Not all British citizens will be allowed to vote in EU referendum

It is expected to be confirmed that only those who are eligible to vote in the UK General Election will be allowed to vote on the EU referendum.

This means that over 1m EU citizens living in the UK, as well as Commonwealth citizens living in the UK and the hundreds of thousands of British expats who have lived abroad for more than fifteen years will not have a say on whether Britain should remain in the EU.

The vote will also not be extended to 16 and 17 year olds, as was introduced for the Scottish Yes/No referendum in 2014.

Eurosceptics welcomed the decision. Speaking to Radio 4’s Today programme, Tory MP John Redwood said “It would be quite wrong to use this election to start making changes to the electorate. I don’t think it’s the time to start experimenting with who should vote.”

It was expected that the 15-year rule, which states that any British national living outside of the UK for more than 15 years is not eligible to vote, would be removed under the new Conservative government in a pledge made last year – something which as yet has not been confirmed.

The decision means that a large number of people who are directly impacted by whether Britain remains in the EU will be unable to have a say on their future.

It is still unclear exactly how British citizens will be affected if Britain was to leave the EU, but campaign is expected to heat up in the coming weeks and months as the referendum date draws ever nearer.