Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has warned that Labour's plan to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds could "backfire in spectacular fashion", after a report suggested the change could see independent candidates focused on Gaza take seats from Labour. The intervention highlights growing unease within Labour ranks over how younger voters, seen as more sympathetic to pro-Palestinian causes, might reshape electoral outcomes against the party that is introducing the reform.

The warning comes amid wider concern about the impact of independent candidates who campaigned on the Gaza conflict, several of whom already won seats from Labour at the last general election. Analysis cited in the report suggests lowering the voting age could amplify this trend, with younger voters seen as more likely to back candidates critical of the party's stance on the conflict, potentially costing Labour further seats in future elections.