VOTE HOPE FOR BRITISH EXPATRIATES

The 15-year rule was introduced by the former Labour government and over the past few months a major campaign has been raging here in Spain and in France with expatriates being urged to bombard their MPs with messages of support for a change in legislation.

Conservative MP, Roger Gale, who has close links to Majorca is one of many MPs fighting the expatriate's corner.
This week he said,” Looking forward, the Registration Bill, due to be introduced in January, provides a realistic vehicle for a change if the Government is minded to extend voting rights. “So, it would be helpful if those ex-pats with an interest in the subject (and it has been pointed out by others that the level of proactive support is lamentable in some areas) were to write to or e-mail their own MPs seeking support for legislation through representations to the Cabinet Office.” On the flip side, British expatriates who want the right to vote in the general elections in Spain could eventually have their wish granted.
Kate Mentink, the founder and honourary president of Europeans for Europe said yesterday that Commissioner Reding for Justice, Human Rights and Citizenship is aware of the issue. “For the first time ever, Brussels, which has to make the ruling on EU voting rights, is making the right noises. The Commissioner said that the way forward for the European Union is to be more democratic and that with so many EU citizens moving away from their country of origin, but remaining within the EU, they should not lose their basic voting rights,” Reding said. “Some 10 percent of the EU population live in another member state,” said Mentink. “So, this is a big issue and one we finally seem to be moving forward on, but it's going to be a slow process.” Your MP's email address can be found via this link.. http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/