The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Giving refugees a vote is ‘complicated’, says MSP
Minister supports idea but it is a UK Government power
A move to give refugees and asylum seekers the right to vote and stand in elections in Scotland has been put forward by the Scottish Greens.
However, MSPs were told such a change would be “complicated”, as immigration is a reserved matter for the UK Government.
Major obstacles to the Greens’ proposed electoral reforms cannot be “wished away”, Constitutional Relations Secretary Mike Russell added.
Speaking at Holyrood’s standards, procedures and public appointments committee yesterday, Mr Russell said UK immigration rules say asylum registration cards are not a form of ID, therefore there would be difficulties around identifying refugees as they would have no acceptable form of ID.
Secondly, he said, there is an issue of residence, with registration officers not knowing how long a person will be resident at the address where they are seeking to register.
Mr Russell also explained registration officers do not want to hold “immigration-style hearings”, while there are also concerns the public could lose confidence in the “integrity” of the register if it contains people who have left Scotland.
Mr Russell said: “I’ve indicated repeatedly I’m not unsympathetic to the idea, in fact I’m very sympathetic to the idea.
“But I have to say, you cannot wish away somebody else’s immigration rules and systems, you have to actually remove them legally.
“And the major obstacle to this is that the immigration rules and systems are not set by ourselves (the Scottish Government).
“If they were set by ourselves, then I would be very happy to see those changed and adapted to see if we could do this, but they are not set by ourselves.
“We cannot do everything in a devolved Parliament and that is the issue.
“This cannot be done easily or even without enormous complications and difficulties for electoral registration offices.”
Scottish Green MSP Mark Ruskell, who had put forward the idea, said: “We’re talking about administrative reasons why asylum seekers cannot be enfranchised.
“I’m not going to let paperwork stand in the way of the rights of citizens who are part of my community.”