Petition · past parliament
Implement Votes for Life legislation before EU referendum
Closed
4,067 signatures
What the petition asks
UK Citizens living abroad are directly affected by the EU Referendum.
There's an arbitrary 15yr limit on UK Expatriates voting in UK elections/referenda. The Government's "Votes for Life" acknowledges this. But, they will not implement it until after the referendum.
This is not democratic.
There's an arbitrary 15yr limit on UK Expatriates voting in UK elections/referenda. The Government's "Votes for Life" acknowledges this. But, they will not implement it until after the referendum.
This is not democratic.
The government proposed legislation in the Queen's Speech to remove this arbitrary limit - see pages 96 & 97 in the briefing pack on the Queen's Speech:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/430149/QS_lobby_pack_FINAL_NEW_2.pdf
with objective of:
"End the disenfranchisement after an arbitrary 15 years of British citizens living abroad"
Cross party report from 20th March 2014:
http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/our-forgotten-voters-british-citizens-abroad/
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/430149/QS_lobby_pack_FINAL_NEW_2.pdf
with objective of:
"End the disenfranchisement after an arbitrary 15 years of British citizens living abroad"
Cross party report from 20th March 2014:
http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/our-forgotten-voters-british-citizens-abroad/
Timeline
| 29 Oct 2015 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 29 Apr 2016 | Closed to new signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
4,067
Status
Closed
Opened
29 Oct 2015
Closed
29 Apr 2016
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.