As many as one million supporters of the Conservative party have received a direct message from David Cameron.
The initiative is part of an internet campaign by the party to get expats to register to vote.
Mr Cameron said: “In an election with so much at stake, overseas voters could be the difference between a Conservative government committed to reducing the deficit, cutting taxes and building a stronger, healthier economy – or a return to higher taxes, higher borrowing and less control over welfare with Labour.
"Of the five million British people living abroad, virtually none are registered to vote – despite the fact it's now really simple to do online. In fact, it only takes five minutes to sign up for a postal vote.
"So today I'm asking you to think of three people you know who live abroad and encourage them to vote by forwarding them this email or sending them this link: www.overseasvote2015.com."
About one out of every five British expats is denied the vote due to the “15-year rule”.
But for those of the estimated 5.5 million expats who can, registering was made simpler last year with online registration for the postal vote.
By February 2014, there were only 20,000 overseas voters registered, which the Electoral Commission said was disappointing.
The Conservatives have promised to extend voting rights to all expats, but only if they win the upcoming general election.
Earlier this month, Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown launched a Private Member’s Bill in the House of Commons, in an attempt to have voting rights for all expats before the next general election in 2015.
Although 6 March was set for the second reading of the Bill, it is unlikely that it will be passed into law due to date on which Parliament must be dissolved before the general election in May.
See:
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote
www.votes-for-expat-brits-blog.com
and for the Winter Fuel Payment issue:
