• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

EXCLUSIVE: Campaign launched for all residents to vote in local elections

“It doesn't matter if you are a migrant, or someone born in the UK, you still have to pay local council tax. You use public transport, your local school, your local park, so it's only right that you get a say in how these services run.”

Andra Maciuca by Andra Maciuca
2021-08-16 18:13
in News, Politics
THIS IS OUR HOME THE3MILLION EU CITIZENS

Photo: PA

FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

A campaign for all UK residents to be able to vote in England and Northern Ireland local elections has been launched following the announcement of the Elections Bill in Parliament last month.

‘Our Home Our Vote’ is urging the two British nations to follow Scotland and Wales’ example in allowing anyone with indefinite leave to remain to vote in the local elections.

Maddy Dhesi, campaign spokesperson at the3million’s Young Europeans Network, said the confusion and exclusion caused by current electoral legislation is the force behind the movement.

“In England and Northern Ireland, there is no system of residence-based voting for general elections, police and crime commissioner and local elections,” she told The London Economic.

‘It’s only right to have a say in how your taxes are spent’

Lara Parizotto, co-manager at the3million’s YEN, said the group is only focusing on residence-based voting for local elections and that New Zealand “is the only country” who extends this right to general elections – a right which can only be approved by Westminster for all UK nations.

But Parizotto told TLE she wants residents to be able to “have a say in how taxes are spent”. “It doesn’t matter if you are a migrant, or someone born in the UK, you still have to pay local council tax.

“You use public transport, your local school, your local park, so it’s only right that you get a say in how these services run.”

RelatedPosts

Full list of MPs who voted down a windfall tax on gas giants that could hand families £600

‘We can’t just put up nice people’: Jim Davidson blasts Thatcher statue protests

Tory MP arrested on suspicion of rape

Man spotted selling eggs outside Margaret Thatcher statue

The Elections Bill is set to be discussed amid a “barrage of complicated bills affecting migrants and ethnic minorities” according to Parizotto, who said the campaign on local voting rights has been endorsed by Lib Dem, Green and Labour councillors.

She expressed concern for post-Brexit rules which will see EU citizens’ local voting rights mantained only if they have pre-settled or settled status, which in her view means “disenfranchising EU citizens entering the UK from 2021”.

Lara Parizotto
Lara Parizotto

‘I feel bad for immigrants in England’ – American in Scotland

Lauren Tormey, a 28-year-old American who has been living in Scotland since 2011 said “it was quite meaningful” when the nation passed legislation last year to allow any foreign national resident in Scotland to vote in its local elections.

But she told TLE: “I feel bad for all immigrants who live in England that don’t have the opportunity to even just vote in local elections.

“I think it’s just reflective of England, English politics and the whole view towards migration there. If there was a part of UK that was gonna do it, I would say it would have been Scotland over England, because there’s less far right, rhetoric, demonising people who have the audacity to move across an international border.”

Tormey said she paid £6,000 for her route to settlement in the UK which allows her to vote in local elections, and she said this is “at the cheaper end of the scale” and that prices “have skyrocketed since then”.

Immigrants have been ‘double taxed’

“The Conservative government wants to put out messages to their right wing supporters and the far right press that ‘we’re not making it easy for immigrants, we’re making them pay their fair share’. But if we’re living here and working here, we are already contributing the same amount of taxes, so we’re just being sort of double-taxed for it,” she said.

Although becoming a British citizen would give her voting rights in general elections as well, the extra “prohibitive” costs mean she is only considering it out of fear stemming from the UK government planning to only give migrants digital proofs of their rights to live in the UK.

She said that residence-based voting should be granted without having to secure “special rights” or to have lived in the UK for a certain amount of time.

“If you live here, you are part of the community here, you have a say,” Tormey said.

‘Being alive means your voice matters’

She added the right should not be based on whether a migrant pays taxes or not: “I don’t care what your reasons are for living here or whether you are documented or not.

“Your value in life is not determined by how much you contribute to your society, you contribute by being alive and existing and having friendships and relationships with the people around you.

“Just being alive is enough for someone voice to matter.”

Lauren Tormey
Lauren Tormey. Photo: TartanZone Media

Brazilian food delivery driver Fabiano Farias, 41, who has been living in London for 14 years said he has been living in England for long enough to know what problems his neighbourhood has.

‘Unfair’

He told TLE: I think I could help. It’s very expensive to apply for citizenship, so as long as people live here and pay their taxes I think they should be allowed to vote because, at the end of the day, we are part of the trouble, so we can be part of the solution.

“It feels a little bit unfair because I do live here and pay tax, I have my life here so I would like to decide what the right way to be is.

He added: “The campaign gives me a little bit of hope, I just hope it goes through. It’s going to be helping millions of people who are European or have a visa like me and aren’t allowed to vote.

“There are people who are very active in the community but are not allowed to vote so that is unfair. We never get any rights, we just keep losing the rights we have.”

Related: EU nationals fear private health insurance requirements could see UK citizenship bids rejected

The Home Office said I had the perfect citizenship application – and then rejected it

Tags: Elections BillEU citizens in local electionsimmigrationVote

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Kym’s to host Dry January dinner in collaboration with Seedlip

Corbyn expected to win with increased majority, says Poll

Conversations With Friends by Sally Rooney: The perfect novel for the Snapchat generation

Fair Finance celebrate 10 year anniversary

CG Asset Management – The rewards of long-term thinking

Divide and rule? Goverment slammed for claiming ‘white privilege’ may have contributed to neglect of pupils

Mr Fogg’s to host Father’s Day cigar and whisky pairing

Construction sector contracts as Brexit uncertainty continues

Man stabbed to death in London is 29th murder in capital this year

ITV Studios accused of corporate failure of responsibility over Jeremy Kyle Show

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.