'Common sense' to allow EU nationals to vote in general elections, says Keir Starmer, in move that matches Scotland

Labour is open to lowering the voting age and extending rights to settled migrants

It is “common sense” to allow EU nationals who have worked for years in the UK to vote in a general election, Sir Keir Starmer has said.

The UK Labour leader said it “feels wrong” those who have contributed to Britain’s economy and raised their children in the country are not allowed to cast a ballot.

Labour is open to both lowering the voting age to 16 and extending rights to settled migrants, but has stressed these are “ideas” being “looked at” rather than policy.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer

Such measures are already in place in devolved and local elections. In Scotland, the voting age was reduced to 16 for the 2014 independence referendum. This change was made permanent for local and Holyrood elections in 2015.

Meanwhile, legislation passed in 2020 means all legally resident foreign nationals can also register to vote, not just EU nationals. The same criteria is in place in Wales for local and Senedd elections.

EU citizens can vote in local elections in England and Northern Ireland, but the Elections Act 2022 will usher in some changes to this. Those who arrived after December 31, 2020, will only get voting rights based on bilateral agreements with individual EU countries.

Voters in UK general elections must be 18 or over and either a British, qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland.

Speaking on LBC, Sir Keir said: “If someone has been here say 10, 20, 30 years, contributing to this economy, part of our community, they ought to be able to vote. You go to doors sometimes in a general election and you’re met with someone who says ‘look, I’m an EU citizen, I’ve been living here 30 years, I’m married to a Brit, my kids were raised and brought up here, they’re now working in the UK … but I can’t vote’. I think that feels wrong and something ought to be done about it.”

Sir Keir said the fact settled migrants do not have full voting rights “actually just doesn’t pass the common sense test for me”.

Allowing teenagers aged 16 and over to cast a ballot is also “not such an outlandish idea”, Sir Keir said, pointing to Wales.

Elsewhere, he insisted he had no intention of reopening the issue of Brexit after Conservative chairman Greg Hands accused him of attempting to “rig the electorate to re-join the EU”.

Mr Hands said: “The right to vote in parliamentary elections and choose the next UK Government is rightly restricted to British citizens and those with the closest historical links to our country. No other EU country allows EU citizens who are not their nationals to vote in parliamentary elections.”

Meanwhile, former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable suggested to The Observer it would be “highly improbable” his party would enter a coalition with Labour. Sir Keir has repeatedly refused to rule out such a pact, saying on Monday he would need to “wait and see what the situation is next year”. However, he has repeatedly ruled out any deals with the SNP.