With the incompetents in power now, you have a moral imperative 
We all have.
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I think not voting because you no longer have any connection is a personal choice. Some of us do still pay tax on our pensions in the UK, our children and grandchildren are there and we may eventually wish to return.
I’m tempted to wonder what this will do to the Tory vote share.
To an extent one would suppose that residents in the EU would (post Brexit) be fairly anti-Tory, but it’s always dangerous to make predictions.
I reckon Stanley told Boris we are all Tory voters. Little does he know…
We have a spreadsheet of what the decline in the exchange rate has cost us in pension income since Brexit. It isn’t pretty…
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The English I’ve encountered in the enclaves sound pretty ‘true blue’ to me! Home counties stalwarts. But in urban areas I think more likely to (wo)man barricades so probably evens out as net zero.
Since one has to vote in previous constituency I doubt we’ ll see big influence. I have the choice of Jeremy Corbyn.
Even well, well before Brexit it waan’t pretty.
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Yes agreed. We have got the decline in the months before Brexit modelled too. As an overall percentage since Brexit about -15%.
It might have made a lot more sense if the UK had created a new, separate constituency(ies) for ‘Overseas Voters’. Easier to see the overseas vote on particular issues more clearly.
Instead, we’re forced to vote only in our old localities in the UK, which by definition means the overseas vote csn change nothing on issues that matter more to overseas voters. And no representation. ie no MP('s) for Overseas Voters.
I wonder why.
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That’s a very good point!
To keep us muzzled of course.
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I am not a fan of Brexit and like all that voted remain, and an increasing number that didn’t I think it has proved a disaster in many area’s.
Keeping a spreadsheet for what will be 8 years this year since the vote it only going to make people feel miserable. Pre Brexit I think the exchange rate was abnormally generous from sterling to euro and I recall the day before the vote it stood at 1.30 and immediately after went to 1 20. I remember because I gambled correctly by doing a transfer the day before to buy a car.
Today the exchange rate is around 1.17 so not atall bad.
Fixed incomes have taken a hit just like general wages so the world hasn’t changed in that regard.
There are many in this world that would love a regular income in old age, and to have had an education sufficient to be able to compile a spreadsheet, and a computer to do it on.
We should count ourselves luckier than most.
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Well it is only a very small part of our financial management spreadsheets. I guess if you started working in IT in 1970 it becomes a bit of a habit. 
It isn’t just about us though, our children and grandchildrens’ lives have been made much harder by this series of incompetent governments. That is our main reason for wanting to vote them out.
Of course you do - if you are still a British citizen you have a perfect right to be represented in the UK. Whether you use that right is up to you, if you feel you no longer have a connection.
But imagine if a future UK Government decided (for example) to freeze the rate of State pensions for retired people living in the EU - you have a right to have your voice heard on that kind of issue, and if you retain a link to a UK constituency and therefore have an MP who represents you, you can lobby them to protect your interests.
That’s perfectly fair and democratic IMHO.
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Not sure this is going to go as well as they hope ?
I suppose it might rope in a few tax exiles now living in the Caymans or Monaco, but everyone else is likely to join in with giving them a huge middle finger like UK-based voters, especially based on the results of Boris’s fabulous “Get 'er Done” Brexit…
I doubt the MP for my old constituency would lift a finger to help anyone in Europe, he was/is an arch brexiteer (Bak*r) and despises anything european and has a major hold over a very affluent blue constituency so I think a vote by me would be a waste of time to be honest as the other parties have never got in before
I’m sorry to hear that it would not work in your case, but the principle still applies.
Also don’t forget the Tories are heading for a wipeout so there will be a lot of new blood in the next Parliament - where I am in Surrey we have had some constituency boundary changes so I am now “represented” by Chancellor of Handouts-to-Our-Mates Jeremy Hunt, and am greatly looking forward to helping to replace him with a Liberal Democrat at the next election. 
The “first past the post” system makes a lot of people feel that their vote is “wasted” if they are in a constituency with a large majority for the incumbent - but not voting only makes that worse - every vote does count, as 2024 is about to prove I think…
There is also the possibility that the new Labour Government will bring in PR, but I’m not holding my breath on that one as the Labour leadership have gone a bit lukewarm on it lately.
Demographically, the UK is becoming less right wing - I was watching one of Phil Moorhouse’s videos on YouTube the other day and he mentioned research that shows that the usual trend of people becoming more right-wing as they get older has slowed noticeably in recent years.
Plus there are the plans to give 16-18 year-olds and EU citizens with residence entitlement the vote.
So there is hope that after the nonsense of the last 14 years, moderate centrist social democracy may be making a comeback.
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Think yourself lucky, if I was to vote my old constituency was Reigate and Bansted represented by another rhyming slang, Crispin Blunt.
I’m feeling lucky.
Brendan Clarke-Smith is my current MP.
Going, going, gone this year 
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Thanks for the feedback. I’m convinced and have registered to vote. Unfortunately my constituency is safe Labour, so it won’t have any effect, unless there’s a Breentry party.
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