Expat Scots should be given vote in Holyrood elections, says think tank

EXPATRIATE Scots should be given the right to vote in Holyrood elections to rebuild their links and commitment to the nation of their birth, a conference will be told next week.

Scotland's Homecoming celebrations marking the 250th birthday of Robert Burns will be held up as an example of how one part of the UK is making efforts to re-engage with the "diaspora" of its citizens living abroad.

A research paper drawn up by the Institute for Public Policy Research think-tank will be presented to a Foreign Office conference of UK ambassadors in London, The Scotsman has learned.

But it will mix praise with a call for greater action from the Scottish Government – such as tax breaks and resettlement grants – to attract Scots back to their homeland.

And there is criticism of the Homecoming festival, which the IPPR views as "a bit fluffy" and unlikely to convince expats to return permanently to Scotland.

The IPPR is conducting the work as a follow-up to its 2006 report Brits Abroad, which found that around 5.5 million UK citizens lived outside Britain.

Jill Rutter, the IPPR's senior research fellow on migration, equalities and citizenship, said she planned to visit Scotland throughout the year to speak to expats returning to take part in Homecoming events.

While the number of UK citizens emigrating each year has fallen – from 185,000 in 2005 to 171,000 in 2007 – she said more could be done to reverse the "brain drain" of talented Scots leaving..

Scotland's population, after years of decline, is projected to rise gradually but Ms Rutter said offering expat Scots the chance to vote in Scottish parliament elections could help cement a bond.

She said: "It would be a way of maintaining positive links with Scotland. Those emigrants who have maintained links to their home country are those who are likely to re-migrate. Also, those emigrants with positive links to their home country are more likely to champion Scotland."

At present, UK citizens living abroad can vote in UK general elections and European Parliament elections, but must register annually. They are not entitled to vote in local council elections or to devolved parliaments.

Ms Rutter said: "One of the ways of linking with these emigrant communities is by voting. We recommend that for the devolved elections, UK nationals be given the right to vote."

She said of the Homecoming: "The initiative seems a bit fluffy. I think it's a bit lacking in focus."

A spokesman for First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Homecoming is about turning a threatened visitor downturn into a tourist boom, and aims to generate an additional 40 million. Control of Scottish Parliament elections rests with the UK government. However, we support the findings of the Gould Report, which recommended that responsibility should transfer to Scotland."