Will expats’ “vote for life” arrive in time for EU referendum?

The law is set to change to allow long-term expats to vote in the UK, but will it change in time for the EU referendum?

The vast majority of Brits who live abroad in Europe are likely to vote in favour of the UK staying in the EU when the referendum is held at some point before the end of 2017.

It is only sensible to assume so. After all, while nobody can know for sure what a “Brexit” will entail, one thing is certain: life will become that much harder for Brits abroad scattered throughout the EU…

And concern is building that some members of the Conservative government are dragging their heels in forcing through a policy change that would allow Brits who have lived outside of the UK for more than 15 years to vote in all general elections and national referendums.

Perhaps fearful that by changing the rules hundreds of thousands of Brits who live overseas will vote to stay in the EU (a great number of Conservative politicians would prefer it if Britain exited), there has been little more than radio silence on the issue since the Minister for Constitutional Reform, John Penrose, told the Telegraph that: “The 15-year rule has got to go. It’s why we said in our manifesto that we would scrap this outdated law and allow Britons a vote for life wherever they are.”

However, there has been no concrete date given as to when this will happen, heaping further confusion on the issue. Indeed, nobody knows when the EU referendum will be held, save for the vague “before the end of 2017” timeline currently in place.

The British Prime Minister David Cameron is in favour of remaining within the EU, but knows that to earn the support of many of his backbenchers he has to seek a renegotiation of the terms of Britain’s continued involvement.

That he has been doing, but the Votes for Life Bill may not pass in Parliament before the vote occurs, rendering it impossible for potentially millions of Brits living overseas to cast their vote.

Currently, Brits who have been expats for more than 15 years cannot participate in the in/out vote. A recent law change under the Referendum Act allowed those who, on the date of the referendum would be entitled to vote in a parliamentary election, the right to have their say in the referendum.

Most Brits who work and live happily elsewhere in the EU are extremely likely to vote to stay inside. Former Attorney General Dominic Grieve has previously warned that Brexit would “make two million Britons abroad illegal immigrants overnight”, although it is highly unlikely that the situation would prove to be so severe.

Either way, it does seem to be the case that many Eurosceptics in Parliament are holding up the law change, and expats across Europe are being encouraged to ensure that they are registered to vote online at gov.uk/register-to-vote, so that those who can have their say, do.