Teenagers aged 16 and 17 should not be allowed to vote in a referendum on Britain's European Union membership because they are not even allowed to watch 18-rated films, a Tory former minister has said.
Lord Blencathra said if 16 and 17-year-olds are not allowed to watch "violent, pornographic" films then they are not capable of decisions on major political issues.
He spoke as peers clashed over whether to extend the franchise in the referendum to those aged 16 and above.
Peers have tabled amendments to the European Union Referendum Bill at committee stage in an attempt to give the vote to 16 and 17 year-olds.
They are not expected to cause issues for the Government tonight but Labour is expected to push the issue to a vote in the Lords at the subsequent report stage of the Bill.
During the debate, Lord Blencathra told peers: "They can't even watch a film with an 18 year-old classification.
"That to me is a telling point to us.
"If our law considers them too young to watch a violent, pornographic film then how can we say they are capable of making a decision on major political issues?
"They can't serve on a jury.
"They are regarded as non-capable of exercising judgement there. Then why are they able to exercise judgement in relation to national political points?"
Meanwhile, House of Cards author Lord Dobbs backed votes for 16 and 17 year-olds in the upcoming in/out referendum which will be held before 2017.
The Tory peer - who wrote the original series of books portraying Francis Urquhart which were turned into hit TV series in the UK and US - stressed teenagers were allowed to vote in the Scottish independence referendum.
He said: "How can it be right to allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in a referendum on Scotland but not in a referendum on Europe?
"There has to be some sort of consistency.
"It is a matter of balance."
Earlier, Tory former cabinet minister Lord Tebbit clashed with opposition peers backing votes at 16.
Lib Dem peer Lord Tyler urged the change as he insisted it had proved a success during the Scottish independence referendum.
Lord Tebbit said the reform would create the impression that the views of the young were more important than those of the old.
"Old people never get younger, young people, granted reasonable luck, get older, the older they get the more they get like old people, it is a very curious thing," Lord Tebbit said.
"So what he is saying is that their views as young people should be counted, but those of us in our advanced years are silly old fools who really shouldn't be trusted with the future of the country at all."
Lord Tyler insisted that there would be no upper age limit on taking part in the referendum, and he hoped the Tory peer would vote "the right way".
"I have more confidence in some of the 16 and 17-year-olds' judgement on this issue than in Lord Tebbit's," Lord Tyler said.
Lord Tebbit then left the chamber.
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