‘Voting within British elections should be a civic duty for British citizens and British citizens alone’-Andrew Rosindell MP.

2nd September 20262nd September 2026 Francesca Lilleystone 0 Comments Andrew Rosindell MP, Commonwealth, Reform Uk, Romford, Voting min read

Andrew Rosindell-The Member of Parliament for Romford, responds to a recent Havering Daily article.

Voting within British elections should be a civic duty for British citizens and British citizens alone. The only exception to this should be to citizens of the Irish Republic owing to the sensitive nature of politics in Northern Ireland.

I think this is a common-sense approach to democracy which every other democracy in the world follows. Nor can it be interpreted as an attack on our nation’s democracy either. It is only fair that those with a stake in our nation’s future, that is to say, citizens of the United Kingdom, have the right to vote for its own interests and that that right is preserved now and far into the future.

To this end, Reform’s upcoming amendment pushes to rescind the unconditional vote from citizens of the Commonwealth of Nations. This would mean that those living under any sort of visa arrangement would no longer be able to vote in our national elections.

I have long been a champion of the Commonwealth of Nations – I believe it is exceptionally important both as a modern and historical free association of nations that spans a quarter of the globe. However, this is no longer an Empire. As every member of the Commonwealth has had the right of self-determination, it is only right that Britian maintains its own self-determination through our national democracy. We must remember the origins of Commonwealth voting. Our current voting system originates from a time before most, if not all, members of the Commonwealth had independent nationalities and independent national legislatures, and all were considered British subjects. This is no longer the case.

Nevertheless, some in our own community have argued that this approach is an attack on democracy – that simply because you were born abroad within one of the 55 other Commonwealth countries and are eligible to pay taxes within the UK, you should be entitled to a vote. This cannot be true. There is more to citizenship and the right to vote than paying income tax and a temporary visa. It is about having a stake in the UK as your permanent home.

If voting is not restricted to the people of the United Kingdom, then the act of voting cannot be considered one solely in the national interest. This is not simply nationalistic sentiment but a measure to ensure voting continues to mean something to the people of Britain.

Some opposed to this have raised the bizarre argument of ‘no taxation without representation’. Besides the fact that no country operates on the basis that if you are a taxpayer, you are entitled to the right to vote, the function of the amendments proposed by Reform UK are to enhance the vote of those who hold citizenship within the UK. The representation of the British within our own elections should always come as the priority. Without true democratic representation in the first place, an argument of giving the vote out based on taxation means little to nothing. An argument of this kind would also entail restricting voting rights to taxpayers: should those in retirement on the state pension therefore be unable to vote? I think not.

Following Reform UK policy, the vote cast by the everyday British citizen will hold more value. With those who have the United Kingdom as their permanent and legal home coming first when democracy determines the future of the nation.