Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Fabricant and Gary Streeter

Thursday 17th July 2014 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

2. What steps the Electoral Commission is taking to improve registration of UK voters resident in Europe, North America, Israel, the far east and Australasia; and if he will make a statement.

[Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon)]

The commission runs awareness campaigns to encourage expatriates to register in advance of all elections in which they may vote. These are predominantly online campaigns aimed at countries with the highest number of British expats. Thanks to the introduction of individual electoral registration, overseas electors can now register online and no longer require another British passport holder to countersign the registration form. That change, supported by the commission, should make it easier for overseas voters to register.

[Michael Fabricant]

I am very grateful for that answer. Online registration is good news for Brits overseas. My hon. Friend will know that there are some 1.4 million Brits in Australasia and the United States, and 43,000 in Israel. How is he going to advertise the fact that online registration is available to them?

[Mr Streeter]

The Electoral Commission will continue to get the message across with targeted press releases to English-language papers and radio stations in the countries where there are large numbers of expats, but its predominant means of seeking to do so is through online campaigning and advertising on websites most likely to be read by expats. Of course, all of us who use social media—my hon. Friend is very skilled at using it—can get this simple message across: “You can now register online!”

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Fabricant and Gary Streeter

Thursday 21st November 2013 Commons Chamber

[Geoffrey Clifton-Brown (The Cotswolds) (Con)]

7. What progress has been made by the Electoral Commission on setting a target for increasing the number of eligible overseas voters registering before the next general election.

[Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon)]

Since May 2013, the Electoral Commission has met representatives from political parties and officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to discuss how they can work together to reach eligible electors overseas to encourage them to register to vote. That has helped to inform the development of the commission’s extensive public awareness campaign for overseas voters in 2014 ahead of the European parliamentary elections. Finally, the commission has set a target for its overseas public awareness campaign for the 2014 parliamentary elections to be more than three times as effective as the campaign it ran in 2009.

[Michael Fabricant]

With 1.6 million Brits living in the US and Spain alone, all entitled to vote in the European elections and the general election, what thoughts has my hon. Friend had about advertising in expat newspapers in those areas and others or perhaps using the embassies and high commissions to promote the fact that those people could and should vote?

[Mr Streeter]

Those are all issues that the Electoral Commission has considered and will continue to consider. In particular, it sends press releases and articles to English-speaking newspapers and radio stations in areas that are strongly populated by expats. The Electoral Commission also conducts a rigorous online campaign to try to persuade people of the benefits of voting in a British election.

Oral Answers to Questions

Debate between Michael Fabricant and Gary Streeter

Thursday 24th January 2013 Commons Chamber

[Michael Fabricant (Lichfield) (Con)]

2. Whether the Electoral Commission is taking steps to make it easier for UK citizens resident abroad to vote in UK elections while ensuring safeguards against electoral fraud.

[Mr Gary Streeter (South West Devon)]

UK electors overseas currently have two options to vote in certain UK elections: by post or by appointing a proxy. The commission has been calling for the Government to review the electoral timetable since 2003, and it therefore welcomes the provision in the Electoral Registration and Administration Bill to extend the timetable for a general election from 17 to 25 working days. That will give overseas voters more time to return their postal votes. The current security arrangements for postal vote applications will still apply.

[Michael Fabricant]

There are 3.5 million expats living abroad—1.5 million in Australia and the United States, 800,000 in Spain, and many, many more, yet only 1% are registered and get to vote.

[Mr Streeter]

Shocking.

[Michael Fabricant]

And as my hon. Friend says, that is shocking. Will the commission investigate precisely why we are in this appalling state of affairs, and explain what it is going to do about it?