After Brexit, it's clear our voting system needs to change

At a time when a deeply divided nation urgently needs to come together, there is little point in encouraging an intergenerational war by accusing older voters of betraying their children and grandchildren by denying a prosperous future in the EU and voting heavily for Leave in last week's referendum.

Of all the lessons we need to learn from this disaster, there is an important one about young people. Polling suggests that 73 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds backed Remain, the highest level among any age group. But turnout tended to be lower in areas with the highest number of younger voters. They may be disenchanted with our main political parties, but that does mean that young adults do not care about politics, as shown by the strong reaction of many since last Thursday. Some regret voting Leave now they can see the resulting economic turmoil. Perhaps they thought that voting never changes anything and have discovered that it can.

Of course, young people are more likely to express themselves online than anywhere else. So we should now move towards online voting in elections. A commission chaired by John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, last year recommended that internet voting should be introduced at the 2020 general election. Although several other countries have some form of e-voting, ministers have been lukewarm; they should now look seriously at the proposal. If we can use internet banking and register to vote online, then voting could surely be made secure.

At the same time, the Government should extend the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, who did take part in the 2014 referendum in Scotland. The Conservatives judged that giving them a vote in a UK-wide referendum would set a precedent for general elections, a move that would not be to their advantage. David Cameron now has reason to regret that decision, and the Tories would be wise to reverse it.