To tie in with vote registration day last month (4 Feb 2016), the consular services at the British Embassy passed on the information below. Its message has proven to be that many people are not aware of their eligibility to vote. Through the website that I help to run (vienna-expats.at) I have passed on the message, as well as sharing the information through various Facebook groups. It seems that as with the Swiss referendum, the key is to increase awareness among eligible voters – the ten pointers below are doing the rounds among expat circles here in Vienna and one of the features of their voter information round robin is the abiding message to spread the word – a sort of electoral evangelism.
Category: 15 year rule
Stratifications of citizenship (or First Class, Second Class, Worst Class…)
With the Freedoom of Movement being essential within the EU – it being exactly what has allowed me to stay and work in Austria as a UK national, another issue was alerted to me, which may affect fewer people, but which until recently would have affected someone no less prominent in the Brexit referendum than Boris Johnson.
Continue reading “Stratifications of citizenship (or First Class, Second Class, Worst Class…)”
My letter to my MP – a quick response
I was pleasantly surprised that my letter sent to Rebecca Pow received a response within a few hours – which also outlines her reasons for not having declared whether she is “in” or “out” at this point in time. Continue reading “My letter to my MP – a quick response”
A letter to my (still?) MP
In order to try to raise awareness of the Overseas Voter issue, particularly in light of the withdrawing of the Overseas Voters Bill after its second reading in the House of Commons, I contacted the MP of my last constituency, Rebecca Pow, to draw her attention to my plight.
In order to try to raise awareness of the Overseas Voter issue, particularly in light of the withdrawing of the Overseas Voters Bill after its second reading in the House of Commons, I contacted the MP of my last constituency, Rebecca Pow, to draw her attention to my plight. Ms. Pow is currently undecided on whether to back the “In” or “Out” campaign.
A ray of (C)hope – Part 2 – The Overseas Voters Bill comes off the rails
Unfortunately the ray of hope about the Overseas Voters Bill has been extinguished. The second reading of the Bill, last Friday morning provided a lively debate – even though MPs strayed in their debating to issues of electoral reform within the UK, rather than sticking strictly to the subject of Overseas Voter registration. Continue reading “A ray of (C)hope – Part 2 – The Overseas Voters Bill comes off the rails”
Metropole on the Brexit
Metropole – the monthly English language magazine for Vienna also runs a blog, and today’s post “Until the Brexit do us Part” featured a couple of my comments to them. There are a number of interesting perspectives – including a fair few from translators – some of whom have a slightly “devil-may-care” approach to paying into pension systems either here in Austria or in the UK.
Continue reading “Metropole on the Brexit”
A ray of (C)hope
Today there is a Private Members Bill before the House of Commons, in its second reading, tabled by the Rt. Hon. Christopher Chope (Conservative MP for Christchurch and a fellow St Andrews graduate). Continue reading “A ray of (C)hope”
A letter of note from another UK expat
In response to my post on Vienna Expats’ facebook page about the the 2nd reading of the Private Members Bill on allowing all UK citizens in the EU to vote, regardless of how long they have been outside the UK, there was a comment from another Brit in Vienna, Christian Cummins, with a link to a letter he had submitted to the Guardian – it is worth a read. Continue reading “A letter of note from another UK expat”
The EU referendum – one of the biggest political decisions of my life…
A flatmate from University posted a provoking question on Sunday on Facebook, which I answered.
I have spent the last hour or so reading a variety of articles on EU referendum. I feel like this is the biggest political decision of my life. And I am on the fence. What are your thoughts?
Continue reading “The EU referendum – one of the biggest political decisions of my life…”