AIBU to think it was unfair that I didn't get a vote (Brexit)

[Nicolamarlow1]

At the time of the referendum my DH and I had lived in France for more than 15 years and therefore we couldn't vote in the referendum (or in any other UK elections come to that). We are now back in the UK. Just because we lived there at the time didn't mean we were there forever. While we were in France we were still British citizens and there must be thousands of expats like us who were denied a vote on Brexit.

I would say YANBU. I have lived in the UK for 8 years. I am not a citizen (because I don’t qualify to apply for British citizenship until later this year). I didn’t get a vote on Brexit despite it affecting our family significantly (dh and children are British, we have a British based business).

But though I haven’t lived in my home country for a decade, I still get a vote there. I vote in every single election, even the very minor ones. Because my children are citizens and what happens in my home country affects them too. They are dual citizens.

Nicolamarlow1 we could turn the question around- why should people who have no desire or need to work and live in the EU have any say in changing the law for those of us who do?

Ok, I understand they want to pay more for stuff and they don't want the protection of workers rights and tax avoidance laws, but REALLY must they try and put it on us Too?

YABU.

Of course it is ops business, because who do you think will get sent packing from the EU if there is no deal? British expats.

People who live in foreign countries for decades should not have say in what actually happens in the UK.

You want a vote then live in the UK permanently.

You want a vote then live in the UK permanently

So you'd get rid of any length of absence

Not even a few years

Rufus Brexiters don't do logic.

By walkingdead's logic, my DD should be allowed to vote in the UK. She was born here, turned 18 in January. Never lived anywhere else. Tiny issue - she's not a UK citizen but an EU citizen and she isn't about to give up her Dutch passport for a British one because her future lies outside this insular little nation. Still... She's always lived here.

If you are living abroad, you might not have the best interests of the (home) country at heart, you would be thinking, whats best for me where i am.

So with Brexit, if you live in another country, you may vote for something thats actually detrimental to the UK? Not saying you would OP, but its possible.

I personally think that people living and working or raising their families should have the right to vote, and those that choose to live away, shouldnt

People who live in foreign countries for decades should not have say in what actually happens in the UK.

Whyever not? Other countries don't have a problem with it. As I said upthread, some even have special MPs representing expats. So why the hostility to the idea?

@Walkingdead. I think that is quite a reasonable position for votes that are about what happens in the UK.

But the referendum was unusual in that it was an election that was only about the UK's external relations. It was not about what happens in the UK, it was about the relationship between the UK and the rest of the world. And the people potentially most affected by it were precisely the British expats in EU countries.

you may vote for something thats actually detrimental to the UK

Oh the irony...

You chose to live in France, so you chose not to be allowed to vote as that’s the law. You chose to come back to the UK when you did. You can’t have it both ways, grow up and get over it

Walkingdead are you saying that anyone who leaves the UK for any length of time should lose their voting rights? Seems a bit excessive.

nicola

I agree

I understand those commenting about 15 years and over

But not being able to live elsewhere ever... does seem a bit excessive

YABU. You chose to leave, wtf would you still get a say in a county you disliked so much you left?

Tiny issue - she's not a UK citizen but an EU citizen and she isn't about to give up her Dutch passport for a British one because her future lies outside this insular little nation. Still... She's always lived here.

but is she British and living in Britain?

Dantes don't most people vote for what they think will be best for them?

Walkingdead are you saying that anyone who leaves the UK for any length of time should lose their voting rights? Seems a bit excessive

Yes, I’d say that’s exactly how it should work.

@TaMereAPoilDevantPrisu
you may vote for something thats actually detrimental to the UK

yeah - so 17.4m of the fuckwits that live here voted out - yeah we know that

Don't Americans that leave the USA still have to pay taxes in the US? Maybe thats why they can still vote (i might be wrong)

wtf would you still get a say in a county you disliked so much you left

People go abroad to live and work for all sorts of reasons, not necessarily because they dislike the uk

Dantes, no she is not. But WalkingDead never said anything about that. Her criteria appear to be purely based on residency.

I'm not saying that my DD1 should have the right to vote in GE in the UK, far from it. I'm just pointing out the utter logic fail in the arguments. By her logic, if there were ever another referendum, EU nationals who have lived here all their lives and are of voting age, should be allowed to vote.

Edwinbear where did I say I lived in France because I disliked the UK? That was not the case. It is actually possible to move to a different country without disliking your home country.

edwinbear

So no military presence in other countries then?

edwinbear what length of time do you think is appropriate then? 3 months? A year? Two years? Three? A British student choosing to do a degree at a university abroad should lose their right to vote?