General Election Press Release

Liberal Democrats Abroad urge millions of Brits overseas to register to vote before the June 18 deadline ahead of the UK General Election in July

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Many British citizens living overseas are very concerned about friends and relatives back home who are suffering from the incompetence and chaos of Conservative government rule in recent years. So, along with their colleagues in the UK, Liberal Democrats Abroad are campaigning for action to tackle the cost-of-living crisis in Britain, the many issues surrounding the NHS and social care, and the scandal of sewage pouring into rivers and lakes. 

Lib Dems Abroad will also be campaigning ahead of the upcoming UK General Election on July 4 on a range of issues specifically relevant to Britons living overseas, including:

• Fixing the UK's broken relationship with Europe. The Lib Dems are the only party with a plan to rebuild the UK’s relationship with the EU and rejoin the Single Market to restore prosperity to help all British families.

• Urgently working to limit temperature rises to 1.5°C to avoid irreversible climate change with unknown consequences. We are committed to cutting greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2045 and to ensuring that the UK’s net zero commitments are at the forefront of any international trade deal.

• Treating all British people equitably, wherever they live. The UK government and Members of Parliament should ensure that the needs and interests of overseas voters must be taken properly into account in all UK legislation.

• Ed Davey and other Lib Dem Members of Parliament have been campaigning in Parliament for overseas state pensions to be unfrozen for British citizens living in such places as Australia, Canada and in many developing countries. Lib Dems Abroad are following their lead by campaigning for their uplift to the same level as those in the UK.

Some 3.5 million British citizens overseas will be eligible to vote, including around 2.1 million who had previously been barred from voting. In January, amendments in the 2022 Elections Act abolished the rule that blocked British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years or had never registered to vote when resident in the UK. The Lib Dems supported the extension of the franchise for Brits abroad in the last Parliament.

Lib Dem leader Ed Davey has said the party is back to its winning ways, after beating the Conservatives in the May local elections and winning four stunning parliamentary by-election victories since the last General Election.

Liberal Democrats Abroad Chair George Cunningham remarked:

“For years the British people have been taken for granted by an out-of-touch Conservative Government that has failed to get the basics right and lurched from crisis to crisis - now it’s time for a change. 

“British voters living overseas have been consistently ignored by a Conservative government that is clearly more interested in fighting among themselves than standing up for the country.

“Every vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for a fair deal. It’s a vote for a party that will stand up for liberal values in Britain and around the world.”

Notes to editors

• The Liberal Democrats are a UK political party which aims to build a fair, free and open society.

• Lib Dems Abroad comprises of UK Liberal Democrat party members living outside the UK, and has three constituent organisations: Lib Dems in France, Lib Dems in Europe, and Lib Dems Overseas.
• British overseas residents wanting to register to vote should go to: https://britsabroad.vote

Interview availability

George Cunningham, Chair of the Lib Dems Abroad steering committee and Lib Dems Overseas, is available for interviews and quotes, along with the Chairs of Lib Dems in Europe (David Sapiro) and Lib Dems in France (Jenny Shorten).

Contact information

• press@libdemsabroad.org
• Stuart Pallister +34 675 612 355 (WhatsApp)