So Brits who live abroad can now vote in the General Election.

Agree with you, Nandalot. I hadn’t spotted that the rule had been waived, and does use of this word mean that it may be reinstated?
Not a good step.

I think you pay your taxes and you are entitled to vote and have your say. If not then not really. Pay more attention to the place where have chosen to live and work. Embrace what you have, not what have chosen to leave behind.

I don't understand why you would want to have a vote in a country you had decided to leave and to which you had no intention of returning?

My friends ex husband went to Thailand to live ( with various women) about 30 years ago but he remembered to come back when he was 65 to make sure he picked up his pension then when everything was setup off he went back again

It didn’t even go to a vote in parliament. It was a statutory instrument. Do they think ex pats are likely to vote with the government?

Surely most long term expats are people who have emigrated. Why would they want to have a say in who governs the UK. It will in no way affect them.
Also they can't possibly understand what the UK is experiencing now. Watching the BBC, (or any other channel) or talking to relatives does not equip them to know what's really happening here.
Those working abroad temporarily who intend to return should get to vote. Those who contributed nothing and have gone for good shouldn't.

I also think people who have rejected this country and gone to live abroad absolutely should not have a vote here. Ever, unless they come home to live. It’s crazy to all people who don’t even live here to have a vote.

Agree. It feels fundamentally wrong.

If I left a country to live elsewhere it would have been because I was looking for a better life, so no, I would not want to vote in a country I no longer lived in.

This is the problem with the UK, too many people have a say in how our country is run but cannot care less about it.

Nandalot

It didn’t even go to a vote in parliament. It was a statutory instrument. Do they think ex pats are likely to vote with the government?

I don't think you need to go any further than that for the explanation...

I'm living in France but still pay tax in UK. However I won't be taking up the option to vote in UK. I feel too far removed now to make an informed choice, I know others feel differently though.

Other people can feel how they like, it doesn’t make it right that those who have chosen to live elsewhere have little idea of what the situation is here, but regardless, they should not have a vote.

Well, back in the 1770s, when the Americans were agitating for independence their cry was 'No taxation without representation'.

The modern version of this should be 'No representation, without taxation'

If you do not pay your taxes to the UK, you do not vote in our elections. Possible for the first 5 years, you could keep the right to vote by paying, say £1,000 a year to HMRC, but after that, you really have no longterm investment in this country, so why should you vote?

Sunak must be looking looking to the (quite near) future 🤞, as I suspect that you won’t see his proverbial for steam if he loses the election and off he will go to live the dream in USA, but retain his vote.

But I did read somewhere that ex-pats are more likely to vote Tory - largely an older demography.

Oh goodie, I’ll be able to vote. Haha. As if you’d want to ! It is not right, is it? Many of us have no idea of internal politics and if, like us, you have been away for 50 years plus, why on earth would you interfere with a country? There’s some nutjobs around in positions of authority.

I’m amazed that this can be enacted without a vote in Parliament. It’s a big change to the rules and potentially involves a lot of people.

I am British living in France and I shall be voting in the UK, just as French citizens (amongst many other countries) keep the right to vote even if they do not live in France.
I pay taxes in the UK on my occupational pension.
The decisions of the UK government have a massive impact on my life, given that my income is subject to the vagaries of the exchange rate and Brexit and its aftermath has had a negative impact on our lives.
I care deeply about my children and grandchildren and their lives in the UK. I care about the NHS, education, the justice systems, the rise in poverty and and the impact of Tory policies.
I believe that I have not just the right to vote, but a duty to vote to get rid of this appalling government that is destroying my country.

My brother has lived in Europe for most of his life. He cares about the UK and how it has gone downhill over the last 14 years. I hope he votes for the sake of his UK family. How would he register to vote? What constituency would he vote in?

vegansrock: I seem to remember reading that you should register to vote in the last constituency in which you lived before leaving the UK.

www.gov.uk/voting-when-abroad

Yes, you go to the gov.uk site and fill in a form. You need your passport number and National Insurance number. You vote in the constituency in which you were last registered. I then filled in another form to give my daughter a proxy vote as postal votes can be unreliable.
I am very grateful to the late Harry Shindler, a veteran of the battle of Anzio in World War II who fought for many years for our right to retain our vote and sadly died last year.

Whitewavemark2

Sunak must be looking looking to the (quite near) future 🤞, as I suspect that you won’t see his proverbial for steam if he loses the election and off he will go to live the dream in USA, but retain his vote.

But I did read somewhere that ex-pats are more likely to vote Tory - largely an older demography.

Actually it isn't true that most migrants are older. The work of British in Europe showed that most migrants to Europe are younger working people. There may still be some die-hard Tories, but the few that I knew before Brexit have changed their minds given what has happened to their pension transfers! As it was Boris Johnson who introduced this, I reckon Stanley told him we would all vote Tory. 😂😂😂

Whilst I appreciate what you are saying, Mamie, I do feel that once you have made a commitment to live in France that you should relinquish the right to vote in the UK.
Of course, the future of children and grandchildren is important, but conversely their own political choices might be the complete opposite of one's own. So a vote for one particular party might not be productive for them.
I also find the idea of voting back in a constituency I left 15 or 20 years ago barmy. How would I know what was really going on there? I haven't had the chance to speak to the MP on the doorstep or while canvassing. And it's highly likely it would no longer be the same MP as when I left anyway. When I moved to France I was living in a constituency 200 miles away from the one I later returned to. In fact voting for the one party I favoured while in rural Devon would have been a disaster when I was planning to later reside in London.
I also think that if I made the decision to live abroad, I should just accept the vagaries of the exchange rate. We all know it can fluctuate at the drop of a hat, but that has always been the case. Long before Brexit was even thought of, my business abroad, the income of which came in pounds sterling, had good and bad years. I just factored that in to my expenditure. C'est la vie.

I understand that you have lived in France Joseann, so you will know that people do move here, then back to the UK, which is one good reason for staying in touch. I know about my former MP because he is high profile and actually one of the good ones. I shan't vote for him, because I am a lifelong member of the Labour Party and have paid my dues all the time we have lived in France. I talk about life here and in the UK to family and friends throughout Britain, watch TV, read, newspapers and (in normal times) visit often. What is it that I can't know?
I pay tax in the UK and whilst I understand the vagaries of the exchange rate, I think an overall decline of 12% since Brexit, is a bit more than a vagary. We have the spreadsheets recording our income.
Before anyone tells me to get involved in the country I live in - I was an elected local councillor in my village until Brexit took away my right to stand for election.
These countries, among many others allow citizens abroad to vote.
France, , Germany, Spain, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the United States.
Why should the UK be different?