That decision is contained in an amendment to the referendum bill and the Commons may yet strike it down. The government opposes the change but with a slender majority and opposition parties in favour of it, the outcome is uncertain.

Everything hinges on the handful of Conservative MPs who are minded to go along with the peers’ judgment. Their motives flow mostly from tactical – and contradictory – considerations around the referendum result. Some pro-Europeans believe younger voters are likelier to support the case for Remain. Limited polling evidence supports that view, although the impact is dulled by the pattern of younger voters failing to turn out compared with the more reliable poll attendance of their elders.

Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/19/the-guardian-view-on-votes-at-16-give-youth-a-voice-in-the-eu-poll