Only British Citizens should Have the Vote
- Alistair McConnachie
- Jun 4
- 16 min read
Updated: Jun 5
Voting privileges are crucial to the existence and direction of a country. Who gets to vote determines whose opinions steer the country. Who gets to vote determines who gets to choose how the country will develop. Who gets to vote determines where the country ends up. We should not give away the vote to millions of people who are not even British Citizens, says Alistair McConnachie.
Voting is a major way in which a nation is transformed.
Therefore, who is being allowed to vote is a central issue.
Many people think that only British citizens get to vote at our elections. This is not so. Millions of foreign citizens can vote at elections throughout the United Kingdom.
Unfortunately, like so many central issues related to immigration, this receives little attention; that is, when the franchise is not being deliberately subverted for their benefit!
This becomes a major issue when there is a constant and heavy flow of new immigrants being given the vote without even having to be British Citizens.
It is obvious that this will democratically affect the course of the country. This is basic stuff but it's seldom addressed!
Well, we address it!
We've already looked at why Commonwealth Citizens get to vote at every single election in the UK. We argue that it should be stopped.
We've also looked at the fact that every "legal resident" in Scotland and Wales gets to vote at Scottish and Welsh local and devolved elections – regardless of their citizenship status and regardless of how long they have been in the country.
In that regard, some people want to further extend the franchise in England and Northern Ireland to ensure that any "legal resident" is able to vote at local elections too. No doubt they'd also like to extend this to British General Elections.
This is called "Residence Based Voting Rights".
As we say, it's already the law in Scotland and Wales, a consequence of the franchise for Holyrood, Senedd and Local elections being devolved under David Cameron's Scotland Act 2016 – his big consolation prize to the SNP for losing the 2014 referendum – and the Wales Act 2017.
WHO CAN VOTE IN SCOTLAND AND WALES?
At local and devolved elections, the following non-citizens can vote, providing they are "legally resident". Group 5 can vote at the British General Election in Scotland and Wales as well:
1- people who have been given Refugee Status (although not asylum seekers prior to being granted such status);
2- people here temporarily on work, student and family visas from anywhere in the world;
3- people who have "Indefinite Leave to Remain" and who are not British citizens;
4- all EU citizens;
5- as well as all the citizens of the Republic of Ireland, and all the citizens of the other 55 Commonwealth countries (who are also allowed to vote at the British General Election). See "Why Commonwealth Citizens get to Vote in the UK".
HOW MANY NON-BRITISH CITIZENS ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE IN SCOTLAND?
It was reported in May 2025 that
National Records of Scotland (NRS) data said a record 195,400 "qualifying foreign nationals" are able to vote in next year's Holyrood election.
The total has risen by 24 per cent since December 2020 – shortly before the last Scottish Parliament election – and doubled over the past decade.
SNP government legislation in 2020 gave the vote in Holyrood elections to all foreigners who were legally residents in Scotland. Previously, only EU and qualifying Commonwealth citizens could cast a ballot…There are now almost 4.3 million people registered to vote in Holyrood elections compared to just over 4 million in Westminster contests, with the rules governing foreign nationals accounting for almost all of the difference. (1)
THE NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP PRINCIPLE
Some people believe that "democracy" means everyone should get the vote if they happen to live here legally. They see it as an automatic "right" of everyone.
Others, such as A Force For Good, see the vote as a privilege not a right; and as a political tool intended only for the official National Citizens of the country; to help them to steer the nation politically.
In that sense, the vote is a privilege of legal citizenship, and not a "right" of residence.
It is a privilege for those who are invested in the country – that is, the National Citizens. It should not be given to people who are here temporarily and will leave the country in the future; or who are not British Citizens.
We call this the "National Citizenship" principle: National Citizenship is a privilege, not a right. Similarly, voting is a privilege, not a right. Only National Citizens should decide the political direction of the nation through the ballot box.
OUR ARGUMENTS FOR THE NATIONAL CITIZENSHIP PRINCIPLE
a) People who are only here temporarily should not be allowed to make political decisions which may be permanent for the rest of us.
b) If we give the privilege of voting to immigrants as soon as they enter the country, then the country could politically change at the rate at which immigrants enter.
c) Not only is this going to make the various constituencies unstable – politically swaying back and forth at the rate of new immigrants in the area – but it's also likely to develop ethnic enclaves for voters.
d) Politicians are going to have to find ways to appeal to the specific foreign interests of the voters, rather than to the broad interests of the wider society.
e) Many immigrants could be expected to vote against immigration-restrictionist parties, and/or for more immigration, thereby blocking these policies.
f) Our proposals, below, will simplify the system, bringing the necessary clarity to a confused constitutional arrangement. This will help people better understand, and appreciate, their democratic privileges.
g) Our proposals value and esteem the concept of National Citizenship and thereby help people to better appreciate membership of the Nation itself.
WHO SUPPORTS "RESIDENCE BASED VOTING RIGHTS"?
These are people who don't believe in the idea of "national citizenship" at all!
They say we are all, "citizens of the world", and they don't believe in the idea of "borders" (unless it is their own front door or bedroom window, in which case they suddenly believe in borders very much).
They believe that voting in a country's elections should be open to anyone; and regardless of whether they possess any formal "national citizenship" of that particular place; and regardless of how long they have lived in that particular place; and regardless of whether they are committed to the long-term interests of that place!
It is often an attitude which is motivated by opposition to the very idea of the Nation-State.
After all, if you can make national citizenship a pointless thing – which gives no special benefits or privileges – then it is only a short step to making the whole idea of "national citizenship" irrelevant, and with that, making the whole idea of "the Nation" redundant.
THE ARGUMENTS FOR "RESIDENCE BASED VOTING RIGHTS"
The arguments of the "residence based voting rights" lobby are poor. (2) These are their main points:
They pay taxes, therefore, they should be represented, because there should be "No Taxation without Representation"
On first hearing, this might seem "fair". It might be enough to convince some people who don't look at the deeper issues of national citizenship, and the effect of the vote on the overall political direction of the nation. However, it doesn't hold up to examination.
The original phrase (from the American Revolution) relates to people who had no representation, and who were being taxed against their will. It doesn't refer to people who are voluntarily paying tax.
There is a difference between involuntarily paying tax without representation; and voluntarily agreeing to pay tax without representation.
For example, if someone comes to this country to work, then they are voluntarily agreeing to pay tax. They can live here and continue to make money. They can make as much money as they want. We're just saying that their choice to make money in this country does not entitle them to automatic representation.
If they're upset that they have no representation, then they are free to find another country where they can pay taxes and have representation.
We do not have to change our circumstances to fit in with them. If they are so keen on having a vote, then they need to change their circumstances!
Being on the Electoral Roll improves one's credit score
This is not relevant. We could simply pass a law that says that those who are not on the Electoral Roll should not be penalised on their Credit Score if they do not qualify to be on the Electoral Roll!
We should simplify the system by giving everyone the vote. Otherwise immigrants find it hard to understand their voting rights
We should certainly "simplify" the system by restricting the votes to British Citizens only. That makes it very simple!
It is unfair that some immigrants in parts of the UK – eg Scotland – have voting rights that others in England don't.
The answer to that, again, is to give only British Citizens the vote so there are not "unequal rights" for immigrants throughout the UK.
They should not have to wait until they get citizenship because that takes too long
It's not for us to change our constitutional circumstances to fit in with impatient people. That's just the way it is. We can't be expected to change the rules to suit them!
If they live here and work here, they should vote here
We oppose non-citizens voting because it is contrary to the National Citizenship principle which states that only national citizens should be able to guide the political direction of the country through participation in the democratic process.
"Legal residence", or "working" or "paying taxes" is not reason enough. Only legal national citizenship is sufficient.
Those who are permanently settled here with "Indefinite Leave to Remain" (even though they are not British citizens) should be able to vote
Why should they vote if they are not national citizens? Why should they get to decide the direction of the country if they are not citizens of the country? "Indefinite leave" is not sufficient.
If they can't get the vote, are you saying they are "second class citizens" now?
Our policies are referring to people who are not "citizens" at all! That's the point. They are not national citizens. They are guests in what is, to them, a foreign country.
It's racist to exclude people from another country from voting, just because they're not British citizens
The principle here is national citizenship. You can be a legal national citizen regardless of which race or ethnicity you identify as. Again, the principle is that only national citizens should be able to guide the political direction of the country through participation in the democratic process.
BEWARE the "GIVING THE VOTE TO ILLEGALS" STRAWMAN DIVERSION
Those who want to promote "Residence Based Voting Rights" for local elections in England and Northern Ireland are likely to start a conversation about this by misdirecting people into believing that "illegals" will get the vote, even though that is not part of their plan.
As we say, their plan is only that all "legal residents" should get the vote.
They will then distract us into a heated debate about "illegals" voting. When it is finally decided that "Illegals will not get the vote after all", then everyone will relax thinking that it is all solved. At that point, they'll quietly slip through the new law where all legal residents get to vote.
In other words, they'll put up a straw man, distract you with that straw man, and knock him down; at which point we'll take our eye off the ball and think everything is now OK; and then they'll sneak the new law in, and they'll say "Hey, it's only for the legal people" (which is what they wanted all along), and we'll all be expected to breathe a sigh of relief!
POLICY PROPOSAL: ONE FRANCHISE FOR ALL BRITISH CITIZENS AT EVERY ELECTION
There is no consistency in our national democracy. There is no method to this madness, and the franchise has fractured terribly as a result of various devolution laws.
The various franchises in the United Kingdom are seriously in need of an overhaul.
This is now a pressing issue because mass immigration means that the electoral rolls, throughout the UK, are constantly being filled by foreign people with no long-term stake in the country, who themselves naturally, and quite understandably, can vote to change the direction of the country in accord with their own foreign preferences!
We need one franchise for all elections – British national, devolved and local – in order to make it easily understood and consistent. After all, simplicity is surely a prerequisite of democracy!
This means that we need to repeal the following laws.
1. Repeal the Scottish Elections (Franchise and Representation) Act 2020 which brought in the residence-based voting rights in Scottish Parliament, and Local, elections.
2- This will also require the repeal of elements of Section 12 of the Scotland Act 1998 (as amended by Sec 4 of the Scotland Act 2016) to ensure that Holyrood is unable to set the franchise for its elections in future.
3- Repeal the sections of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020, which brought in the residence-based voting rights for "qualifying foreign citizens" in Welsh Parliament, and Local, elections.
4. This will also require repealing elements of Section 13 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (as amended by Sec 5 of the Wales Act 2017) to ensure that the Senedd is unable to set the franchise for its elections in future.
RELATED POLICY PROPOSALS
1. NEW FRANCHISE: ONLY BRITISH CITIZENS ON THE ELECTORAL ROLL
After repealing the above laws, we can set up a new franchise where only British Citizens are allowed onto the Electoral Roll. This will prohibit most, or all, Commonwealth Citizens from voting as per our proposals here.
We may or may not choose to allow Republic of Ireland citizens to continue to vote, based on the close connection of the Republic to the United Kingdom and the reciprocal voting arrangement already in place.
2. BAN ON NON-CITIZENS STANDING FOR LEGISLATIVE BODIES
Currently, you don't even need to be a British Citizen to stand for any legislative body in the UK!
Presently, Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth citizens can stand for election to the UK Parliament, and at all devolved elections, and at all local elections throughout the UK.
In Scotland and Wales, any other legally resident foreign citizen can also stand for election to Holyrood and the Senedd, and for local elections in Scotland and Wales.
We propose that only British Citizens should be entitled to stand for election to any legislative body in the UK.
Foreign citizens, citizens of the Republic of Ireland, and citizens of the Commonwealth – all of whom are not British Citizens – should not be entitled to stand for election to any legislative body in the UK. Removing them from the Electoral Roll will have this automatic effect.
3. BAN ON DUAL CITIZENS BEING ALLOWED TO STAND FOR ELECTION
We would be generous and we would allow dual citizens to vote.
However, we recommend that they are not allowed to stand for elected office at local, devolved or national level. The principle here is that you should not be making decisions at a legislative level – either locally, devolved, or British national level – if you are also a citizen of another country, and therefore have a dual loyalty.
4. THE CITIZENSHIP STATUS of our ELECTED OFFICIALS SHOULD be MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE
At the very least, we should know which of our legislators have other national loyalties! This information is not available at present.
For example, in response to a Freedom of Information request in October 2023, the House of Commons Information Compliance Team responded to a question regarding which MPs held dual citizenship by saying:
This information is not held by the House of Commons. MPs are not employees of the House of Commons, and we do not record their citizenship because the House does not have a business need to do so. (3)
Well, "the House" may not have a business need, but the country surely has a political need to know the national loyalties of its politicians!
5. PROHIBIT NON-CITIZENS FROM JURY SERVICE
Why should non-citizens sit in judgment of British citizens? It seems wrong!
The Jury Act 1974 requires a juror to be on the electoral register, 18 or over, and to have been legally resident in the UK for 5 years. It does not state that citizenship is a requirement. Non-citizens have been eligible since 1870. If we remove non-citizens from the Electoral Roll, as per our recommendations above, then this will also prohibit those people from jury service.
6. CITIZENSHIP SHOULD BE MADE MUCH HARDER TO ACQUIRE
Currently, it is 6 years which is absurdly low. We suggest it should only be available after 25 years.
We should also limit the number of citizenships granted per year, and ensure the payment of a very large fee, along with a clean criminal record. We go into this in more depth here.
REFERENCES
1. Simon Johnson, "Number of foreigners who can vote doubles under SNP: Almost 200,000 foreign nationals are registered to cast ballots in next year's Holyrood elections", Daily Telegraph, online 22 May 2025, hard copy 23 May 2025 at p11, and here.
2. Migrant Democracy Project, "What If Everyone Could Vote? Mapping Unenfranchised Residents Across the UK", Jan 2025 at migrantdemos.org.uk/reports
PDF at tinyurl.com/mup8udpu
3. Freedom of Information Request F23-558. "How many MPs and Civil Servants working directly for them hold Dual Nationality?" 7-24 Oct 2023 here.
RELATED ARTICLES
This was written before the "legal residents" voting Bill was enacted and includes some outdated information. We include it here only to demonstrate our long-standing concern about this matter.
We look at the importance of maintaining Democratic Integrity
Esteem our British Citizenship (25-5-24)
Britain's Confetti Citizenship must End (17-2-25)
APPENDIX - NEWSPAPER ARTICLE
ONLY BRITISH CITIZENS DESERVE THE RIGHT TO VOTE
Our democracy is not just an entitlement but a privilege. It is for those committed to our nation
David Frost, Daily Telegraph, online 8 May 2025.
On March 25, President Trump signed an executive order on election integrity in the United States, to enforce "the Federal prohibition on foreign nationals voting in Federal elections". Mike Pompeo, former US secretary of state, commented on X that "ensuring only citizens vote is a crucial component of election integrity".
Well it isn't in this country – as I responded to Pompeo. Our electoral franchise is a mess. You might think you have to be a British citizen to vote in British elections.
Not a bit of it. Millions can do so. Aussies and Canadians. Nearly half of Africa. All Indians and Pakistanis. In fact, getting on for a third of the entire world's population can vote here if they can get here.
Most of this is a legacy of the British Empire and our sentimentality about the Commonwealth. Any citizen of a Commonwealth country can vote if they are living, working, or studying here. That's 2.7 billion people.
The reverse is very rarely true. Indians coming here to work under our new free trade deal with India get to vote straight away. Brits going to India certainly do not.
Some of it also stems from the British establishment's chip on its collective shoulder about Ireland, and indeed the Irish establishment's determination to hang on to some of the benefits of being part of the UK – including letting us defend Irish waters and airspace – despite being an independent country for over a hundred years.
Irish citizens not only get to vote in all British elections. Irish citizens can come here without restriction, work here, live here, and be educated here, including paying UK-level fees at universities.
Brits get similar benefits in Ireland but there are more Irish people in Britain than the way round. It's Irish citizens who get the benefits of Brexit and those of being in the EU too: truly the best of both worlds.
Even other EU citizens get a pretty good deal. The 6 million Europeans here before the end of 2020, if they stayed, all get to vote in local elections. The Scots and Welsh have gone even further and say that any resident foreigner, whatever nationality and whenever they arrive, can vote in not just the locals but elections to the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
What effect does this have? Estimates suggest there were around 2 million Commonwealth citizens in the UK in 2021, most without a British passport. Since then we have had another 2.5 million people net coming to the country, many from Commonwealth nations. Yes, some will be children or won't register, but it is plausible to think 2-3 million Commonwealth citizens are, or could be, on the electoral roll.
There are also getting on for half a million non-dual citizen Irish. And millions of Europeans could be on the register for everything but national elections. The local election register is 2.4 million bigger than the parliamentary one, which suggests many already are.
Numbers on this scale could easily start to distort electoral outcomes – especially since foreign voters will certainly be concentrated in certain areas.
We already see Labour MPs taking up the Gaza issue, and we now have some Tories arguing India's case in the brewing conflict with Pakistan. But how many of those whose votes they are trying to attract are British citizens at all?
Similarly, EU citizens would get the vote in a future Scottish independence referendum or Northern Irish border poll. It's entirely plausible to think they might not just take a different view to Brits but also affect the outcome.
Add to this the persistent, if scattered, evidence of fraud in postal voting. Add the low level of evidence required to prove your identity at a polling booth. And finally, add to that the voting age issue – 16 for locals in Scotland and Wales but 18 in England. Labour want to solve this by cutting it to 16 for everything – though they may yet have a rethink if they decide it might backfire on them.
It's all a mess. It is time it was tightened up to bring our elections into line with what most people think and want, with a very simple four point plan.
First, only British citizens should get to vote and stand in British elections – and, by the way, we should be much stricter about who we give citizenship to as well.
Second, you should have to prove your status to get on the electoral register.
Third, you should be required to identify yourself with proper ID at the polling station – and so we should restrict postal voting further too.
Fourth, all voting rules for all elections should be set nationally. The powers of devolved "governments" to set their own franchise should be revoked.
Of course Labour won't do this, but opposition parties should commit to it. British democracy shouldn't be open to people who wander into the country for a couple of years.
It is for people who are born to this country or have chosen to commit themselves to it. It is not just a right but a privilege. Most people think that already. Time to make it like that in real life.
< end of article here.
For more articles on immigration see our Territorial Sovereignty: Article Index
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