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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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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.