Votes for All Campaign Responds to Xenophobic Backlash
On Monday, 28 April, Conservative MP Neil O’Brien tweeted about our recent report What If Everyone Could Vote? mere hours before the launch of the research report at Parliament.
This unnecessary and antagonistic tweet whipped up a deluge of racist, anti-migrant discourse and spread misinformation about the content of our research. In the days since, our report has also been the target of Conservative news pundits Julia Hartley-Brewer and Patrick Christys. The reality is that residence-based voting is neither a new policy nor as sensationalistic as these voices may have you believe.
Residence-based voting has been implemented globally in other democracies such as in New Zealand, and here at home in the UK. Scotland and Wales have already extended the franchise to all residents in their devolved elections, a process that was not only relatively straightforward to implement, but also met with little opposition from Scottish and Welsh communities.
For the rest of the UK, these reforms have received public, cross-party support. Alex Sobel, Labour MP for Leeds Central and Headingley, where 7,239 residents are excluded from the right to vote in General Elections, states:
“I support those who are contributing in our society getting to have a say in how they are governed, following the model set by the Welsh Labour Government’s extension of the franchise. The report shows how millions of residents, from teachers to doctors, currently do not have this democratic voice; those who live, work and pay their taxes like everyone else. If they are putting into the pot, they deserve to have a say in the decisions that will be made.”
The Liberal Democrats’ 2024 manifesto called for votes for those with settled status. The Green Party’s 2024 manifesto proposed residence-based voting rights alongside votes for 16-year-olds. And in 2022, Labour’s then Shadow Democracy Minister Alex Norris tabled an amendment to the Elections Bill asking for the right to vote to be extended to residents with settled status/Indefinite Leave to Remain in Parliamentary elections.
Extending the vote to all residents makes for a more efficient democracy for residents and politicians alike. Some constituencies, like Kensington and Bayswater, have over 30,000 constituents that are unable to choose their MP, creating a situation where some MPs are representing over double the number of constituents than others, increasing their casework load and ability to effectively represent.
By extending the franchise to all residents, the UK has the opportunity to be a global leader in truly democratic representation. These reforms are possible. They are practical. They are simply not worth the fear-mongering. And we have the research to back it up.
