The Representation of the People Act 1969 is an
Act of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom. It extended
suffrage to 18-20 year olds. Previously, only those 21 or over were permitted to vote. Votes were extended to undergraduate students in their university town following an appeal to the High Court led for the
National Union of Students by the Junior Common Room (JCR - official undergraduate student body) of
Churchill College, Cambridge.
Significantly, it did not extend the right to stand for election to Parliament to under-21s.
This statute is sometimes known as the Sixth
Reform Act.