Minister : My Honourable
friend the Minister for Faith and Communities (Baroness Scott of
Brybrook) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement:
The Elections Act 2022 delivers our commitment to maintain the
integrity of UK elections making sure they remain secure, fair
and modern. Through the Act, Parliament resolved to update the
franchise for European citizens to reflect the decision made by
the UK people in 2016 to leave the European Union, and the new
relationship we have with Europe.
The automatic right that European citizens have to vote and stand
in local elections in the UK granted solely as a consequence of
our EU membership is not one which can continue. There has never
been a general right for European nationals to vote in
Parliamentary elections - choosing the next UK Government is
already rightly restricted to British citizens and those with the
closest historic links to our country, and this will not change.
Going forward, the local voting rights of EU citizens living in
the UK should be considered alongside the rights and interests of
British citizens living abroad.
In future, the rights of EU citizens living in the UK will rest
on the principle of a mutual grant of rights, through agreements
with EU Member States. These bilateral voting and candidacy
agreements ensure that we also protect the rights of British
citizens living in EU countries. We have already secured such
agreements with Spain, Portugal, Luxembourg and Poland.
In line with the Government’s commitment to respect the rights of
EU citizens who chose to make the UK their home prior to the end
of the Implementation Period, all EU citizens who have been
living in the UK since before 31 December 2020 will also retain
their voting and candidacy rights, provided they retain lawful
immigration status.
As part of the process of implementing the Elections Act, I have
today published the draft Statutory Instrument ‘the
Representation of the People (Franchise Amendment and Eligibility
Review) Regulations 2023’ with an accompanying draft Explanatory
Memorandum. The statutory instrument will make the requisite
changes to voter registration and electoral administration
processes to implement this franchise change. It makes changes to
processes to facilitate the future registration of eligible EU
citizens under the updated criteria, and it also sets out a fair
and transparent process by which electoral registration officers
will undertake a one-time review of those EU citizens who are
currently registered to determine if they remain eligible to vote
in the relevant polls. We will continue to engage with key
stakeholders to support efficient delivery of these important
changes, as we have throughout development of the policy and
processes.
These changes will apply to all levels of local election in
England and other local polls or referendums, and to Police and
Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales. A parallel
Statutory Instrument will also apply these changes to local
elections in Northern Ireland and elections to the Northern
Ireland Assembly. Other local and devolved elections in Scotland
and Wales are within the remit of the devolved administrations
and so are not in scope.
The statutory instrument is published in accordance with the
procedure required by Schedule 8 to the European Union
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 and agreed with Parliament. The statutory
instrument is being published in draft at least 28 days before
being laid in draft to be considered under affirmative procedures
in parliament.
