Cabinet Office confirms plans to give all UK expats voting rights

Tuesday 09 March 2021

A piece of smallprint in the UK budget has been clarified, confirming plans to enable UK expats to vote in future elections by removing a 15-year window of eligibility.

The opportunity to vote will also be extended to people who were taken from the UK as children, as long as their parent or guardian were on the electoral register when they left, and as long as they sit within a 15 year window.

“Currently, British citizens living abroad may register as overseas electors if they have been registered to vote in the UK within the previous 15 years,” said a Cabinet Office spokesperson.

“The Government was elected with a manifesto commitment to “make it easier for British expats to vote in Parliamentary elections and get rid of the arbitrary 15-year limit on their voting rights."

Pictured: Chancellor Rishi Sunak revealed the smallprint in the 2021 UK budget, announced last week.

The “arbitrary” limit has been in place in various forms since 1985 and £2.5 million of the 2021 budget will be used to fund the change in legislation.

These changes will not be immediate and will only come into effect after the legislation is laid before the UK Parliament later this year.

“The Government is considering the appropriate legislative vehicle to deliver these changes and will make an announcement on its intentions in due course,” said the Cabinet Office. 

Pictured: You will only be able to vote in the constituency you or your parent/guardian were originally registered in.

If you were brought to the Channel Islands from the UK as a child, you will now be able to for up to 15 years since leaving, after which time voting rights will expire. 

It may allow more people in Guernsey to vote in referendums, however, the rules on who can vote in referendums are decided at the time.