What must a Prime Minister have to be appointed?
Show the recap answers
- Sir Robert Walpole (1721 to 1742).
- An election in one constituency between two general elections.
- The confidence of the House of Commons.
Aims
- Read and present election figures
- See the differences between the four nations of the UK
- Debate the voting age
To present election figures accurately and argue for or against votes at sixteen, we need quantifiers and comparatives (a majority of, more than, a narrow margin) and should, with a review of the passive and the second conditional.
Documents
Document A. The EU referendum, 23 June 2016
UK result: Leave 51.9% (17,410,742 votes), Remain 48.1% (16,141,241 votes). Turnout: 72.2%.
| Nation | Leave | Remain |
|---|---|---|
| England | 53.4% | 46.6% |
| Wales | 52.5% | 47.5% |
| Scotland | 38.0% | 62.0% |
| Northern Ireland | 44.2% | 55.8% |
David Cameron, who had called the referendum, announced his resignation the next day. The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020.
Source: Electoral Commission, Results and turnout at the EU referendum · House of Commons Library, Analysis of the EU Referendum results 2016
Document B. Four nations (written for this sequence)
Since 1999, Scotland and Wales have had their own parliaments, and Northern Ireland its Assembly, created after the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. On 18 September 2014, Scotland voted on independence: No 55.3%, Yes 44.7%, with a turnout of 84.6%. Sixteen and seventeen year olds could vote in that referendum, and they can vote in elections to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments.
Source: Electoral Management Board for Scotland, Scottish Independence Referendum 2014
Document C. Votes at sixteen?
“The Representation of the People Bill will extend the voting age to 16 for all UK elections. 16- and 17-year-olds will have the same rights, once registered, as any other voter.”
The bill has passed the House of Commons. Its committee stage in the House of Lords began on 2 November 2026. It is not law yet.
Source: GOV.UK, Representation of the People Bill: Votes at 16 · UK Parliament, Representation of the People Bill enters Lords committee stage
Key words
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| referendum | a vote of all citizens on one question |
| turnout | the percentage of voters who actually vote |
| to leave / to remain | to go out of / to stay in |
| devolution | giving some powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland |
| independence | the state of being a separate country |
| to register | to put your name on the list of voters |
Words in action
EntryComplete with: referendum, turnout, devolution, register.
- A vote of all citizens on one question is a ______.
- The percentage of people who vote is the ______.
- Giving powers to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is ______.
- Before voting, you must ______.
Show the answers
1. referendum. 2. turnout. 3. devolution. 4. register.
CoreDescribe the figures with: a narrow majority, a clear majority, a minority.
- Leave in the UK: 51.9%
- Remain in Scotland: 62%
- Yes in Scotland, 2014: 44.7%
Show the answers
1. a narrow majority. 2. a clear majority. 3. a minority.
StretchExplain the difference between a majority and the turnout, with the 2016 figures.
Show the answers
The turnout (72.2%) is the share of voters who voted; the majority (51.9% for Leave) is the share of those votes won by one side.
To say it: Figures, comparatives and should
Quantifiers: a majority of, more than half of, almost two thirds of + plural noun. A majority of voters chose Leave.
Comparatives: higher than, lower than, more ... than. The turnout was higher in 2014 (84.6%) than in 2016 (72.2%).
should + verb for a proposal: Sixteen-year-olds should vote.
Review: passive (the bill was passed by the Commons) and second conditional (if sixteen-year-olds voted, politicians would listen to them more).
EntryChoose.
- The turnout was (higher / lower) in 2014 than in 2016.
- (A majority / A minority) of Scottish voters chose Remain.
- Sixteen-year-olds (should / should to) vote.
Show the answers
1. higher. 2. A majority. 3. should.
CoreWrite a sentence for each pair of figures with a comparative.
- Leave: England 53.4%, Scotland 38.0%
- Turnout: 2014 84.6%, 2016 72.2%
- Remain: Northern Ireland 55.8%, Wales 47.5%
Show the answers
1. Leave was much higher in England than in Scotland. 2. The turnout was higher in 2014 than in 2016. 3. Remain was higher in Northern Ireland than in Wales.
StretchWrite three sentences on votes at sixteen: one passive, one second conditional, one with should.
Show the answers
The bill was passed by the House of Commons. If sixteen-year-olds voted, parties would talk more about schools and jobs. In my opinion, they should vote, because they already can in Scotland and Wales.
Activities
- Document A: present the figures orally in pairs (the majority, a minority, a narrow margin). Language: Present each figure with a quantifier: A narrow majority voted Leave; more than six voters in ten in Scotland voted Remain.
- Map work: colour the four nations Leave or Remain. What does the map show about the unity of the Kingdom?
- Document C: debate in two teams: Should sixteen-year-olds vote? Terminale students are directly concerned.
- Back to Magna Carta: who had a voice in 1215, in 1689, in 2016, and tomorrow? Then prepare the plan of the final task.
Exercise: Reading figures
Complete with the right word or number.
- In 2016, ______ % of voters chose Leave.
- The turnout was ______ %.
- ______ voted Remain with 62%.
- In 2014, Scotland voted ______ to independence.
- The voting age bill is now in the House of ______.
Show answers
1. 51.9. 2. 72.2. 3. Scotland. 4. No (55.3%). 5. Lords.
Figures of speech in the documents
Study topic: “A Kingdom still united?”; the United Kingdom, where four nations voted in different ways (Document A)
A rhetorical question does not wait for an answer: it makes the reader think. Here it rests on a paradox, two ideas that seem to contradict each other: a Kingdom called united whose nations disagree.
EntryWhich word in the question is challenged by the map of 2016?
Show the answers
united.
CoreWhy is the question more striking than a statement such as: The UK is divided?
Show the answers
It invites the reader to judge, and it plays on the paradox of the name United Kingdom: it opens a debate instead of closing it.
StretchWrite one rhetorical question to open the debate on votes at sixteen.
Show the answers
For example: If you can work and pay taxes at sixteen, why can't you vote?
Expression task
Debate (activity 3): Should sixteen-year-olds vote in all UK elections?
EntryOne opinion with should and one figure.
CoreTwo arguments, one figure with a comparative, one second conditional.
StretchOpen with a rhetorical question, then answer an opponent with although.
Tools to use:
- should, more than, higher than
- if + past, would
- turnout, register, referendum
Show a model answer
If you can work and pay taxes at sixteen, why can't you vote? I think sixteen-year-olds should vote in all UK elections. In 2014, they voted in the Scottish referendum, and the turnout was higher than in 2016. If young people voted, politicians would talk more about education and climate. Although some say they are too young, they are already trusted in Scotland and Wales.
C1 extension
The éduscol question for this axis is “Un Royaume toujours uni ?”. Using Documents A and B, write 180 words: can a referendum divide a country as much as it decides?
Lesson plan for the teacher (55 minutes)
| 5 min | Marked recap |
| 15 min | Document A: figures and map |
| 10 min | Document B: four nations |
| 15 min | Debate |
| 5 min | Final task plan |
| 5 min | Homework |
Prepare the plan of your final task: choose the speech or the op-ed, write your three main ideas and the three dates you will use.
Write it in your planner before the bell. It is also posted on the school platform.
Show a model answer
Model plan: idea 1, 1215: the king accepts limits (Magna Carta). Idea 2, 1689: Parliament controls laws, taxes and the army (Bill of Rights). Idea 3, today: the Prime Minister depends on the Commons, and citizens decide in elections and referendums (2016, votes at sixteen).