The Eu Referendum: Who Should Vote?
November 26, 2018
Edit
Jo Shaw, University of Edinburgh
The enquiry of who votes inwards what elections is commonly sentiment to last a rather nerdy in addition to obscure question, in addition to it doesn’t oftentimes capture earth imagination. So it was quite something to run across an annunciation from Number 10 inwards advance of the publication of the European Union Referendum Bill telling us what the franchise is going to last inwards the plebiscite trending equally ‘most popular’ in addition to equally a ‘top story’ on the BBC News website early on inwards the morn of the belatedly May Bank Holiday 2015. The annunciation seems to take maintain been made to foreclose farther fence on the franchise, which had been gaining quite a lot of traction on the airwaves, inwards the newspapers in addition to inwards social media.
According to the announcement, the Referendum Bill volition utilisation a modified Westminster franchise. So it volition largely utilisation the franchise for U.K. national elections – i.e. resident UK, Irish Gaelic in addition to Commonwealth citizens, plus U.K. citizens who take maintain non been resident exterior the U.K. for to a greater extent than than 15 years, but it volition import 2 additional elements from the franchise for European Parliament elections: members of the House of Lords volition last able to vote, plus those who are resident inwards Gibraltar. It would non include 3 groups of possible voters:
· UK citizens resident abroad for to a greater extent than than 15 years, no affair how long they take maintain been resident exterior the UK;
· EU citizens who are able to vote inwards the U.K. inwards European Parliament in addition to local elections (and inwards the elections for the devolved assemblies in addition to Parliaments) on the footing of residence; and
· 16-17 twelvemonth olds (presumably inwards the inwards a higher house categories equally good equally those who are resident U.K. citizens)
The number has larn politicised inwards the UK, inwards component because the showtime grouping felt they had been the recipients of a firm pledge from the Conservative political party that the electrical flow 15 twelvemonth bar on expatriate voting would last removed (this was afterward repeated inwards the 2015 Conservative Party manifesto: run across p 49), in addition to the latter 2 groups both voted inwards the September 2015 plebiscite on Scottish independence, amongst the 3rd grouping also gear upwardly to vote inwards hereafter Scottish elections (including the 1 to last held inwards 2016), pursuant to an anticipated Westminster devolution of ability to the Scottish Parliament to gear upwardly its ain franchise.
All debates in addition to decisions almost the franchise are a mixture of regulation in addition to pragmatism – especially inwards the UK, where the starting dot is a rather mixed handbag of voting rights. So dissimilar the vast bulk of states worldwide, the U.K. does non restrict its voting rights inwards national elections to citizens alone. On the contrary, always since the electrical flow boundaries of the U.K. equally nosotros know it were carved out equally a lawsuit of the destination of empire in addition to the dissolution of the wedding ceremony amongst Ireland, those who had been ‘subjects’ of the Crown institute themselves continuing to bask the franchise inwards the modern state, fifty-fifty if this sits uncomfortably amongst a notion of a national citizenship which draws abrupt boundaries betwixt those within in addition to exterior the circle of inclusion.
That said, the inclusion of at to the lowest degree some external voters inwards the U.K. franchise since 1980 has seen the U.K. aligning itself amongst a to a greater extent than full general international trend towards allowing non-resident citizens to vote inwards elections without going equally far equally most states at 1 time do. So inwards 2014 the European Commission suggested that the UK, along amongst 4 other European Union Member States, should reconsider its electrical flow policies in addition to enact a to a greater extent than generous enfranchisement of external voters, especially those resident elsewhere inwards the EU. This was to avoid the province of affairs whereby this grouping of voters powerfulness let on themselves unable to vote inwards whatsoever national elections (e.g. if they take maintain been abroad to a greater extent than than 15 years, but yet did non qualify for citizenship inwards their host state, or for diverse reasons did non desire to larn that citizenship, e.g. if that meant giving upwardly U.K. citizenship).
The U.K. also has an odd approach to the enfranchisement of non-UK European Union citizens on the footing of residence, which is only required nether European Union constabulary for local in addition to European Parliament elections, but which is extended – equally a affair of U.K. constabulary – also to elections to the devolved assemblies. Not only did European Union citizens vote inwards the Scottish independence referendum, but they take maintain also voted inwards all of the referendums that preceded the enactment of devolution arrangements, amongst the exception of the plebiscite inwards Northern Republic of Ireland which was conducted on the footing of the Westminster franchise. No other European Union Member State has enfranchised non-national European Union citizens inwards this manner; other states move along to insist that longterm resident European Union citizens who desire to vote inwards most regional in addition to national elections must themselves larn citizens past times naturalisation, amongst all the difficulties that this may entail (including inwards some cases the loss of their master copy citizenship). Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 wider enfranchisement of European Union citizens on the footing of residence has long been has been pointed out, they retain the choice of acquiring U.K. citizenship (between at 1 time in addition to the appointment of the referendum, indeed) if they desire to vote. External voters also move along to test a stubbornly hard to accomplish group, amongst much lower levels of participation during the years when they are enfranchised. It seems probable that they too, if resident inwards the European Union at least, powerfulness last inclined to vote inwards favour of continued membership, inwards companionship to protect their ain status, although no 1 tin give the axe last sure almost that point. Resident 16-17 twelvemonth olds are, past times contrast, non in addition to thus hard to reach, but some people move along to harbour doubts almost whether it is appropriate that they should vote, fifty-fifty though at that spot is a minor international tendency to lower the historic menses of franchise, equally good equally the positive experience of the Scotland experiment on which to draw. Moreover, the Scotland experience seemed to dot that their overall voting choice powerfulness non differ in addition to thus greatly from that of the ‘mainstream’ voting population.
There are no correct or incorrect answers on the enquiry of the range of the franchise. The uncertainties unopen to this enquiry are, however, accentuated past times the uncertainties almost just what nosotros powerfulness last voting on, in addition to when. At the fourth dimension when the Scottish plebiscite franchise was set, the price of the vote were pretty plain, although apparently at that spot were sure clarifications (e.g. on currency matters most particularly) during the class of the campaign. The European Union vote is quite different, because of the uncertainties (and secrecy) of the diplomacy endeavour that the U.K. authorities is at 1 time purporting to lead, inwards companionship to essay those adjustments to the price of the UK’s membership that the authorities claims it has an electoral mandate to negotiate, given the price of its General Election victory inwards May 2015. The possible ‘adjustments’ are profoundly unclear, especially equally regards the legal shape that they powerfulness take, in addition to of class at that spot are quite a few people inwards the U.K. who are sceptical almost whether these negotiations affair at all. Plenty volition vote “in”, regardless of the Cameron ‘deal’. Plenty volition vote “out”. The ‘deal’, for many observers, is only a procedure of political choreography to permit David Cameron in addition to George Osborne to avoid the Conservative Party falling apart over its divisions on the European Union. It surely isn’t almost something which many European Union citizens, correct across the European Union powerfulness desire to participate inwards if given a chance, namely a thorough transnational reconsideration of whether the legal in addition to political framework for economical integration across Europe is at 1 time friction match for run equally nosotros approach the middle decades of the 20 showtime century. To that extent, non-UK European Union citizens resident inwards the U.K. powerfulness destination upwardly feeling doubly excluded if they create non take maintain the vote: namely non only tin give the axe they non participate inwards whatever plebiscite at that spot is, but also they may good experience that the plebiscite that is taking house does non itself actually larn to the nub of the issues equally far equally they are concerned.
See also Steve Peers’ comments on this issue
This weblog previously appeared on the British Influence site
Image credit: Daily Telegraph
Barnard & Peers: chapter 2