Letter: Expatriates tick the right boxes

Published on Sunday 12 February 2012 00:00

I AM a Scot, born, bred and educated, and have lived in and been registered to vote in Scotland within the last 15 years.

I currently live in another part of the United Kingdom and wish to have a vote in any referendum which decides the course to be followed, for the foreseeable future, by my country. The facility currently exists for British citizens living abroad and who have been registered to vote in the UK within the last 15 years to register to vote in elections for the UK Parliament and European Parliament. By a simple amendment to this procedure, UK citizens who had been registered for a Scottish constituency and who were resident in another part of the UK could have a postal vote for a referendum.

The editorial writer (29 January) is plain wrong, geography can be an issue. It is perfectly possible, nay simple, to distinguish between an expat in Berwick-upon-Tweed and an expat in Johannesburg. Should the writer wish to check the facts I refer him to the Electoral Commission website www.aboutmyvote.co.uk. Furthermore I am more than willing to undertake the simple amendment on behalf of the Electoral Commission.

John Heath, via email

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Aberdeen50

Monday, February 13, 2012 at 01:03 PM

I fully appreciate all the posts but have question. I am currently serving in HMForces outwith the UK. Because of my financial situation I do not own a house and when in the UK I am resident in whichever "Mess" I am posted. I believe I will be in Portsmouth in 2014 and will therefore not get a say on the future of my country. How is that fair?

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sjanewton

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 05:02 PM

-) Residency in Scotland must be the criteria for such a vote. Strangely during my travels over the past 30+ years I have noted that all Scots, Welsh, Irish and English are huge Nationalists when expatriated :-)) As for youngsters voting I think that is a gimmick and unworthy of true statesmen. The age of majority is still 18 years and that should be kept as this vote needs a very mature approach to be taken..

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samcoldstream

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 01:55 PM

The author is being mischievous. At present it would take an amendment to the Representation of the Peoples Acts which is reserved to Westminster. Referendums are totally different from elections. This ploy has already been brought up by "overseas citizens holding a British passport" but with Irish Nationalist sympathies for a vote in any future All-Ireland Referendum in Northern Ireland as outlined in the St, Andrews Agreement. It was pointed out by alarmed Ulster Unionists that this could lead to tens of thousands of Nationalist voters residing abroad having a postal vote, if a Referendum was ever held! Should Scots residing elsewhere in the UK or abroad be allowed to vote in the forthcoming Referendum then it also sets a precedent for hundreds of thousands of Irish Nationalists resident on the British mainland to vote in any future All-Ireland Referendum. According to the Electoral Register rules, if the author wishes to vote in Scotland in Local Council, Scottish Parliament, Westminster, or European Elections , he must register at an address in a ward or constituency here in Scotland. (Source: St,. Andrews Agreement and Representation of the Peoples Acts)

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5

kwcurrie

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 11:38 AM

No doubt you have the right to vote in your new home, so why do you still expect to have a vote in your old home - which you have patently left?

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Ron Greer

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 10:23 AM

3--good grief, we've just found another area of agreement!

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THX1138

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 09:39 AM

You have been out of the country for up to 15 years, so you're probably not coming back. Whether you're in Berwick or Johannesburg, you don't live in Scotland, so why do you think you have any right to vote on the future of a country that you no longer have a stake in? I live miles away from the village where I was brought up, but I realise that I relinquished my right to vote in their council elections when I left - John Heath, you should do the same.

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cajwbroomhill

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 07:55 AM

The pressure to restrict a vote comes from canny but relatively undemocratic vote-riggers to tilt the outcome in their favour. There's no reason or natural justice about the policy, just graft, as in old-days Chicago, and so many other places. The Electoral Comission might help, since surely there must be rules, but "serving" politicos, as usual, cannot be trusted to maintain a balanced democracy, the bounders! Beware, voters.

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fourbyfour

Sunday, February 12, 2012 at 12:35 AM

"I currently live in another part of the United Kingdom and wish to have a vote" Not a problem John. So long as that other "part of the United Kingdom" is within Scotland you will get to vote. If not, well, tough...

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