We’ll, that’s bad news. Post takes even longer to get to/from N.I.
We came to the same conclusion after discussions with Wokingham Borough Council. As we were determined to vote to get rid of the dreaded Redwood we have asked the local party we want to vote for to organise proxy votes. I was led to believe that we needed someone who lived in the same voting district but maybe that’s only for local elections?
An excellent plan! 
In my neck of the woods we are looking forward to handing Jeremy Hunt his P45.
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Spent nearly 60 years fighting the wretched Tories with some success at local level.
I was looking forward to booting Paul Scully out in October but like countless other Cons the blighter has deprived Sutton voters of the pleasure by deciding not to stand…
We nominated one of our sons to proxy vote
Same thing has happened in Broxtowe it would seem, at least the man’s name was not on the ballot last time I looked.
I have tried to contact my chosen party by email. Twice and had no reply. Is it still true that a political party can provide this proxy service?
How do you get a proxy vote when you have no family in UK?
By contacting the local party.
Try phoning them?
While there have been many problem-solving suggestions here, notably about arranging a proxy, none of them address the central point, namely that current arrangements for postal voting for those living outside the UK are not fit for purpose and the policy on expatriate voting no more than a token gesture.
It’s also a nonsense that we are expected to vote in the last constituency we lived in, where we have no current links and our specific interests are unlikely to have any influence, as opposed to a foreign residents’ constituency where our particular interests could be addressed.
I agree, but for now am just happy to have got a tiny say back, having lost it under the previous 15 year rule.
I too do not trust the post very much. I’ve always managed to have previous postal vote forms posted back in the UK either by myself (being on a chance visit) or giving them to a trusted friend who was on a trip back so could drop them in the post.
I’ve never done a proxy vote, but am seriously considering it now.
So am I, after reading this thread, all I have to do now is decide who best to vote for. The Cons took it and held it some time back and I suppose the tactical voting answer is to vote Labour. But i would find that really hard to do so I am left with my previous instinct, LibDems, the party I left some time ago because they wouldn’t answer vital questions, and the Greens.
Now the Greens have no chance of winning (but do they? At least one of them did) but if alot of people feel like me would it at least not make a big point?
I have discounted Reform, naturally.
Now the other question I had, When we registered we chose a postal vote, can we, and how do we, change to Proxy? If I choose a party to do it for me, can they organise the change too?
I have always hesitated about Proxy voting because, no matter how well you know the person chosen you can never be sure they will do the right thing. I trusted my Dad, when I was overseas to place my Labour vote in my very first election and I was pretty sure he was a Conservative, but did he? 
At least with picking a party to vote for me I can be pretty sure they will vote for themselves. Unless they have a spy in the ranks. 
I’ve been over here for three years and never have – I have a WARP carte de séjour and I was under the impression that I do not have the right. Am I mistaken?
No, you can’t vote.
David there is a website you can use if you want to vote tactically - they are currently offering advice for the forthcoming local elections but will have General Election suggestions in due course:
With the first past the post system tactical voting is the best option (assuming you don’t want the Tories to get back in) even if it means voting for a party who you normally don’t feel is a perfect fit with your beliefs.
The Labour Party conference has backed a switch to proportional representation and the Lib Dems are also in favour - Starmer is said to be against it, but maybe will change his tune if there is enough grass-roots pressure.
PR would bring a parliament more representative of the diversity of views in the UK (yes that does probably include the Reform Party, assuming they continue and don’t implode in the absence of any real party infrastructure).
Widespread tactical voting would illustrate that FPTP is not very democratic as so many people are currently having to use it instead of being able to vote for a party that aligns with their views and expect to actually get represented.
Yes, they are already sending me emails. I didn’t know that Labour is backing PR, that would make a difference to me.
There was a Tory in our constituency but they haven’t named a candidate last time I looked, I think I must have read @JaneJones’ post wrongly about the deadline for candidates to be named, perhaps she was talking about the council ones.
A soon as I have made up my mind I will contact the party concerned and ask them what they are prepared to do regarding changing to a proxy vote nominating them.
I was labouring (npi) under the illusion that, registered in Croydon and Sutton, we would be entitled to a vote in the London election on 2 May. I now learn that overseas voters are only entitled to vote in general elections.
I also learned that you can combine postal voting with proxy voting — I.e. that we could ask one of our daughters who live on the other side of London to post their proxy vote to Sutton.
So that looks like a viable solution to the question I posed.
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Having the right to vote restored as a non resident brit is not all it seems.
Our daughter has our proxy vote and turned up at the polling station this morning to place her and our votes.
After some checking by officials it seems we are barred from mayoral and local elections and only eligible for national elections.
Some might say that is right and proper as we have no input in local affairs but we are landlords in the constituency so do have input. Or we could be considering returning to the area (hypothetical) and therefore affected by future local governance.
I am grateful for having my vote restored nationally in
In the UK but as I cannot vote locally in England or France it is still not good enough.
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