You can get married at 16

Tony Blair said there was a time when he would have opposed such a move.

But speaking to an invited audience of young people in Downing Street on Wednesday, Mr Blair said he was now not so sure.

The Electoral Commission, which advises ministers on how elections can be modernised, is due to report on changes to the voting age in the New Year.

Undecided

The commission was prompted to consider cutting the age that people can cast their vote following concern over falling turnouts at elections.

At present a 16-year-old can get married and join the army, but he or she cannot vote in elections and has to wait until reaching the aged of 21 to stand as a candidate.

There is obviously a case for saying: 'Look people grow up a lot more quickly - there's many things you can do at the age of 16 - so why shouldn't you be able to vote?' Tony Blair

At the General Election in 2001, only 39% of 18-24 year olds bothered to vote, according to the pollsters MORI.

This coincided with a survey by the British Household Panel 2001-02 which suggested that nearly 30% of 15-17 year olds said they were either very interested or fairly interested in politics - higher than the equivalent figure for 18-20 year olds.

During the gathering at Downing Street on Wednesday, Mr Blair said he had no strict view about the way forward.

"On voting at 16 I'm undecided myself," he said.

"If you'd have asked me two or three years ago I'd have said: 'no'. Now I'm not sure about the arguments ... There is obviously a case for saying: 'Look people grow up a lot more quickly - there's many things you can do at the age of 16 - so why shouldn't you be able to vote?'"

'Democratic right'

When the consultation began in the summer, Electoral Commissioner Glyn Mathias urged people who were not normally interested in politics to get involved before it closed on 31 October.

The commission sought views from people attending party political conferences, the annual sitting of the UK Youth Parliament and youth interest groups.

At the time, Mr Mathias said: "The right to vote is one of the most important you can have in a democratic country.

"The key question for this review is whether young people under 18 should be given that right to vote or be able to stand as a candidate before they are 21."

The review came after the commission found that just 16% of voters aged under-25 voted in May's elections to the Welsh assembly.

Not only did under-25s fail to vote in significant numbers, but only 21% of the next age group, 25-to-34 year olds, exercised their democratic rights.