Lowering the age of voting to 16 is vital to getting young people interested in politics, according to Government minister Peter Hain.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales was speaking at the relaunch of youth media charity Children’s Express as Headliners.

He is widely tipped to become deputy leader if Gordon Brown is chosen as the new leader of the Labour Party.

He said society had to accept that if they wanted young people to engage in democracy they should be treated as equal; and that meant lowering the age to vote to 16.

He suggested introducing automatic registration on the electoral register when a National Insurance number is issued, to help reduce the number of young people who can’t vote because they are not registered.

He said: “At 16, young people are entitled to marry, leave school and home, and take up full-time employment. They are also entitled to join the armed forces, fight and die for their country. Young people should, therefore, be treated as full citizens – without qualification – when they become 16 – including being given the right to vote.”

Headliners is a youth development charity that encourages young people to investigate and challenge the world around them through journalism.

Since it started in the UK in 1994 as Children’s Express, it has produced over 1,200 stories involving 4,000 young people.