Political parties in the UK, anxious to attract voters for the May general election, have been filling the airwaves with promises. But not all have given consideration to expat votes.
The Conservative Party has said it would restore the right to vote for British citizens for life. This is dependent on it winning the election.
The Tory manifesto, launched on Tuesday, states: “We will complete the electoral register, by working to include more of the five million Britons who live abroad. We will introduce votes for life, scrapping the rule that bars British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years from voting.”
The Liberal Democrats conference last spring adopted a policy commitment to "explore the viability of overseas constituencies such as those used in some other European countries".
Its manifesto, published today, says it will “explore options to strengthen and simplify the voting rights of UK citizens living abroad and address disenfranchisement experienced by some.”
The party did not, however, address the issue of the 15-year rule.
The so-called 15 year rule prevents an estimated one million British expats from being able to vote because they have lived overseas for that amount of time.
The Labour Party did not address the question of expat voting rights at all. Ukip also ignored the issue.
The European Commission last year said that the UK is “punishing” its expats for leaving the country by denying them voting rights.
Comments
You are not in the UK. You do not pay taxes in the UK (I assume). You are not directly affected by the consequences of your vote.
The EU may possibly legislate to ensure an expats right to vote in their adopted country at some stage (they seem to have legislated for everything else!) however, this would only partially solve the problem. There are many countries that Brits emigrate to outside the EU block and you are never going to achieve a world wide agreement on this issue.
I assumed my opinion would be unpopular in certain quarters and expected the thumbs down, but sorry guys, I cannot support you on this issue and vehemently disagree with the 15 year rule and especially David Cameron's proposed legislation.
We will have to agree to disagree on this rare occasion
I would agree RCK, but only if we were allowed to vote for an MP in our country of domicile, which in Portugal we are not.
This voting argument would not be happening if there was an equivalent system between all countries, especially EU ones, where we could vote for a local MP wherever we happened to live.
In Portugal I can vote in Junta, Camara and MEP elections but not for a member of parliament in general or bye-elections.
Why should any UK tax paying resident have a situation where, expats with alternative political views to their own, have the ability to influence the election of, shall we say, undesirables, who go on to wreak havoc with UK Plc and yet these expats do not then have to directly suffer the ensuing consequences of their voting choices?
This cannot be right
This promise is a real hostage to fortune. We disfranchised expats cannot vote Tory to approve of this promise. Neither will those in UK who jealously believe that we have abandoned UK to live the life of Riley be encouraged to vote for Cameron.
To me, this promise looks like a Tory shot in the foot.