Expats told they cannot appeal to Supreme Court for right to vote in EU referendum
Two British expats have today been blocked from appealing to the Supreme Court over their right to vote in the upcoming EU referendum, on the grounds that there is no basis in law for them to do so.
In April, the High Court decided that expats who have lived outside of the UK for more than 15 years should not be allowed to vote in the upcoming referendum on EU membership. Earlier this month, the Court of Appeal upheld that decision.
The case has been brought by expats Harry Shindler, a 94-year-old veteran who lives in Italy, and Jacquelyn MacLennan, a lawyer who lives in Belgium.
Shindler and MacLennan argued that blocking their right to vote essentially penalised them for exercising their right of free movement under EU law and acted as an incentive for people to turn their back on this right and return to the UK.
Richard Stein from law firm Leigh Day, who represented the two claimants, said:
Our clients are very disappointed not to have have been granted permission to appeal. We are very grateful to the courts for dealing with this important claim so quickly. We can now only hope the government will take immediate steps to ensure the injustice that will be present during this referendum is never repeated again in any future votes.
There are around 2m British expats who are living overseas who are affected by today's decision. A survey released in April by Angloinfo found that around three-quarters (73 per cent) were in favour of staying in the EU.
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