MISSION ACCOMPLISHED
Heather Harper, Chairman of Conservatives Abroad writes:
"We at Conservatives Abroad are delighted that the Electoral Commission and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) have joined forces to promote overseas voter registration. As you well know, the UK is still miles behind most advanced democracies – France, Spain, the USA, Italy, to mention just a few – in enabling its expats to participate fully in the democratic life of their country.
Conservatives Abroad therefore fully supports the Electoral Commission and the FCO in this excellent initiative. Because opponents to abolishing the 15-year rule often cite the existing low numbers of overseas voters who register (less than 30,000 in 2010), it is very much in the interests of all of us to respond to the call to register, and to encourage others to register, so that we can rack those numbers up, and prove our opposition wrong!
Help us to get at least 100,000 overseas voters registered this year!
Please spread the word, especially among those unaffected by the 15-year rule. Republish these messages on your website, get other expat organizations to put them on theirs, tweet them, re-tweet them, Facebook them, talk to potential voters in meetings at schools, universities, chambers of commerce, professional organizations, sports clubs, anywhere where expats under the 15-year barrier are likely to gather.
An important part of our target group will be young people (to vote when they are 18 years) – have a look at arguments tailored specifically to them at http://bitetheballot.co.uk and sell them on the benefits of democracy!"
For more information about the registration process or any aspect of the campaign, please contact our Political Advisor Christopher Chantrey OBE, President and former Chairman of the Paris branch of Conservatives Abroad, British Conservatives in Paris. [email protected]
