Who can vote
If you want to vote you must be registered with the Council. Any UK resident, British Commonwealth or EU citizen over the age of 18 can vote unless they are serving a prison sentence. However, EU citizens cannot vote in Parliamentary (General) elections.
You can register to vote from the age of 16 to ensure you can vote if you will be 18 near the time of an election.
You can choose to vote:
- in person at a polling station
- by post
- by proxy (this means asking someone to vote on your behalf)
You can find more information about voting in the UK on the electoral commission website. You can also contact the Council for more information or if you are having problems completing any part of the voting process.
Elections Act 2023
British citizens who live abroad
There is currently a 15-year limit for eligible overseas citizens. The government is proposing to change this so that eligible British citizens can register and vote at UK Parliamentary elections if:
- living abroad and previously lived in the UK
- previously been registered to vote in the UK
It's proposed that overseas voters will be able to register using an address either:
- where they were previously registered; or
- where they were last resident, even if they had not registered to vote while there
British citizens living abroad will no longer have to register as an overseas voter every year. Instead, they will have to register every 3 years.
These changes are expected to be in place for elections held after May 2024. For further information please see:
Electoral Commission: Overseas Voting
EU citizens who live in the UK
The government is proposing the following changes:
- EU citizens who were living in the UK before 1 January 2021 will keep their right to register, vote and stand in elections.
- Those who have arrived in the UK since 1 January 2021 would have these rights only if they are citizens of an EU country with which the UK has agreed the same rights for UK citizens - currently Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain. This is known as a 'reciprocal arrangement'.
This change is expected to be in place for elections held after May 2024. For further information please see: