Jason MoorePalma11/02/2018 00:00
TW
3

What with Brexit and the state of the National Health Service and many other issues, I was quite amazed to see that the British government is pushing ahead with plans to give British expats the vote for life. I am not complaining, I think that British citizens should keep the vote but you would have thought that the British government had got more pressing matters to deal with. Perhaps the government is looking ahead to the next elections and believe that an influx of expat votes will allow them to cling on to power. One of the reasons why the Labour Party was allegedly opposed to giving votes for life was the perception that most expats would vote for the Conservatives. Not the case. It is the same with Brexit. There is a perception that most expats would have voted to stay in the European Union. Wrong! Expats like their counterparts in Britain are split.

I feel that British expats should be able to vote somewhere but I do believe that they should be voting in Spanish general elections. Perhaps when Spain and Britain sit down to discuss their post-Brexit relationship the vote for British expats in Spanish general elections could be one of the issues under discussion. But it is not only the vote in British general elections, I know that many British expats were furious that they were unable to vote in the Brexit referendum and many Scottish expats felt the same over the Scottish referendum. Expats need to have a voice at the ballot box, whether it is in Spain or Britain. Their voice should be heard.