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Long-stay Brit expats lose their voting rights yet again
| Published: | 4 Nov at 6 PM |
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Long-stay British expats overseas are still to be excluded from voting to retain their chosen lifestyles.
Britons who emigrated to European member states as well as further afield more than 15 years ago will again be forbidden the chance to vote in the upcoming UK General Election. Totals are estimated as some 700,000 or more, with the majority living in European member states and most already prohibited from voting in the 2016 Brexit referendum. It’s estimated the vast majority of those excluded have paid tax and national insurance contributions for many years before opting for relocation overseas.
Over the past several years, Conservative promises to scrap the law, thus giving every UK expat the right to vote, have failed dismally as has Labour’s attempt to offer the vote to EU citizens living and working in the UK and its push to lower the voting age to 16 years. As the general election looms, long-stay expat Brits faced with losing their human rights including their preferred lifestyles, free movement and free healthcare are growing ever more angry at the government’s perceived manipulation of the overseas electorate.
All other G7 states allow life-long full participation in elections in the home country, and UK expats in the EU are still liable for a range of taxes including inheritance tax, even although millions are prevented from having their say in matters which are certain to wreck their future plans. The phrase ‘no taxation without representation’ is being quoted in expat communities across Europe, especially as many are remembering the chaos of late postal votes due to supposed Royal Mail inefficiency.
Britons who emigrated to European member states as well as further afield more than 15 years ago will again be forbidden the chance to vote in the upcoming UK General Election. Totals are estimated as some 700,000 or more, with the majority living in European member states and most already prohibited from voting in the 2016 Brexit referendum. It’s estimated the vast majority of those excluded have paid tax and national insurance contributions for many years before opting for relocation overseas.
Over the past several years, Conservative promises to scrap the law, thus giving every UK expat the right to vote, have failed dismally as has Labour’s attempt to offer the vote to EU citizens living and working in the UK and its push to lower the voting age to 16 years. As the general election looms, long-stay expat Brits faced with losing their human rights including their preferred lifestyles, free movement and free healthcare are growing ever more angry at the government’s perceived manipulation of the overseas electorate.
All other G7 states allow life-long full participation in elections in the home country, and UK expats in the EU are still liable for a range of taxes including inheritance tax, even although millions are prevented from having their say in matters which are certain to wreck their future plans. The phrase ‘no taxation without representation’ is being quoted in expat communities across Europe, especially as many are remembering the chaos of late postal votes due to supposed Royal Mail inefficiency.
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