Editorial: Give us the vote

THE Conservative Party are promising expatriates the vote for life if they are elected at the next general elections in Britain next year.  Brilliant, fantastic news but why is it always a case of after the election and if we are elected? Why not give expats the vote now? Why can´t expats who have lived outside Britain for more than 15 years be able to vote in the election next year? This will be a key general election with Europe being one of the main points. So surely British citizens who live on the European continent  should have a right  to a say. If Britain does pull out of Europe it will hit expats across the European Union very hard. Also, I know many expat Scots who are furious that they can´t vote in this month´s referendum on independence. “I am sixty years old, a proud Scot but Ican’t vote on my country’s future. Meanwhile, foreigners who have only lived in Scotland for a few years have a right to vote. This is disgraceful,” said one Scottish local resident yesterday. And what is more Scottish leader Alex Salmond allegedly only gave Scottish residents the vote because he feared that those abroad or living in England would probably vote against the split. This is not the case. The Scottish resident I spoke to yesterday said that he would vote for independence if he had been given the option. Just because we live outside Britain it should not  mean that we lose our democratic right at the ballot box. Give us the vote, please.