The “missing” population

THERE are now literally millions of British citizens living abroad, the majority in Spain, France and Australia. Even though, they are still British citizens and are affected by British government policy, they do not have a voice in their country of origin. This seems incredible because effectively a sizeable percentage of British nationals have no voice where it really matters. One of the reasons why so few British citizens are registered to vote in British general elections, I believe, is because they have such limited powers.

They can vote and receive a state pension,, end of story. They may not be even entitled to any aid or benefits if they return to Britain. This is a scandalous state of affairs. The French have their own minister and various MPs for their citizens who are living abroad. Why doesn´t Britain do the same? You can´t have a country with a large forgotten population. The British government has made it clear that there will not be any additional benefits for British citizens abroad in the present economic climate. This is understandable but what isn´t is the fact that million of Britons have been in someways alienated by the country which they once called home. This is a very sad state of affairs.