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this post was submitted on 12 Jun 2024
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UK Politics
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General Discussion for politics in the UK.
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Both of my parents live abroad, and have said they're not voting. In part this is because they usually vote Tory but are repulsed by what the party has become, but can't bring themselves to vote for another party. But the other reason they're not voting is they don't feel they should, since they've been out of the UK for 20 years and don't have the same stake in it that people who live here do.
They are, however, in favour of my suggestion: Brits living abroad should have a vote, but their votes should be for a dedicated overseas MP who represents the interests of expats, instead of being attributed to constituencies they haven't lived in for decades.
I'm stuck in this dilemma. I've lived abroad for seventeen years. Strangely, it makes me much more aware that I am English, also British, but undeniably English. It also makes me incredibly grateful to be English - it's about the least worst country on the planet. I could bang on about doing 'stuff' for the UK overseas (intergovernmental and trade stuff), and that how my foreign wife's career would take a huge hit if we moved back to the UK (she's a senior medical doctor, but would be made to start from the lowliest grade should we return). But that's contextual and circumstantial. I've been painfully deliberating the principles for years, and fully appreciate the 'not here, no vote' sentiment. But, I am English and under the governance of the UK gov. I look to the year 1647, the Putney Debates, during the civil wars. The debates considered the rights of people (men) under governance. Colonel Thomas Rainsborough stated, "I think it clear, that every Man that is to live under a Government ought first by his own Consent to put himself under that Government." I am under the UK government, so doesn't that give me the right to vote? I want to vote now because I hate the tories. How much? A lot. I think a dedicated overseas MP is a great idea. We are global now, and it could feed useful information back into parliamentary debate. I'd appreciate any comments, constructive or abusive, they all contribute. Thanks.
I think you raise really good points, actually! The thought also occurred that if the country you're currently in went completely to hell - war broke out, government went crazy and started murdering its own people, whatever - you're still a British citizen and would have the right to ask the UK for help getting out of there. So logically you should have someone to represent your interests to the government.
I'm now convinced that a dedicated overseas MP (or MPs, if the correct number of them is determined to be more than one) is the way to go. Because there's also the fact that like... if you contacted the MP for your former constituency, they might struggle to help you because their responsibility is that specific geographic area. A proper overseas MP would (hopefully) be educated on the problems expats specifically have to deal with, and would be better able to both help with problems and represent your interests in Parliament. That seems more fitting than expecting a constituency MP, who may never have worked in the Foreign Office, to also be able to help people scattered all over the world just because they used to live in a particular town decades ago.
Thank you so much for your reply, it's greatly appreciated, and has removed enough fog of doubt to propel me to register to vote.
Regarding a dedicated overseas MP, this grows in attraction. Having support and representation would be beneficial for me, but I equally believe that feeding back the experiences of us overseas would enrich and inform the UK parliament. I have participated in a fair few trade missions, inter-institutional and cultural/soft-power events, especially under the remit of expanding British business overseas. The UK is still held in the highest regard, and with good reason. The policy of our institutions and government to publish their data, procedures and processes is of immeasurable help. If you're a medical doctor in a foreign country wanting to draft hospital wide procedures, the first stop is the NHS (and then copy-paste). If you're developing processes for the adoption of industry digitalisation, the UK institutions are amongst the finest (copy-paste). These should be enriching, or at least empowering, the UK, but are missed at High Commissioner/Ambassador level.
In this globalised world, and we have form in this, having one overseas MP to stand on their hind legs in the House of Commons and act as a conduit seems like a sensible investment.
Time to give some thought to action it.