British expatriates in Spain are being encouraged to vote in the coming UK General Election. With election day being only a few months away, the Conservative Party needs all British Citizens abroad who can vote to do so, to boost its chances of winning and time is running out.
The former Conservative chairman, Francis Maude, described the right to vote in their home country as, " the best kept secret for British expats" and promised that they would be encouraged to, "contribute to shaping a future Britain." He added, You don't lose interest in your home country when you move abroad. Expats have family back home; and many of them will have financial interests at home, and draw their pension from Britain. In 1992, the expat vote was credited with helping the Conservatives to win several marginal seats contributing to their last UK general election victory.
A 2006 study by the institute for Public Policy Research estimated that about ten per cent of the UK's population live abroad. Of the 5.5 million British people resident outside the country, around 2.5 million have the right to vote in UK general elections.
However, in 2005, only 17,500 registered to participate and at the end of 2007, just 14,000 expatriates were registered to vote.
Last year alone, 198,000 Britons left the UK to live overseas, all of whom are eligible to vote in the coming General Election. Spain is second only to Australia in numbers of Brits living abroad with over 760,000 in the country permanently, a large proportion of whom are based along the southern coastal strip.
Any British citizen over 18 and who has been on a UK electoral register within the last 15 years can register to vote in General and European elections from Spain. Those wishing to register must complete the appropriate forms and return them to The Electoral Commission in London.
SO IF YOU ARE ELIGIBLE TO VOTE AND ARE NOT REGISTERED TO VOTE, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT AND MAKE YOUR VOTE COUNT AT THE COMING GENERAL ELECTION.
YOUR VOTE CAN HELP BRING ABOUT THE CHANGE THE UK BADLY NEEDS.
More details are available for application as an overseas voter at
www.conservativesabroad.org
Also, the following website takes you through the "Registering To Vote" process step by step and is highly recommended.
www.dontleaveyourvoteathome.com
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