Editorial: Note vote please

THE last time Ilived in Britain, Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister, we were at the height of the Cold war and Duran Duran were top of the charts. But now the Conservatives believe that I should have the vote at the next British general election. While I am a British citizen and affected by some British laws, Britain is not my home and Ido not have the necessary knowledge of day-to-day events to believe that I should get the vote. I watch in amazement on Sky News as some members of the British electorate blast foreign immigrants for taking away British jobs or living off British benefits while I myself live in a foreign country and could be accused of taking a job away from a Spaniard. It does seem a rather alien country at the moment with the issue of immigration always in the headlines despite the fact that an estimated 800,000 Britons live in Spain. Ilook at the United Kingdom Independence Party with a sense of disbelief and wonder why anyone would ever vote for them in the first place. So it is true I am out of touch with the views of Britons living in Britain and therefore I do not believe that expatriates should have the vote after 15 years outside Britain. If I did vote in Britain I would vote for a party which believes in Europe because afterall I live on the European continent. But this would appear to go against a vast majority of Britons who believe that the European Union is a bad word. So no, give me the vote in Spain please. I know this country and Iknow what the various political parties stand for. This country is home and Britain gave up being home many years ago.