No votes for long-term expats in June general election
The UK government has failed to pass a law in time to give long-term expats the right to vote in the forthcoming general election. This is in spite of an earlier pledge to give Britons “votes for life”, wherever they live.
Under current rules, Britons lose their right to vote in the UK once they have lived outside the country for more than 15 years.
A spokeswoman for the British Embassy in Madrid confirmed to Ebre Connect that those who had lived abroad for more than 15 years would be unable to vote on 8 June.
She said: “The government is working towards addressing the rule. However, parliamentary time didn’t allow that bill to be brought before 8 June.”
In October 2016, Chris Skidmore, the UK government’s minister for the constitution, published a policy statement which set out the government’s plans to remove the 15-year limit.
He said: “This statement shows how we will introduce ‘votes for life’, scrapping the 15-year rule. British citizens who move abroad remain a part of our democracy and it is important they have the ability to participate.”
He added: “Following the British people’s decision to leave the EU, we now need to strengthen ties with countries around the world and show the UK is an outward-facing nation.
“Our expat community has an important role to play in helping Britain expand international trade, especially given two-thirds of expats live outside the EU.”
Register to vote before 22 May
Those who are eligible to vote must register before 22 May. If you are overseas at the time of the general election, you can vote by proxy or by post.
Last year, the British Embassy released figures which showed that 283,000 Britons were registered on their local padrón as resident in Spain, but just 11,000 were registered to vote in the UK.
To register to vote, see www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
For more details about voting when you are abroad, see www.gov.uk/voting-when-abroad.
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