What could possibly be Keir Starmer’s motive for considering an extension of the general election (and referendum) franchise to EU citizens settled in the UK?
Whilst, we are generous with our local government franchise, allowing settled EU nationals to vote for local councillors, nevertheless, there are few, if any, jurisdictions that extend national voting rights to the citizens of other countries. I certainly don’t know of any, beyond our own historic rights for the Ireland and some to Commonwealth countries
General Elections and referendums can change the whole course of our country’s progress and history in a way that local council elections can never do. Accordingly, the right to participate in national elections should be reserved for our own nationals.
It isn’t even as If they’ve asked: The move appears to an unsolicited offer, or to be strictly correct, potential offer by the Leader of the Labour Party.
If EU nationals settled in the UK really want to vote on our national issues then they can apply to become one of our nationals. The process is straightforward, and you only have to have lived in the UK for 5 years in order to apply.
There are almost three and a half million EU nationals settled in the UK. Were they to be automatically granted the right to vote in our general elections and referendums then, as a group of voters, they would amount to more than all the voters in Wales. They would potentially have more influence on the outcome of any poll than one of the constituent nations of our United Kingdom.
So, what could be the motive for this sudden and unsought generosity to participate in determining the national affairs of the UK?
Forgive me, but I’m a politician, and I simply can’t help it: My suspicious mind immediately leaps to the conclusion that Sir Kier has spotted some electoral advantage for the Labour Party by expanding the franchise in this way. To be blunt, I suggest that he expects the bulk of this new cohort of voters to vote Labour. Perhaps he even dreams of harnessing their support to reverse our referendum decision in 2016 to leave the EU. After all, he tried to do so several times during the 2016 to 2019 Parliament.
My advice to any voter is to be very careful if considering voting for a party that contemplates being so careless with the right to vote. We could very well find that we’d lost sovereignty over our affairs once again.