Jason Moore31/08/2016 00:00
TW
0

I know the British government is rather busy at the moment with the fallout from the referendum result but I would quietly remind prime minister Theresa May and her team that British citizens living overseas were promised the vote for life by David Cameron. It was a Conservative election pledge and therefore it should be honoured. British citizens living abroad have been left seriously exposed by the referendum result and therefore it is more important than ever that they should have the vote in British general elections. Now that Britain is set to leave the EU there is no way that the Spanish government will offer British citizens a vote in Spanish general elections. So our limited voting rights have now got even more limited; when Britain leaves the EU I suspect that we will have to kiss goodbye to our vote in the Balearic local elections and of course the days of British citizens being able to vote in the European elections will also be over.

So, British citizens have just one chance at a vote and that is in Britain. The fact that the majority of British citizens living in Spain were unable to vote in the referendum was an absolute disgrace. Now that Britain is "out of Europe" the well-being of British citizens living abroad needs to be safeguarded. A vote for life would be fantastic because it would underline the fact that the government does care about British citizens abroad and their voting rights.