January 16 (THND) in London: The Elections Act of 2022 has restored the voting rights of more than 3 million British residents, including Indians residing overseas, to participate in general and referendum elections in the United Kingdom.
This is the largest expansion of the voting population in Britain since women gained full voting rights in 1928.
There is no longer an arbitrary 15-year limit on voting privileges as of Tuesday, January 16. No matter how long a British person has been abroad, they can still register to vote online.
The last address at which they resided or were registered to vote in the UK will be associated with this.
Once registered, they will be kept on the voter registration list for a maximum of three years. Online applications for postal or proxy votes are also available to electors after registration.
Conservatives Abroad, an international network of members and supporters of the British Conservative Party, spearheaded the “Votes for Life” campaign, which culminated in the enactment.
A long-standing promise of the Conservative Manifesto is the ‘Votes for Life’ campaign.
Despite efforts to thwart the plans by the Liberal Democrats and Labour, this enactment will ensure that all British citizens abroad can remain part of our democracy. The Liberal Democrats were instrumental in reversing the 15-year rule, which Labour instituted in 2001, and the opposition from Labour in the 2010–2015 coalition made it difficult to do so.
Michael Gove, secretary of state for housing, communities, and levelling up, made a comment. “From today, millions of British nationals across the world can exercise their right to vote in future general elections and have their say in the way their country should be governed.” “The Conservatives have once again shown that we are the party for democracy and protecting an individual’s right to vote.” Richard Holden, chairman of the Conservative Party, made a statement. “After years of hard work from Conservatives Abroad and our party members, we have finally seen the biggest expansion of our democratic franchise in almost a century, despite persistent opposition from Labour and Liberal Democrats.” “I look forward to reaching out and connecting with our overseas voters in the months ahead.” Restoring the franchise was spearheaded by Conservatives overseas, whose chairman Heather Harper MBE stated, “Millions of people living abroad, both working and retired, have been prevented from exercising their democratic right to vote.” “This new measure puts Britain back on a par with democracies such as the US, France, Italy and New Zealand in recognizing the importance of their citizens worldwide.”
