According to the conservative party, there are up to 2.5 million Britons abroad who are eligible to vote in the forthcoming general election in Britain. Yes, it’s that time again when the British media is poised on the cusp of ridiculous reporting about all things back biting and bitchy between political parties, as we head towards the election.
The election can be called at any time between now and June this year – with most putting a punt on for May the 6th – which means you have a limited window of opportunity to register to vote if you want to. The trouble is, few expatriate Britons can be bothered because they feel that political changes in Britain have nothing to do with them now that they’re living abroad, or that it’s too much hassle to register to vote, that the British political and economic landscape is no longer anything to do with them, or because they are just not interested in the UK now that they have successfully made their move overseas…
So, we at Shelter Offshore, whilst happy to get the message out there that Brits abroad can vote if they want to, really don’t think it’ll do much good. Furthermore, we’d like to quietly point out to the likes of the conservatives that chasing after expat votes is just a bit desperate really. Surely what would be more important at this time would be getting your political house in order and presenting an organised front – addressing issues such as the fact there are no jobs or opportunities in the UK, that the economy is in dire straits, that banks are treating their customers shoddily even though they’ve been bailed out and told to behave, and that Britain is a country where hope and positivity are ebbing slowly away…
If you don’t live in the UK you’ll have no idea how bad things have become. From the outside the country is trying to present a front that it’s open for business, it’s out of recession, that things are moving along well. The message has been so successfully imparted that even people in the UK are slowly believing the message too. However, schools and colleges are closing, council workers are losing their jobs by the thousand, jobs are becoming harder to source and are paying less and less, the price of fuel has shot up again and the pound is still wallowing in a lowly position against foreign currencies. Things are so far from being rosy in Britain that even rose coloured glasses wouldn’t put a pink tint on it…
However, no one wants to talk about it, focus on it or even admit it. Why? Because as stated, there is a general election pending and no political party dares talk about how bad the UK is in case they inherit the problem and have to then go about putting it straight immediately! So, instead of focusing on the real issues at the heart of Great Britain’s current storm, parties such as the conservative party are trying to deflect attention by calling on expats to vote for them!
If you do want to register to vote in the forthcoming election, you can complete a form available at www.dontleaveyourvoteathome.com, hop across to www.aboutmyvote.co.uk where you can find out where to send your form to depending on where you were last registered to vote or registered as being resident in the UK, and away you go. However, don’t leave it too long – as it can take a while to process your application and get your postal voting forms out to you, and an election can be called any day now.
