Letter: Expatriates tick the right boxes

Published on 12/02/2012 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