Did the Conservative government not promise to
end the 15-year voting ban in general elections?
Yes - it was a Conservative Party election pledge.
If it had been put in place by now it would have
avoided the current problem which arises because
the referendum bill says only expats who have a
‘Westminster’ vote may take part.
After the Conservative win in May senior government
sources said they planned to bring forward a
‘Votes for Life’ bill in the current parliamentary ‘session’
(by May 2016). However sources close to the
government say there is no chance of this, possibly
because other bills have taken longer than planned.
What is the solution now?
The likely solution is if an amendment is put forward
by a House of Lords member during the Lords’ discussion
of the EU Referendum Bill, adding in longterm
expats among those who may vote in the referendum.
It is expected that Baroness Miller (Lib Dem) or
Lord Hannay (Crossbench) will present an amendment
specifically for expats in other EU countries, at
the so-called ‘Report stage’ on November 18.
If enough peers support the amendment it will be
added to the bill before it is returned to the House
of Commons. The MPs would then decide whether
to retain it.
Was an amendment not already proposed?
Yes, both peers mentioned above proposed similar
ones at the ‘Committee stage’ in early November.
Peers for each of the three main parties plus the
Crossbenchers spoke in support.
Letting long-term expats take part is official Liberal
Democrat policy, however it emerged in the
debate that the Labour Party does not support it,
linked to the fact it opposes the Votes for Life bill
(some commentators say this is because it suspects
there are more Conservative voters among expats).
A Conservative minister, Lord Faulks, said that,
while ‘sympathetic’, he ‘[does] not think this is the
time or place to make those changes’ and it is ‘best to
have the Westminster franchise’.
He said it may also be difficult to justify opening
the referendum to long-term expats in the EU but
not worldwide, because “degree of interest” was not
the official criterion for deciding who gets to vote.
He would not say why the government had not acted
faster on Votes for Life, saying it ‘has its priorities’ and
was still ‘considering the timetable’.
The amendments were dropped so as not to trigger
a vote. It will therefore allow the Peers to have more
time to cavass support for the ‘Report stage’.
What kind of arguments were made?
Lord Hannay (see right) summed up the strong feelings
over the issue when he said: “It would be extraordinary
if the government did not exert themselves
to ensure that these citizens who have been abroad
more than 15 years have the vote on the occasion of
the EU referendum, when their own rights and livelihoods
are at stake. They and their futures are directly
involved. It would be appalling if the government,
later in this parliament, in an act of supreme generosity,
gave them the vote — but after the referendum in
which they wish to vote.”
Tory peer Lord Lexden said he thought the bill
should be amended to allow all expats everywhere to
take part. “It is extremely unfortunate, to put it mildly,
that work was not set in hand at the earliest opportunity”
to debate Votes for Life in time,” he said.
It is unclear on going to press if one of the Lords,
possibly a Conservative, will present an amendment
for expats everywhere, however Baroness Miller told
Connexion she thinks obtaining some Labour support
hinges on a limited opening up to those most
affected in their daily lives - ie. the EU residents.
