Editorial: Spanish snub

The Tories have certainly missed a trick! My straw poll yesterday of local residents suggested that most would have voted for the Conservatives at tomorrow´s general election but only a handful are actually voting because of the 15 year rule on overseas voting and because of general apathy. If every vote is vital why aren´t the Conservatives or Labour or the Liberal Democrats actively trying to court the expat vote in Spain? It has been suggested that there are about 800,000 British residents in Spain but only a small percentage will be voting. The Conservatives have promised to abolish the  15 year vote rule and replace it with a vote for life if they are re-elected at the next general election and the Liberal Democrats have said that they would like to have a designated Member of Parliament who would represent expats. But they have not been actively looking for votes in Spain which I feel is a great shame. During the French general election, presidential candidate Francois Hollande (now the President) travelled to London to drum up support for his party within the French community in London. So why couldn´t Prime Minister David Cameron, Labour leader Ed Miliband or Liberal Democrat boss, Nick Clegg, come to Spain to try and drum up support for their parties? It is a classic example of if you leave Britain then you are quietly forgotten even though British government decisions can directly affect you if you are living in Spain. What a shame.