17 June 2024 , 10:31
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Lack of awareness and obstacles such as last-known UK address requests cited as reasons for low participation
Fewer than 200,000 of the estimated 3.5 million British people living abroad for more than 15 years have applied to vote in the UK general election despite the change in law in January returning their right to participate in the ballot.
But those who have already registered are determined to make their mark.
Sue Wilson, the co-chair of Bremain in Spain, will be voting in Henley-on-Thames, previously a safe seat held by the former prime minister Boris Johnson but now being challenged by the Liberal Democrats.
Wilson said: “The first and most important thing is to get the Tories out. People are prepared to vote tactically to make sure that happens and make sure as few of them as possible get back to parliament.”
As a long-time campaigner for the protection of rights of Britons in Spain affected by Brexit, she is voting for the Lib Dems. “What Labour are doing on Brexit leaves a lot to be desired. At least the Lib Dems have actually mentioned the word. Labour is being so cowardly about ever daring to mention Brexit.”
Gabrielle Gombert, who lives in the Netherlands and left the UK 27 years ago, is among those who rushed to register earlier this year to vote in north London. “I was absolutely ecstatic. When I knew we were going to get our right to vote back I was up at some ridiculous hour like 4am, digging out my old national insurance card to make sure I had the number.”
Gombert is undecided about who will get her vote. “Labour and the Tories are much of a muchness and their attitude is really hardening on anything that looks remotely migranty, non-UK. And I sometimes feel, as a Brit abroad, I’m in that category, that you don’t really count.
“We just want our voices to be heard. I am voting with what I can only describe as a real passion,” she said.
More than 230,000 overseas voters were registered to vote in the last election in December 2019 when Johnson was swept to power on the back of promises he would get “Brexit done”, and this year record numbers were expected after the end of the 15-year rule.
The latest Electoral Commission figures show that just over 137,000 overseas voters had applied this year, most of them since 16 January when the law changed. With an estimated 61,000 still on the register last year, and assuming all are still valid for the 4 July election, this means a possible total of 199,000 Britons abroad have applied for the vote.
This falls far short of the record 285,000 overseas voters when Theresa May called her snap election in 2017.
Jane Golding, the co-chair of the campaign group British in Europe which fought along with the late Harry Shindler for the end of the 15-year rule, said a number of factors could be at play, including lack of awareness.
The group had hoped the government would flag the rule change in official communications regarding passport renewals or pension provisions. One man, who did not want to be named and who has been away since 1980, complained he could not satisfy the requirement to provide documentary evidence of his previous UK address. “Having a current British passport is not sufficient – just another wall put in our way.”
The Electoral Commission is urging Britons overseas to apply online by the cut-off time of midnight on 18 June. “We know that there are eligible voters all around the world, so we are calling on anyone with friends and family abroad to help spread the word, and let them know to register before the deadline.”
The deadline for a postal vote is 19 June but British in Europe is urging people to apply for a proxy vote, which can be applied for up to 26 June.
A spokesperson for Stay European, another campaign group, said it was “hearing some concerning reports of obstacles such as requests for a last-known UK address. There is also widespread concern about whether postal votes will arrive in time to be returned, given the slow international post since Brexit.”
Some Stay European members complained local authorities, including North East Lincolnshire, were demanding proof of address, a challenge for those out of the country for decades. A North East Lincolnshire council official said the law required it to seek documentary evidence relating to voters’ last address. “Overseas voters are required by law to be registered, irrespective of how long they have been out of the country.
“If we do not have a record of them being on the register, and to comply with eligibility criteria, they must provide documentary evidence of them having previously lived in the constituency to be able to process their application.”