Sixteen-year-olds will get the right to vote in all UK elections as part of landmark reforms unveiled by the Labour government.

Controversial voter ID requirements will also be radically watered down so people only need to have their bank card to be able to take part in elections.

A new automated system to register to vote will also be introduced.

Tougher action will also be taken to protect candidates and campaigners, and avoid voter intimidation after incidents including at elections in Tower Hamlets in central London.

New rules will also be introduced to guard against foreign political interference, with the elections watchdog able to impose fines of up to £500,000.

Lowering the voting age to 16 for general and other elections was in Labour’s manifesto.

The party is widely seen to have most to gain from such a move.

But if Jeremy Corbyn’s new party gains traction it could eat into the share of 16 and 17-year-old voters who polls have suggested would back Labour.

Nigel Farage’s Reform UK could also get significant backing from this age group, particularly among male teenagers.

So the reforms are a gamble by Labour in an increasingly multi-party system.

A poll of 500 sixteen and seventeen-year-olds by Merlin Strategy for ITV News showed 33% said they would vote Labour, followed by 20% who said Reform, 18% Green, 12% Liberal Democrats and 10% Conservative.

It also found just one in five said they would definitely vote if there was a General Election tomorrow.

Half of 16 and 17-year-olds said they don’t think they should be allowed to vote, according to the survey.

Announcing the reforms, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: “For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline.

“We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give sixteen-year-olds the right to vote.

“We cannot take our democracy for granted, and by protecting our elections from abuse and boosting participation we will strengthen the foundations of our society for the future.”

In Scotland and Wales, 16 and 17-year-olds can already vote in local and devolved elections but there are only around a dozen countries in the world that allow 16-year-olds to vote in national elections.

Ms Rayner published a new strategy paper on the voting reforms which includes:

• Making UK-issued bank cards an accepted form of ID at the polling station.

• An increasingly automated voter registration system will also make it easier for people to register to vote.

• Reforms to make more digital ID accepted as voter ID.

• Tougher sentences for those who intimidate candidates and campaigners.

• Stronger protections for candidates in public life by removing the requirement for their home address to be published and openly available.

• Allowing the Electoral Commission to impose fines of up to £500,000 on those who breach political finance rules.

Rushanara Ali, democracy minister and MP for Bethnal Green and Stepney, said: “We are modernising our democracy, so that it is fit for the 21st century.

“By delivering our manifesto commitment to extend the vote to 16 and 17 year olds, we are taking a generational step forward in restoring public trust and boosting engagement in UK democracy.”

Loopholes that would allow foreign donors via ‘shell companies’ to influence UK political parties will be closed.

New requirements on unincorporated associations will mandate checks on donations over £500 to target foreign interference and protect UK democracy from those who attempt to undermine it.