Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office, whether the Government plans to take steps to mitigate the potential risk of foreign electoral interference as a result of the extension of the franchise to British citizens who have lived abroad for more than 15 years in the Elections Bill, prior to that Bill coming into force.

The extension of the franchise for UK parliamentary elections will enable greater participation in our democracy. Most British citizens who move overseas retain deep ties to the UK. And it is only British citizens who have been registered to vote or resident in the UK who will be eligible, as this denotes a strong degree of connection to the UK.

​​As is currently the case, individuals will register in respect of only one UK address and will have to demonstrate their connection to that address, as well as prove their identity. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) who suspect fraud, for whatever reason, will not register an individual if they are not satisfied.

Registered overseas electors are eligible to make political donations, as important participants in our democracy; it is only right that they should be able to donate in the same way as other UK citizens registered on the electoral roll. The changes within this Bill will simply scrap the arbitrary 15 year limit on these rights. UK electoral law already sets out a stringent regime of spending and donations controls to ensure that only those with a legitimate interest in UK elections can donate or campaign. Measures in the Elections Bill go even further to stop ineligible foreign spending on electoral campaigning.