The Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000

The Bill was given Royal Assent on 30 November 2000 and was brought into force on the 16 February 2001. Section 141 (as clause 134 / 138 became) states:

Reduction of qualifying period for overseas electors.
In each of the following provisions of the Representation of the People Act 1985 (as amended by the Representation of the People Act 2000), namely-
(a) section 1(3) and (4) (conditions to be satisfied by British citizen in order to qualify as overseas elector in relation to Parliamentary election),
and
(b) section 3(3) and (4) (conditions to be satisfied by peer in order to qualify as overseas elector in relation to European Parliamentary election), for "20 years" there shall be substituted "15 years".

However, this section has not yet been brought into force (most of the rest of the Act came into force on the 16 February) and there has been no indication from the Home Office when this will take place. Indeed their website still gives 20 years as being the qualifying period. (see http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/elections/overseas.htm).

Chris Jones, our LICC chair has been corresponding with and debating the issues with Lord Bassam, Parliament Under Secretary of State, who has been closely concerned with the passage of the Bill in the Lords and whose main reason for not endorsing our proposal has been his perception that the technical operations of annual registration woud be too complex. Click here to see copies of this correspondence.

There have also been campaigns from various branches including Andalucia, Spain and Costa Blanca, Spain.

If you want to keep upto date you should consult the Brussels Web Page or go directly to the Public Information Office email address or the House of Lords website.

LI members who feel strongly about this issue and they should because the proposed measure is nothing less than a form of disenfranchisement can communicate directly with members of the Lords and Commons. The following information might be helpful:

Member's Name, The House of Lords, London, SW1A 0PW. There is a general fax number for all members at the HoL: 020 7219 5979

Member's Name, The House of Commons, London, SW1A 0PW. Emails should be addressed to the MP's initial and name@parliament.uk (Not all MPs are Email linked)

At the Home Office the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State responsible for constitutional issues in the Commons is Mike O'Brien, MP. His details are on the web page: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ministers/obrien.htm

At the Home Office the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State responsible for constitutional issues in the Lords is Lord Bassam. His details are on the web page: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ministers/bassam.htm

The LI campaign of 'Use it or Lose it' on Overseas Voting Rights was not accepted. The legal position now is that the reduction to a 15 year time limit has been passed in both Houses and became law in February 2001.

If you want a comprehensive exposition of the issues of emigration and expatriation go to the

'Report on Links between Europeans living abroad and their countries of origin'

produced by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Demography, the Council of Europe:

http://stars.coe.fr/doc/doc99/edoc8339.htm