Millions of People are Unable to Vote in the UK, as Report Reveals Numbers of Foreign Citizens Disenfranchised by Seat

Over four million residents of voting age in the UK are unable to vote due to a messy patchwork of rules about which non-Brits can vote in our elections. 

A new research report commissioned by the campaign group Migrant Democracy Project exposes the extent to which migrant residents remain disenfranchised – unable to vote – in the UK. 

The results are “astounding” according to the non-profit Migrant Democracy Project. The analysis found that 4.4 million residents remain ineligible to vote in parliamentary elections for MPs across the UK. 

Even for local elections, where rules are less strict, 1.2 million residents of voting age remain ineligible to vote in local elections in England and Northern Ireland due to rules on which countries’ citizens can vote here. The rules apply regardless of how long they have lived and paid taxes in the UK. 

London appears most affected by high numbers of non-voting residents, particularly parts of Westminster, as well as Tottenham (North), West Ham, Poplar and Limehouse (East), and Brent (West) . The capital would likely gain more seats in Parliament, if MP boundaries were tweaked to represent the hundreds of thousands of currently unrepresented potential voters. 

Areas like Peterborough, Cambridge, Luton, Leicester, and parts of Birmingham would also likely gain representation if the rules were changed to expand the franchise. 

In Scotland and Wales, 88,000 residents have gained the right to vote in recent years through reforms pursued by their devolved governments, though relatively large numbers remain unable to vote in Glasgow and Edinburgh. 

The report – conducted by Professor Toby James and Jamie Underwood from the University of East Anglia – is the first of its kind to pinpoint the magnitude of this disenfranchisement, according to the study’s backers. 

‘What if Everyone Could Vote?’ reveals “gross disparities” between communities, with the top ten constituencies having more than 20,000 disenfranchised voters on average while 26 others have fewer than 1,000 including Bishop Auckland, Rother Valley, Redcar, and Hexham.

Irish and qualifying Commonwealth citizens of voting age can already cast their ballots in all elections in the UK. The rules on Commonwealth citizens stem from Britain’s colonial history, put into law through the British Nationality Act 1948 and Representation of the People Act 1949.

However, EU citizens (except Irish people) or those of non-Commonwealth countries cannot vote for Members of Parliament, no matter how long they’ve lived here. 

That is despite the last Government changing the rules so that Brits living outside the UK for over 15 years are still able to vote and donate to political parties here, from abroad. 

A Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson told Byline Times: “This government will deliver important election reforms to strengthen our democracy, including extending voting rights to 16-year-olds. We have no plans to revise the franchise for foreign nationals.”

Meanwhile, Byline Times understands that the policy of extending the vote to 16 and 17 year olds will be in place “in good time” ahead of the next general election.

You can see the complex web of rules on who can vote in different elections here or below:

Who Can Vote in UK Elections?

Just a handful of EU countries have reciprocal voting deals with the UK, where Brits resident there can still vote in their countries’ elections if they arrived after Brexit, and vice versa. They are Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

One long-term resident from the constituency of Kensington and Bayswater, ranked first with approximately 33,000 disenfranchised residents, told the researchers: “It’s sad that as a UK resident of ten years I am unable to participate in a political system that affects me and other domestic workers. We want to contribute and we want representation.” 

The report also explores the practicality of extending the franchise. Electoral reforms in Scotland and Wales allow all lawful residents the right to vote in their local and devolved elections – regardless of their nationality. 

The report claims these reforms have created a “simpler and more equal” electoral system with few financial, administrative and political hurdles. 

Lara Parizotto, Executive Director of the Migrant Democracy Project, commented on the findings, saying: “We have to question whether democracy is living up to its name when over four million people are excluded from voting. 

“This report exposes the huge democratic gap where some migrant communities have full voting rights while millions of others have no right to vote at all. The UK must urgently follow the examples of Scotland and Wales and extend the right to vote to all.” 

The estimated cost of implementing full residence-based voting rights would be relatively modest, according to Prof James, at £12.2 million per year plus £1.8 million in one-off implementation costs, which works out to approximately £2.96 per voter per electoral cycle.

An estimated 518,000 extra residents who are unable to vote here have arrived in the UK between 2021-2025, the researchers say. 

Electoral boundaries are currently drawn based on the numbers of registered voters, meaning areas with high numbers of ‘unenfranchised’ residents arguably have a weaker voice in Parliament.

In Scotland and Wales, after implementing so-called residence-based voting reforms, the nations saw modest increases in voter registration without major administrative difficulties, though voter engagement was identified as a challenge.

The human rights-monitoring Council of Europe, of which the UK is a member, recommends granting voting rights in local elections after a certain period of residence. 

The recent law in Scotland extended voting rights to refugees but excluded asylum seekers (i.e. those who haven’t yet had their claims accepted).

Extending voting rights to all residents, regardless of how long they’ve lived here, would likely trigger a right-wing backlash and outrage from parts of the press.

This outlet understands that the Labour Government believes voting should be based on citizenship, rather than residence. An overall ‘Government Strategy for Elections’ is due to be published later this year.

The full report is here, and readers can view a map detailing the number of disenfranchised residents per constituency here.

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Josiah Mortimer also writes the On the Ground column, exclusive to the print edition of Byline Times.

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