Labour Party leader Joseph Muscat is proposing to grant voting rights to 16-year-olds, using local council elections as a testing ground.

In his weekly opinion piece published in The Times today, Dr Muscat says that lowering the voting age to 16 from 18 for local elections would be a way of involving young people in local government.

This was just one of the proposals discussed at party level on local council reform which is currently the subject of public consultation.

He argued this would be an ideal way to involve 16-year-olds in politics, which is becoming increasingly detached from the people, and suggests that it might also be a good idea to lower the age for candidates.

Having younger voters would help curb polarisation and partisan politics on a local level, he says.

Asked to clarify a point, he said the proposal should be tested in local elections first and then a decision taken on whether to extend it to general elections.

Labour, he added, will be leading by example by involving younger people within the party.