British MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown hopes to gain support on Tuesday for legislation that will change the rules affecting British expat voters before next year’s general election.
The rule currently debies Britons residing overseas from voting in UK elections if they have been abroad for more than 15 years.
Elizabeth Roberts of the UK's Daily Telegraph today wrote that Geoffrey Clifton-Brown will make a speech under the Ten Minute Rule, a procedure that allows MPs to seek the leave of the house to introduce a Bill.
Mr Clifton Brown will ask “that leave be given to bring in a Bill to allow British citizens resident overseas for more than 15 years to vote in UK parliamentary elections and referendums, and for connected purposes.”
However, he expects that this will be opposed by Labour and the Liberal Democrats, who have successfully resisted previous efforts to abolish the 15-year rule.
The ban on voting affects an estimated 1.5 million of the five million Britons living overseas.
Mr Clifton-Brown said today that “it’s about time that this wrong is put right”. However, he acknowledged: “It’s difficult to get a controversial Bill like this one through. Being realistic I think it’s unlikely, but you never know.”
He added that the Bill would go through if it was adopted by the Government, but since the Conservatives are in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats, this is unlikely to happen.
Mr Clifton-Brown represents the Cotswolds constituency and has a long-standing interest in the issue of expat voting rights. He called a press conference today, which was attended by various campaigners for expat voting rights including 93-year-old war veteran Harry Shindler who has been campaigning on the matter for 15 years.
Mr Shindler already has won support from the European Commission which, in January, said Britain is “punishing” its expatriates for leaving the country by denying them the right to vote.
Mr Shindler, pictured here with Viviane Reding, is a veteran of the allied landings at Anzio, Italy, in WWII, and has lived in Italy for decades. He travelled to London from his home there to attend today’s press conference at the Palace of Westminster.
He said he was heartened by the Conservative manifesto pledge to restore voting rights to all expats. However, he pointed out that if the Tories win power next year, long-term expats, many of them elderly, will still have to wait until the following general election, scheduled for 2020, before they can vote for a member of parliament.
Mr Shindler said: “For us, it’s manna from heaven to have somebody in the house to speak on our behalf tomorrow.”
Although Mr Clifton-Brown believes his attempt to push through a Bill will fail, Mr Shindler said he is an “optimistic person” and believes it has a chance of success.
