‘No one experiencing homelessness should feel locked out of our democracy’

Homeless people will be given the tools to vote in elections as part of a new £2.5 million fund also aiming to help 16-year-olds to feel equipped at the ballot box.

Last month’s King’s Speech saw Labour commit to following Scotland and Wales in extending votes to 16- and 17-year-olds through the Representation of the People Bill.

The government has now announced a new democratic engagement fund offering £2.5m to fund grassroots projects making democracy more accessible.

As well as giving young voters the knowledge they need to cast a vote, the fund will also support ethnic minority groups, people experiencing homelessness and people from lower-income backgrounds to participate in democracy.

Samantha Dixon, minister for democracy, told Big Issue: “No one experiencing homelessness should feel locked out of our democracy.

“Whether its problems with registering, a lack of suitable ID, or simply low trust in our politics, we must take steps to bring more people experiencing homelessness to the polls, so they can make their voices heard.

“Today’s fund will support projects which remove barriers to voting for these people – improving our democracy by giving more voters a say in how our country is run.”

Election turnouts, both local and national, have been declining over the past 25 years, according to the Electoral Commission, with around one in 10 people who didn’t vote saying they didn’t participate because they were fed up or not interested in politics.

But people experiencing homelessness face other barriers to voting on election day.

Voter ID, which was first introduced in 2023 local elections in England, can block homeless people from voting as can the lack of an address.

Big Issue has previously supported some of our vendors to vote by helping with ID or using our offices as a proxy address so people can register to vote.

Read more:

• Giving 16-year-olds the vote: Will it beat far-right populism or does it play right into Farage’s hands?
• Big Issue vendors and their dogs take housing fight to parliament: ‘I’d be lost without her’
• Everyone has a right to vote – including homeless people. Here’s how you can take part

The new Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government fund will give community and voluntary groups a share of £2.5m to help people understand and take part in democracy.

Projects will be tasked with informing people how to vote, what their rights are and how decisions made in Westminster and local authorities affect their everyday lives.

There will be a focus on meeting people where they are, including at schools, community centres and youth clubs, and targeted, practical support for people who face barriers to taking part, such as homeless people.

Most projects will receive up to £25,000, with up to £50,000 available in exceptional cases. 

Ministers expect the fund will support around 80 to 100 projects across England. Funding will be awarded in January 2027 with projects to start in March of the same year.

Big Issue recently looked at whether 16- and 17-year-olds are equipped to vote, following a University of Roehampton study that found many UK teenagers have “limited political understanding and confidence”.

In Scotland, 16- and 17-year-olds have been able to vote since the 2014 independence referendum, and in all Scottish Parliament and local elections since 2015, and in Wales since 2020.

Academics said a programme of civic education in schools was needed to help teenagers prepare to vote.

“Parliament is moving towards giving 16-year-olds the vote, but we haven’t put in place a consistent way of preparing them to use it,” said Professor Bryony Hoskins, who led the research.

“At the moment, it depends too much on individual schools or projects. Young people are often getting their political information from social media – and increasingly AI – which raises real concerns about how well equipped they are to judge what is reliable.”

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