Good news for British 15+ year residents

[Gardengirl]

https://www.theleader.info/2020/02/24/british-expats-to-get-vote-for-life/

[mint]

Why am I not holding my breath?[:'(]

Meanwhile it's a huge blow not to be able to vote in the municipal and European elections over here.

[PaulT]

Sorry I am going to put my head above the parapet.....

A GE does not only decide on the state pension. It decides on a whole host of other things that directly affect those living in the UK that will have no effect on ex-pats.

Things that come to mind is the funding of NHS, infrastructure, all forms of taxation (income tax will only affect the like of ex civil servants), police funding, council funding etc etc.....none of which will affect ex-pats.

Am I being cynical if I think that Bonzo thinks that most ex-pats will vote Tory?

[mint]

Paul, BJ did say in his letter that many of us still have family in the UK and have UK derived income.  Also that, with Brexit, he would need us (UK folk on the continent) more than ever.

Don't know what he needs us for?  He is perfectly capable of antagonising the EU on his own (under the guiding hand of Cummings) and scuppering our "trade deal" with the EU.

[Judith-aka-Judith]

Paul, I don't entirely agree with you.

Anybody who has to pay tax in the UK for whatever reason, they are not always full blooded civil servants, will be affected.  Those pensioners on S1's will be affected by the state of the NHS (they get free treatment courtesy of their S1's as was discussed on here recently), they often have family there who it will affect, and this reflects on them too, plus the fact that we now have no where else to vote, thus being completely disenfranchised scorns the struggle that has gone on over the years, and makes a joke of universal suffrage.

[idun]

Yet again, I do not care about people who chose to move abroad and eventually cannot vote in the UK.

IF that was a priority in the reasons for moving, then it should have been taken into careful consideration and the move made accordingly.

We have always voted when we could, but in truth it was something that I never looked into, it was not a priority or even a mild consideration for either of us.

I was rather chuffed when we ended up being able to vote for 20 years....... Initially when we moved it was FIVE years! And so what, we were moving to another country. Not being forced, prioritising what we wanted to do.

And paying in another country, well, we always paid the lot in France when we lived there and eventually, our very last few years, we could vote in the european and local elections. Good yes, but still, our option prior to that EU ruling was to accept that or leave.

Germans can only retain their voting rights for 25 years. Not just the UK with limits.

[NormanH]

I stick with my opinion that the right to vote is an intrinsic part of nationality. It is a right and a duty.

[NickP]

Says a man applying for French nationality. So no probs Normy, you will be able to vote for Macron. LOL

[NormanH]

I have French nationality now, so I have the right to vote again, starting with the local elections on the 15th March.[:D]

[mint]

Well spoken, Norman.  I now feel "stateless" and that bothers me.

[betise]

My French nationality is still being processed, but I doubt it will be done in time for me to vote, and that bothers me. I have always voted, and feel bereft.

[idun]

mint, are you saying that if you had realised that you would not have moved to France?

When we moved, we had five years of a right to vote in uk general election, no voting rights in France at all.

Of

all the things about our move, that was one thing that never came up,

we knew about it, but that was not the thing that was going to stop us, or hesitate.

Also,

so many posters, have  moved back to the UK and still have a look in,

SO I cannot but wonder if they are campaigning for british residents

living in Europe to be able to vote?

And feeling stateless, well, we were effectively exiled during the Thatcher years. This for several years.

[mint]

Well, id, I knew we would have 15 years' of voting.  It seemed OK at the time as we had no means of knowing whether we would be staying as long as that or even whether we would still be alive!

Also, as you know, I am not a monarchist and I did want to move to a republic.

[idun]

How time flies eh!

Had you known it had been as little as five years...... and as long as 20? So changes had happened.

I was a republican until I moved to France, had little time for a monarchy, but within about two years, I realised that I did not like the way a french republic worked at all.......

On top of that was happy that Thatcher was not President, and was really really glad that the UK had the system it had.

[NormanH]

Except that Presidents can only serve for a certain number of years and can be voted out....

[woolybanana]

Constitutional monarchy is a safe bet. Just look at the rubbish presidents round the world to see why.

However, monarchy should not be too big or expensive; the UK lot needed slimming down which seems to be happening anyway by attrition.

[idun]

Now just look at the Presidents I saw in France, Tonton, Black Jack, and then Sarko.

Looking back, Tonton was probably the best I saw and that is not saying a lot.

I was really 'converted' to the UK system after a very short time in France. I prefer it, all it's faults etc.

Now here is a question about how much these Presidents cost their countries as against the UK monarchy. I ask, because I am sure that I read that the german President cost Germany more than the UK monarchy cost, and without looking, does anyone know that person's name?? because I certainly do not.

Can anyone find such information, or has this old lass misremembered.

[Judith-aka-Judith]

Idun - Germany - I think it used to be Honnecker, but only because I had a good German friend, and I might be wrong.  Agree, some Presidents (cf Ireland) are hardly known ...

[idun]

I do remember Mary Robinson being Irish President, but no idea who it is now.

I remembered Honnecker, but had to look him up as I thought him DDR rather than GDR. And he was.

[nomoss]

[quote user="idun"]

I do remember Mary Robinson being Irish President, but no idea who it is now.

I remembered Honnecker, but had to look him up as I thought him DDR rather than GDR. And he was.

[/quote]

I think he's called the Tee-shirt.

[chessfou2]

Michael D Higgins, elected 2011, re-elected (by landslide) in 2018 for another 7 years. A really nice man.

[Judith-aka-Judith]

Yes, that's him, saw his residence in Phoenix Park last year when I was there ... plus a very posh cortege leaving .. now who the heck was there then, have a feeling US, but I could be entirely wrong ... we saw the whole caboodle later in the day when back and touring Dublin, but never saw the man himself.  May last year, anybody??

[cajal]

[quote user="Judith-aka-Judith"]  May last year, anybody??[/quote]

May 30th?

[Judith-aka-Judith]

Well, now been and checked the date, in fact it was 21st May, but my diary doesn't tell me who we saw, just that we did see it!!  How annoying, it was somebody opening or presenting something because we saw them later in town ...

[woolybanana]

Perhaps the word ‘resident’ in the thread title might be changed to ‘veteran’ as it seems more appropriate!?