To vote?

[Homebird8]

I live overseas.

I know I have a right to vote in the UK and am registered but should I?

Yes. At the risk of sounding melodramatic, people died so that you could. If you don't like the choice, spoil your ballot paper, but still vote. Imagine what message it could give if the spoilt ballot paper count was high - none of you is impressing us.
I know it's a faff when you are abroad but please try.
And it strikes a blow for all those dinosaurs in the world who say women shouldn't be allowed to vote (assuming you are a women). And there are still places in the world that do not allow secret and fair ballots. I know, I have lived in them.

Are there issues in the UK that affect you? Would a change in how things were done here affect whether you would come back to live here? If so do it with no hesitation.

Sparky I quite agree with all your comments about the seriousness of how my vote as a woman was own and that a free and fair election is something to be cherished. I also think that in a democracy the laws that are made regarding who should be eligible to vote are important too. I have registered and sent off for my postal vote and I will vote. And as I always did when I was in the UK I will give due consideration to the options available and vote with my head and my heart.

Dayglo, thanks for your response too. There are many things about the UK which still affect me and will continue to for years. I don't know whether I will live there again or not and of course am interested in its future as many of my friends and family live there.

I have simply found it odd that there are people who feel I should not interfere, by voting, in the national life of the country I am citizen of simply because I am living somewhere else. Glad to know IANBU. Thank you.

i live overseas too and not bothering due to a boundary change in my home constituency. Ive gone from a swing seat where every vote counts to a tory safe seat with 14000 majority. Yes my protest vote would send a signal, but with a newborn baby i just cant face the hassle of fibdibg my nhi number to register. Once i become a citizen here i will obly vote here.

I hadn't thought ahead to when I become a citizen of the country I live in. I can already vote here without this. I still think I might vote in both places because with citizenship comes obligations. Having said that redexpat, with a new baby and a safe seat nobody could blame you for your stance.

I don't think yabu to vote. I do think the rules are unreasonable that those living overseas long term can vote but long term EU nationals living in the UK have no such rights. OH cannot vote in this country or his home country.

Depends entirely on who you're gonna vote for

If it's UKIP then YABU.

Agree with SaucyJack :)

Yanbu. You are a citizen and i guess so are your dc, existing or future. So vote according to what i best for you and them.

ToBee I didn't know that. How can a person become so disenfranchised when living in a democratic nation and coming from one too? There must be a railing to chain oneself to. Start the petition, I'll sign.

Saucy and Fish (what a combo!) I think you can be comforted by my lack of enthusiasm for UKIP. I'm out of the country, not out of my mind

Thanks for that comment too Nolim. My DSs are British too (DS1 claims he will never be anything else) and of course there has to be a stake in their future.

I'm fascinated that nobody yet has thought I should forego my eligibility to vote because of my country of residence. Personally I don't think you strike off a country because you eat and sleep somewhere else.

Some other European countries have residency requirements and also do not allow dual nationality. To vote in this country the OH would be required to 'give up' his nationality from the country of his birth. To vote in his home country would involve having lived there in the past 3 years

No taxation without representation sounds good to me

Heavens ToBee make that part of petition! And I hope that would give him a huge payrise.

I think that often we do not realise the benefits of the situation we are in. Not only can I hold dual citizenship (in a year and a half when I become eligible for it here) but I can also vote in general elections in both countries for another 11 years.