Tony Blair reduced the expatriate voting period to 15 years because he was advised that most expatriate Britons voted for the Conservatives.
Now, it appears that the 15-year voting limit for expatriates in genera elections is going to be overruled by the current Conservative government, perhaps Blair was right, maybe most expatriates do or did vote Conservative. Either way, to be honest, it makes no difference to me. I have lived most of my life outside of the UK, both as a child and an adult so, in all fairness am I worthy of having the right to vote in a country I do not live in and have very little, of any personal connection with on a day-to-day basis?
Having been a tax paying resident in Spain for the best part of 30 years, I would rather be given the right to vote in the Spanish general elections. Yes I can vote at municipal levels, but councils come and go and at the end of the day how much real power to they have? Do they have a say on my pension, my tax rates or the price of fuel, for example? No.
I believe that I should have the right to have a say, a vote, on those issues and other important matters of state which, should I decide to end my days in Mallorca or elsewhere in Spain, have an impact on my future. Yes, I may well be able to vote in the next UK general election but I don’t think it’s fair I mess with the future of a country I don’t live in.