Labour tried to give vote to migrants

LABOUR attempted to change electoral law in order to give millions of migrants the right to vote in the UK.

Shadow frontbenchers last year called in the Commons and the Lords for the ‘enfranchisement of certain foreign nationals at parliamentary elections’.

They tabled amendments to the Elections Act 2022 – the controversial law that introduced voter ID – to extend the vote to anyone with the ‘right of abode’ in the UK.

The proposals would have covered EU citizens with ‘settled status’ in Britain and other overseas arrivals with ‘indefinite leave to remain’, covering those who have lived and worked in the UK for five years or who have family here. Shadow elections minister Alex Norris put down the amendment in the Commons, but it was not put to a vote and he did not address it in debate.

Labour’s levelling up spokesman Baroness Hayman did the same in the Lords and also demanded that ministers make ‘a statement to Parliament on voting and candidacy rights of EU citizens’ before the law took force.

But her amendments were also withdrawn, with Tory frontbencher Earl Howe observing in the Lords debate: ‘The right to choose the next UK Government is rightly restricted to British citizens and those with the closest historical links to our country.

‘In this respect, the UK is in line with international norms.’

It comes despite Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer insisting this week that giving EU nationals the vote was not official party policy.

Conservative backbencher Brendan ClarkeSmith said: ‘Britons cannot vote in other countries’ elections and there is no reason why we should give that right to millions of migrants who have not obtained citizenship here.’