David Craig, on February 11th, 2014In the United States only citizens can vote in national or state elections and in Canada only citizens are entitled to vote in federal elections. In Australia, Commonwealth citizens had the right to vote in elections until 1984. However this was changed so that only Australian citizens and British subjects, (a term covering all Commonwealth citizens) resident in Australia before 1984 can now vote. In New Zealand only citizens and permanent residents can vote in elections.
Voting Rights in the UK
By contrast, the UK extends parliamentary voting rights to many millions of non-citizens. Irish citizens can vote, a reciprocal right granted to the British in Ireland. So can Commonwealth citizens whose right to vote is not linked to length of residence or permanent residency, but is granted on arrival. An address in the constituency is required, but there are no checks on immigration status. Thus even a student visitor from a Commonwealth country, who was planning to study for six months, would be allowed to enrol on the Electoral Register and vote in a Parliamentary Election if one was held during the duration of his or her stay.
Citizens of the European Union (who are not Commonwealth citizens or Citizens of the Republic of Ireland) can vote in European and local elections in the UK, elections to the Scottish Parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland Assemblies (if they live in those areas) and some referendums (based on the rules for the particular referendum) but are not able to vote in UK Parliamentary general elections.
So, how many EU citizens are there in the UK? The EU claims there were only 2,334,400 in 2011 (click to see clearly)
But as the EU will tend to underplay the level of immigration and as many more people will have moved here since 2011, we can safely assume that there are really say 3.5 to 4 million. Studies of newly arrived (as opposed to long-term settled) immigrant populations suggest that around 3 to 3.5 million will be of voting age.
This means that in the May EU elections, there will be potentially 3 to 3.5 million people (EU citizens) who will vote for any party other than UKIP and who are unlikely to vote Tory.
Moreover, when New Labour were in power, Gordon Brown commissioned a study of how many Commonwealth citizens there were in Britain and what their voting intentions were. The conclusion – there were well over one million of them and over 90% would vote Labour. Naturally, when they found this out, New Labour were only too happy with the UK’s “inclusive” rules on who can vote here (click to see clearly)
So we have a massive block of well over 4 million people, who are not British citizens and who will tend to support Labour and vote for things like membership of the EU, who can vote in the coming EU elections.
It looks like the EU’s plan (aided and abetted by our own politicians) of destroying our national identity and wiping out our sovereignty by swamping us with immigrants is really working quite well.
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Our electoral system is a farce. A huge percentage live in “safe seats” so voting for them is largely pointless, and boundary changes are needed to correct many inbalances. PR would solve both those problems.
Our postal voting system, enthusiastically embraced by our muslim colonisers, makes our democratic system look like Zimbabwe’s. And we need to make blatant breaking of a manifesto pledge a criminal offence.
Apart from that, I firmly believe the majority who vote labour do so purely because they hate the conservatives even more, and visa versa. I cannot understand why anyone would vote libdem. How on earth can the people of Twickenham vote for Cable? Is it because they’ve seen him on TV?
What? Cable on TV? You mean Cable TV?
As a British expat who has lived in EU countries for the past 25 years I have lost my right to vote in the UK, even though I have never relinquished my British citizenship, nor applied for citizenship in my current country of residence (Belgium). Today I discovered on reading the registration form that I don’t even have the right to vote in the upcoming European Elections, given that I’ve lost the right to vote in my country of origin. As one website confirmed: “The EU country
of residence may refuse, if it so wishes, to enter voters who are disqualified from voting in their country of origin.”
Words cannot express my disgust. Maybe you or your readers will be able to help me there.
There is one consolation in all this, you are lucky you are not living in Australia. There you HAVE to vote, no exceptions, and if you don’t, there is a knock on the door demanding an explanation, nothing short of death is an excuse, followed by a hefty fine.
As for the non Brits. being allowed to vote in the UK, it doesn’t really surprise me, with all the other changes here I feel like a stranger, in a strange land. ( with apologies to Robert Heinlen )
I hope for some sanity come the EU elections, but I am not holding my breath. Vote for Nigel, he’s our only hope. (another semi quote)
Xpat, I don’t understand your problem, I have been away in South East Asia for 47 years but am still able to vote, just register and see what happens.
I take it you were BORN here in the Uk.
No paracetamol no paramedics. Whats wrong?.
As a US citizen BUT UK resident for 26 years (by marriage) I am not allowed to vote. I have paid taxes, NI and been active in my local (British) community all this time – yet I have no say on who represents the money and effort I’ve contributed to society.
Many US states did allow non-citizens to vote, including for federal office, in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These were lightly-populated interior states which used it as an incentive to attract civic-minded immigrants. (Do Brits see EUers as civic-minded?) It was assumed these would take citizenship in time. This pretty much ended with our entry into the Great War in 1917. As of 1926, every state required US citizenship to vote for state or federal office. A few cities allow foreign residents a vote in local elections.