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

I was not referring to you Nanna8. Sorry if you were offended.
I was referring to people who are boastful of the fact that they have got a vote, despite having lived abroad for many years, and are happy that they can get rid of this government. I want a change of government, but if people have lived abroad for a long period of time, I feel that they should have no right to vote in an election which doesn’t concern them.
You did say earlier in the thread that you wouldn’t be applying for such a vote because you haven’t live in the UK for many years (was it fifty?) You were taking the correct and moral decision. I can’t vote in any other country, and people living long term in other countries shouldn’t expect to be able to vote in my country.

maddyone Please be advised that while I am very grateful to have a vote but I am certainly NOT boastful.
I have never known any Brits here boast about voting either.

No I wasn’t referring to you either CocoPops.

I own property in the UK.
I'm trying to work out whether that makes someone more eligible to vote or not? Possibly.

I personally don't know anyone who is boastful about having the vote, but I do know plenty, (and on GN too), who go on and on about how dreadful life is for everyone in the UK, and think that their views are right when they don't actually live here. conceited . I agree with the poster who mentioned rose coloured spectacles because listening to some expats talking you would think the UK were knee high in litter, had hooligans on every street, had no trains running, everyone were rude and obese etc. We are doing OK here thanks, if somewhat disillusioned with politicians in general, and in some areas, the country of the Expat is actually worse.

I meant .....
I personally don't know anyone living abroad who is boastful about having the vote

maddyone

I was not referring to you Nanna8. Sorry if you were offended.
I was referring to people who are boastful of the fact that they have got a vote, despite having lived abroad for many years, and are happy that they can get rid of this government. I want a change of government, but if people have lived abroad for a long period of time, I feel that they should have no right to vote in an election which doesn’t concern them.
You did say earlier in the thread that you wouldn’t be applying for such a vote because you haven’t live in the UK for many years (was it fifty?) You were taking the correct and moral decision. I can’t vote in any other country, and people living long term in other countries shouldn’t expect to be able to vote in my country.

Thanks for clearing that up maddyone Yes- I really think we long term ex pats shouldn’t be voting , I agree it is not right.
💕

My assumptions/perceptions of ex pats being Tory voters is based on the many news articles during Brexit.

It certainly seemed that a substantial proportion of retirees living in places like Benidorm voted to leave (which in itself was baffling) and were totally enamoured with Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage.

They would be unlikely to hail this duo as saviours under any circumstances if they weren't right wing.

I am not talking about younger people who have moved overseas to forge careers.

I have been offline for two days, so I am picking up a point several pages back.

There is more to beung invested in the UK than keeping up to date with the news and politics. It is, to use a stupid in phrase. It is about living experience of the country. Knowing the ins and outs of everyday life, the changes, the things that bother people in everyday life experiencing the current state of the NHS, the appalling state of the roads, how much support your local MP has given your community in opposing a huge infrastructure development. How good your local councillor is. These are the events that shape people's voting intentions.

The votes that count are the votes of people who are not tied to political parties and move fom one to the other, the 'floating' voters. For them it is the local issues and national issues that affect them locally that decide how they vote and who governs us.

There is no way someone living in another country can have that intimate knowledge.

Nanna8

I guess the brexiteers who left the country for business reasons when it became difficult to do business after Brexit still feel the need to have their views taken into account.

Since Brexit I'm barely allowed to vote here in Spain, only one out of 4 possibilities. Disenfranchised - thanks to Brexit in which I had no say at all. I've always been proud of being British but not now, so I'll be looking into Spanish nationality so that I can vote again in the country where I pay taxes. Again, Brexit, the gift that just keeps on giving.

About time too!
We live abroad off a UK pension, so of course we pay tax and are directly affected by the stupidity of Brexit.
I’m disgusted that so many Brits living and working in Europe were denied the chance to vote but are probably one of the groups who have suffered the most by the changes imposed on us.
Several of my expat friends have chosen to apply for citizenship of the country they’ve moved to to retain their European freedoms.
We used to work in HE and it will take years to undo the damage suffered by UK research institutions.

I fully agree with you, Nandalot! If someone willingly moves to another country permanently from England then they should have no more rights to vote in UK elections etc.

Nandalot - I think you've hit the nail on the head! That's precisely what they're thinking and hoping for!

Absolutely crazy yet my German friend and Dutch friend have lived and paid into the Country's coffers for over 20 years but were not allowed to vote in the Brexit Referendum.

I want my vote because:

I care about the country I was born in, after a recent visit I am even more appalled by many things, as mentioned by many posters.

I worry constantly about the future of the country that my DCs and DGCs live in.

One day I will need to go back, at the moment that thought depresses me, and if my vote contributes to what could be improvements then good. But as I am now on my own I do not want to be a burden to my children in my dotage.

I have had an annus horribilis and living in a soap opera. Apart from my home catching fire, dog suddenly dying and having my very old cat put to sleep the same week, I was abandonned last summer by an abusive, alcoholic husband who has done so many malicious, vindictive things, and left me for a younger woman. The Gendarme, social services , bank etc could not have been more supportive and protective, friends living in UK say I would not have had such a high level of care in England. And the local community both French and English have been amazing, some that I hardly knew. Having said all that I am now happier than I have been for years, but desperately missing my dog.

If there should be another referendum I want to be able to vote. I couldn't for the last one that led to Brexit and caused and is still causing so many problems. I consider it a scandal that I and other expats were denied the right to vote when it affected our lives so much. I now cannot vote here so totally disenfranchised. Without this UK vote it was a horrible feeling, I felt a displaced person, and came to France as a member of the EU. I did not expect this to change so disastrously.

Anyone who holds a British passport and who is legally an adult should be able to vote, irrespective of where they live.

There are many reasons for living in another country, and those who move and no longer feel British, apply for citizenship wherever they have taken up permanent residence.

British people living temporarily abroad for work or other reasons should be allowed to vote.

The right to vote has nothing to do with where one pays taxes,
British people living outside the UK may well be paying tax both in the UK and wherever they are earning their monthly salary, but this is unlikely to give them the right to vote in a general election in their country of residence, although they may, as is the case in Denmark, be eligible to vote in municipal elections.

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?

They must think that and may well be right.

M0nica

I have been offline for two days, so I am picking up a point several pages back.

There is more to beung invested in the UK than keeping up to date with the news and politics. It is, to use a stupid in phrase. It is about living experience of the country. Knowing the ins and outs of everyday life, the changes, the things that bother people in everyday life experiencing the current state of the NHS, the appalling state of the roads, how much support your local MP has given your community in opposing a huge infrastructure development. How good your local councillor is. These are the events that shape people's voting intentions.

The votes that count are the votes of people who are not tied to political parties and move fom one to the other, the 'floating' voters. For them it is the local issues and national issues that affect them locally that decide how they vote and who governs us.

There is no way someone living in another country can have that intimate knowledge.

That describes me, I am a floating voter. I care very much for our country both locally and nationally. I am however very sceptical about any of the main parties so I have no idea how I will vote in the next GE. I'm very frustrated with a new candidate in our area who doesn't live anywhere near here, who seems to be promising the earth (literally - our village is fighting a losing battle for sea defences), with obviously no guarantees - because there can't be any.

Surely this is an obvious way to grab more votes - Brits abroad are more likely to vote Conservative, as I understand it. There is no way the Tories would have adopted this if they did not feel it was to their advantage. I presume this has been researched by the party 'machine', because I think many ex-pats have been adversely affected by Brexit, and this may have changed their allegiance.

I am overseas but my home is in the same constituency where i am still a member of the Conservative party. I waited to see the comments about the Tories allowing people overseas to
vote but i read in the broadsheets that many countries allow their citizens overseas to vote. So is that wrong too? I pay my taxes in UK on all my income. I read UK papers watch UK TV and am up to date on what is going on in UK. My son here has registered to vote in Westminstert too. I am often in touch with my MP Tulip Sididiq about the way animals for export are treated because one of my subs is to Compassion for farmed animals. I belong to different charities and am English to my bootstraps. So no taxation without representation. I see WWM is a bit ageist. Pointing out that overseas people who work overseas are mainly young and may return to their home country. So she differentiates old from young voters. Ageist or what? I do follow UK politics and i am sure Labour will form the next govt. i know as much about British politics as most voters and while i am alive i will vote in UK and nowhere else!

Totally agree. I have a few friends in same position. Lived abroad for 30/40 years.

Some of us are desperate to return to the UK but it’s not always possible. I have filled in all the relevant forms and I’m looking forward to voting.

JCFrance

Some of us are desperate to return to the UK but it’s not always possible. I have filled in all the relevant forms and I’m looking forward to voting.

I don't understand JCFrance? The UK cannot refuse you, the NHS won't refuse you. A return is possible.

Mamie

MOnica I pay tax in the UK on my UK occupational pension because that is what HMRC and the double taxation treaty demands. So does everyone else who worked in government, local government, NHS, military etc. I have already explained that I have no vote in France.
I would like to ask a question of people who think that British passport holders who live abroad should have no vote in the UK.
Do you think that migrant foreign nationals who do not have British passports, but work and pay taxes in the UK should have the vote?

You are making very good points here. I am not sure everyone is listening or even reading properly here your responses. I also have a right to vote in the USA. There is the argument that US citizens are required to file taxes, but I don’t earn enough to pay. I still very much care about what goes on in the USA. I am also very well read on what’s happening so I feel very much in tune with what’s going on there. So many of you here would think that I shouldn’t vote because I don’t pay taxes ? Mamie has explained very well why she should have a right to vote. Not having a say is terrible.