Stronger IN group launches campaign

A MAJOR campaign to keep Britain in the EU officially launched today, headed by a Conservative peer who is a former chairman of Marks & Spencer.

This comes as an important debate starts in the House of Lords tomorrow on the Referendum Bill, after which a last-ditch attempt is likely to be made to extend referendum voting rights to all expats living in the EU, including people who have been abroad more than 15 years and who will not be able to take part under the current rules.

Former M&S boss Stuart Rose is heading the team for the ‘Britain Stronger in Europe’ campaign, which includes the founder of Innocent smoothies Richard Reed and vice-chairwoman of West Ham United Karren Brady (a peer, who is also known from the reality show The Apprentice where she advises Lord Sugar), former TUC leader Brendan Barber, former British army chief Peter Wall and Labour peer Peter Mandelson.

Lord Rose has set the tone for the campaign, saying that “to claim that the patriotic course for Britain is to retreat, withdraw and become inward-looking is to misunderstand who we are as a nation”.

The campaign has a website strongerin.co.uk where supporters can sign up, as well as Facebook
and Twitter accounts.

Any British expats who have been outside the UK less than 15 years and who were previously registered as voters in the UK (or young people whose parents were registered when they left the UK) can vote in the referendum, which will be held in 2016 or 2017. If you registered to vote in the British General Election this year then you are still registered as long as you complete and send back the reminder form that should be sent to you one year afterwards, in 2016.

If you are not registered to vote, then you may do so here: Register to vote.

At present voting methods are expected to be the same as for the General Election, which means you will also need to opt in a second stage for a postal or proxy vote, making sure to do so in plenty of time before the poll. While the Electoral Commission has promised to help iron out some of the problems that arose with postal votes this year, bearing in mind the uncertainty of this method you may wish to look at the proxy option. A proxy does not have to be a relative.

If you have been out of the UK for more than 15 years then you have no vote under the current version of the Referendum Bill, which states that people who can vote in parliamentary elections can vote in the referendum (plus Gibraltar residents and peers).

The Conservatives made a manifesto pledge to abolish the 15 year rule, but doing so has so far not been prioritised and it appears unlikely to happen in time. This means the best chance of longer-term expats being able to vote in this poll is for an amendment to be made to the bill.

The Liberal Democrats and Cross-Benchers (peers not attached to a political party) are expected to back an amendment to the bill asking for voting rights for all expats in the EU, for 16 and 17 year-olds and for EU citizens who live in the UK.

Conservative peer Lord Lexden, who has previously spoken up for expat voting rights in debates on several occasions, has also stated his intention to support amending the bill opening the vote to long-term expats.

For more on tomorrow’s debate and suggestions for peers to contact with your comments, see this previous article Time to lobby over expat vote.