Labour Formally Announces It Will Give 16- And 17-Year-Olds The Right To Vote

In its education manifesto, launched on Thursday, the party said also that it would put £50 million towards ensuring students have sufficient careers advice.

Chris Radburn / PA Wire/Press Association Images

Labour has formally pledged to extend the right to vote to 16- and 17-year-olds in its education manifesto.

The party made five headline announcements in central London on Thursday, some of which have been previously disclosed by members of the shadow cabinet.

A key pledge is to increase spending on education and maintain the budget in real terms.

This is in contrast with a speech given by Conservative leader David Cameron in February where he said there would be a "cash freeze" in education spending under the Tories, which would mean an effective cut in spending per pupil. Some estimates suggest this would mean the budget for schools could decrease by as much as 10%.

Here are the five key announcements made by Labour today:

Siraj Datoo @dats

Here are the key points from Labour's education manifesto #ge2015

08:48 AM - 09 Apr 2015

Party leader Ed Miliband also announced that a Labour government would spend £50million on providing careers advice to students.

"It's no good having a system if young people don't know how to navigate their way through," he said.

As part of the manifesto, the party said it will also bring back compulsory work experience for 14–16-year-olds, something that was scrapped under the coalition government.