In a speech today at Sheffield Hallam University Labour Party leader Ed Miliband is launching a voter registration drive. He is claiming that following the introduction of Individual Electoral Registration (IER), resulting in universities and colleges no longer block-registering their students, those in government “are sitting by and watching hundreds of thousands of young people in our country lose their democratic rights”.
The government’s swift response is that this is why on-line registration has been introduced as a more convenient option on www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
This article “Who are Britain’s 1m-plus missing voters?” doesn’t get around to also including the 2 million or so missing British expatriate voters, not yet excluded by the 15-year-limit although the Electoral Commission will be launching another expat voter registration drive before the May 2015 general election.
If you are looking for a good enough reason to register to vote , some British expatriates resident within the European Union (EU) are already concerned enough about the possibility of a referendum on EU membership, to have establised an EXPAT FORUM: What happens if Britain leaves the EU? as well as a Facebook Group: UK Citizens in the EU – The impact of a Brexit. Why not join them?
Surely there are enough concerned British expatriates among the 1 million or so resident within the EU, to increase the current 20,000 – 30,000 registered overseas voters to at least 100,000 (more than an average UK constituency size) by registering on www.gov.uk/register-to-vote ?
Votes for Expat Brits blog 
Jane, I understand that these “other Commonwealth citizens” must also be normally resident and paying taxes in the UK in order to be on the Electoral Roll and ,therefore, able to vote at national level.
Administrator
OK thanks….That was not clear in the article.
Surely this is a case of double standards then…..a born and bred British citizen like me who lives in Canada will lose the right to vote if they have lived in another country for 15 years or more. I now have dual citizenship but I will have my right to vote denied me but other Commonwealth citizens who may never have set foot in the UK can vote? Or am I reading this wrong?
Yet another truth to the fact that the Westminster Establishment is not democratic and does what it likes with total disregard to the basis of a right of Representation ( ECHR ) in a democracy . Why and what for ??? Re. Jane D. As a dual national my understanding is that all persons born in Ireland ( North and South ) since 1922 have the rights to representation in UK . Prior to 1922 all siblings ( and siblings of siblings ) of ‘British’ citizens have the right to UK citizenship wherever theyre born on this planet . I believe the words reputedly in the 1922 UK Acts state ‘that all Irish peoples are not foreigners’ . Surely If the reports are true on this subject then the Westminster Establishment is using UK resorces M£s to carry out the wishes of Tory and lib / dems on account that is the UK Gov. If this is not the case then there must be a case of abuse of power
Here is an interesting article about Irish citizens, it also says members of Commonwealth countries have right to vote even if they are not British citizens as long as they are in the UK?
http://www.irishpost.co.uk/news/tory-bid-deny-irish-britain-vote-general-election