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Back in 1985, the Representation of the People Act extended the right to vote
in national elections to British citizens living overseas who had previously been
resident in the UK within the previous five years. This period was extended to
twenty years in 1989, but was reduced in 2000 to fifteen years with effect
from 1 April 2002. Specifically, the offending pieces of legislation are Section
of the People Act 1985, as amended by the Representation of the People
Act 2000.
This legislation is arbitrary, discriminatory, and serves no useful purpose. At
various times in the past the government has arbitrarily fixed the cut-off point
for British expat citizens’ voting rights at zero, five, twenty and fifteen years.
This is a “think-of-a-number” approach, rather than a reasoned and responsible
approach towards an important area of legislation.
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