Ross Clark
trick with the Scottish independence referendum in which 16 and 17- year- olds were allowed to vote. Sure enough, 71 per cent of them voted in favour of independence according to an Ashcroft poll but playing around with the electorate still was not enough.
It is, of course, a perfectly legitimate debate at what age people should be eligible to do various things like drive, open a bank account and, of course, vote. But it is not a debate that should be had with an important referendum looming.
As for extending the vote to citizens of other EU countries who are living in the UK, why should they vote in a UK election? The right to vote is something that should be limited to people who have shown a genuine commitment to Britain, not extended to temporary workers and foreign students who are unlikely to stay around for long enough to be affected by the decisions made at the ballot box.
It has been a long- established principle across the EU that EU nationals can vote in local elections wherever they live but can only vote in national elections if they area citizen of that country. An in- out referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU is clearly a national election.
There would be only one reason for wanting to change the rules now and allowing nationals of other EU states to vote in a UK referendum: to try to influence the result. Citizens of other EU states might be more inclined to vote in favour of our staying in the EU.
Cameron has made the right decision to adopt general election rules. But he should be wary of making other changes to the electoral system. It was depressing to wake up the day after the election and hear Conservatives saying that the first thing the new Government should do is to pass a bill changing constituency boundaries so as to increase the likelihood of a Tory majority in 2020.
This is not how a responsible government behaves. The public holds a very dim view of parties who want to fiddle with the democratic system: just look how voters reacted to the Lib Dems’ proposals for the Alternative Vote, which were squashed in a referendum in 2010. There is, in any case, an established procedure by which an independent agency, the Electoral Commission, regularly reviews constituency boundaries.
NOR is there a good case for extending the franchise in general elections to British citizens who have lived outside the country for more than 15 years. Like Labour and its votes for 16 and 17- year- olds, the proposal made by the then Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps last year is blatant gerrymandering – as expats tend to be older and more likely to vote Tory.
If you haven’t been paying taxes in Britain why should you be able to vote? In any case, our electoral system is constituency- based – the last thing we want is overseas constituencies giving MPs an excuse to jet off around the world on junkets.
In five years’ time we will vote on the Conservative majority Government. If David Cameron’s successor wins it will be because the Government has done a good job. Trying to squeeze out a few more votes from the Costas is not an election- winning strategy.