The Votes for Expats organisation is delighted at David Cameron's election promise that he will abolish the arbitary 15 year cut off for expat voters.
Currently, expats after 15 years abroad no longer have the right to vote in UK general elections and referenda and often have no right to vote for an MP in their country of residence, this certainly is the case in Portugal.
As part of the continuing pressure on the Conservative government to carry out its pledge, please would you sign the petition below and 'share' it on your Twitter and Facebook accounts to make sure the subject does not get lost.
The organisation has been assured in messages from Oliver Letwin MP and Geoffrey Clifton Brown MP that a Bill to remove the 15 year limit will be placed before parliament.
The question is, when? There is uncertainty about its mention in the forthcoming Queen's Speech and it is essential that the rule is abolished before the UK votes in a referendum on whether to stay in Europe.
Please follow the link below.
For a UK post code If you do not have one, or can not remember it, use the Westminster one SW1A 0AA
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/eu-referendum-votes-for-all
Why is this important?
It is estimated that somewhere in the region of 5.5 million British Citizens currently reside overseas, with nearly 2 million living in the EU.
These people move abroad for a variety of reasons, work, family, health or to retire to name but a few. Many have family ties remaining in UK and, contrary to popular opinion, moving overseas does not mean these people have turned their back on the UK.
Many continue to take a keen interest in news and political developments back home and despite long-term residence overseas, some continue to be UK taxpayers through occupational pensions, rental of UK properties whilst abroad or from other income derived in the UK.
As the law currently stands, once you have resided overseas for more than 15 years, you lose your entitlement to vote in any elections in the UK, whether you are a UK taxpayer or not.
We face the situation where many British Citizens are to be denied a say in the long-term future of the UK in relation to the EU and the rest of the world. Their voices should also be heard and rightly so.
