Scottish Parliament: Elections

(asked on 14th November 2017) - View Source

Question to the Cabinet Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether their (1) ministers, and (2) officials, have held discussions with the Scottish Government regarding the rights of EU citizens to stand and vote in Scottish Parliament elections following Brexit; and if so, when.


Answered by
Lord Young of Cookham Portrait
Lord Young of Cookham
This question was answered on 27th November 2017

UK Government Ministers and officials have held regular discussion with Scottish Government Ministers and officials on the progress of citizens' rights negotiations, which includes the right to stand and vote in municipal elections. There have been official level conversations after each round of negotiations with the EU and Ministerial conversations after the majority of the rounds, including most recently at the British-Irish Council on 10 November.

The UK Government position is that we want EU citizens with settled status, or who are on the pathway to settled status, to retain the right to vote and stand in any UK election which uses the local government register (which includes Scottish Parliamentary elections), so long as the rights of British citizens living in the EU are similarly protected.

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