Oh dear. We’re one day into August – also known as ‘silly season’ – and Cat Smith has stepped up to the plate so journalists don’t have to. The shadow minister for voter engagement and youth affairs has penned a blog for the Huffington Post in which she makes the case for lowering the voting age to sixteen.
Her argument? If you’re 16-years-old you can have sexual intercourse with your MP… but you can’t vote for them:
At 16 you can have sex with your MP – but you can't vote for them! My latest blog @HuffPostUK https://t.co/SVEe3t5i0H
— Cat Smith MP (@CatSmithMP) July 31, 2017
Putting aside whether this is the best message to be putting out at a time when female MPs have raised concern over abuse, Mr S doubts her claim regarding this great injustice even adds up.
It is an offence for an older person to have sex with someone under the age of eighteen if that person holds a position of trust. What’s more, when Smith’s former Labour comrade Simon Danczuk ‘sexted’ a 17-year-old female, he was swiftly suspended by the party.
While Steerpike commends Smith’s foray into youth affairs, Mr S does have some advice for the Labour MP: do not try this at home.
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