Votes for Life Bill: All expats will be allowed to vote – but not in the EU referendum

The Votes for Life Bill, which was announced after the Queen’s Speech this week, will mean the rule which removes voting rights from expats who have lived abroad for over 15 years abolished.

The move was promised in the Conservative Party manifesto, but will not be in place before the EU referendum in 2017.

While the news was cheered by over one million expats living around the world, the news that they will not be allowed to vote in a referendum which directly impacts many of them is seen as a kick in the teeth.

Campaigner Brian Cave, an 87 year old expat living in France for 17 years, expressed his anger at the decision in the Telegraph: “I’m pretty cross about that, it’s ridiculous. The referendum should hear the voice of those who are most affected by the result. Any British citizen within the states of the EU should have a vote. If there was a Brexit it would have huge implications for elderly people such as myself - the health support could cease.”

Following the General Election, many expats were angry that their vote was unlikely to count with voting papers arriving too close to the election to be able to return their vote in time.

The Votes for Life Bill is expected to make it easier for expats to vote, and in a timely fashion.

A recent survey of British expats run by Experts for Expats showed that 95% of expats would definitely vote if voting was possible online.