Jason Moore20/07/2016 00:00
TW
1

The Conservative government in Britain promised British residents living in Spain the vote for life in their election manifesto. At the moment only Britons who have lived outside Britain for less than 15 years have the vote. This is grossly unfair. I sincerely hope that the change in prime minister and the fallout from the EU referendum result will not mean the end of this election pledge.

The referendum was a classic example of why all British citizens, wherever they live, should have the vote. The result will have a direct impact on British citizens living abroad, and many were unable to have their say. It also looks increasingly likely that we will lose the vote in local elections in Spain so really we should be able to vote somewhere. I think you can safely say that the EU pullout will mean some hardship for British citizens living abroad; we may even have to take out work permits. So we need to have a say somewhere.

The new British government is constantly saying that the pullout does not mean a British retreat from the world; so give us the vote and let us have our say. British citizens abroad remain British citizens and they should be treated properly and should not be forgotten. Just because we live in Europe doesn't mean that we can be quietly forgotten. We should still have some rights. And our rights, such as the vote, should be protected.