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Exiles voting in referendum


Stoneybloke

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15 minutes ago, eddiec said:

Anyone living in the country and paying their taxes should be allowed to vote folk living in England or overseas no way Jose 

Why, surely a high percentage of people living and working abroad eventually return home at some point so should have an option to vote if they want to? From what you’re saying if an Indian family locate to Scotland on a 2 year contract they have the right to vote, whereas a Scottish family doing the same thing in England have no rights cos they’re not living in the country at the time? 

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last time everyone living here (not sure of the criteria) was allowed to vote which included EU citizens living and working here which is fine by me, although all the EU folks i worked with voted No to stay in the EU so you would have to deduce that next time it will be the opposite, that coupled with more of the older generation having passed on since then will account for a lot of the swing to the Yes side.

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I understand the argument against it, but having lived in Scotland for 50 years and paid tax there for 34 of those years, you'd think this would point to some sort of validity in qualifying for a vote.

Living abroad now it appears certain I will not attain such a validity.

Whereas people living in England who have holiday homes in Scotland, and perhaps spend a week or two a year there (if any time at all), are able to vote in an Independence referendum.

Also this referendum criteria is atypical and completely at odds with UK General Elections which are open to UK "expats" regardless of where they are located.



I don't particularly give a fuck that I can't get the vote, meh.

Just find the qualifying criteria a touch curious given the above points.

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50 minutes ago, Geoff_Tipps said:

No offence min, but that response makes you sound like a right cock. 

Think it's just the way you have worded it, almost a degree of arrogance about the tone.

I was just trying to convey that it's not something I'd thought much about so was accepting that my view hadn't been formed through full consideration of all alternative views.

Dunno what's arrogant about that. 

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My opinion is your vote is where you stay, so if I move to the the States I should get a vote there as it directly affects me. There is an argument that you might have family in Scotland and should get a vote but if you decide to move somewhere else then you lose your vote if you ask me.

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When people live away they get all misty eyed about good old Scotland, naturally they'll support independence. Was so good they fucked off. Of course they shouldn't get a vote. I've lived abroad as well, after a couple years couldn't wait to get home, couple days later wanted out again.

People over 18 who live and work here should, non indigenous people who have lived here for years as well.

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It's a difficult one to call without upsetting some who will legitimately claim to be aggrieved. My own kids have Irish passports and dual citizenship even though one was born in Aberdeen and the other in Ireland (the other qualified through having an Irish mother). I suppose if we argue the identitarian angle, that makes sense, but it's hard to argue that the rules of 2014 shouldn't apply again.

The way things are, I doubt we'll see an independent Scotland, or even a referendum, for years yet, but as the rules stand they wouldn't get to vote due to residence outside Scotland and may feel that's unfair, especially when the SNP raised no objections to students from rUK and overseas having the vote. 

Personally, I think if residence is the key criteria, then citizenship should also accompany that, ergo if immigrants want to vote, they should become citizens first. That would weed out the holiday home and exchange students.

As a side note, it's interesting to note Westminster's change of tack regarding this during the EU referendum only two years after allowing people to qualify through residence just two years prior. 

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I would like to see an independent Scotland but don't think I should have the right to vote on it 0because it's not going to affect me at all.

If it happened and I was eligible for a Scottish passport then I would apply for it if there was some advantages attached, but it wouldn't phase me if not.

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15 hours ago, Stoneybloke said:

Should Scottish exiles be allowed to vote in any future independence referendums.

Absolutely.  If you are born and bred in Scotland, then you are Scottish.  In a democratic society being Scottish should allow you a vote on your country's future.   For many exiles, it's only a temporary measure - perhaps because they don't have the opportunities to stay in Scotland.  In an independent Scotland that might change... 

I was able to vote in the Brexit poll, so why wasn't I allowed to vote in the Indyref?  Probably because the British government knew the implications either way - they may not have got Brexit over the line and they certainly would have lost the indyref.

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1 hour ago, Sonoftherock said:

I was able to vote in the Brexit poll, so why wasn't I allowed to vote in the Indyref?  Probably because the British government knew the implications either way - they may not have got Brexit over the line and they certainly would have lost the indyref.

I think that's exactly why.
 

It's also worth remembering that one referendum was, imo, primarily about immigration, while the other was about self-determination. 

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58 minutes ago, Parklife said:

I think that's exactly why.
 

It's also worth remembering that one referendum was, imo, primarily about immigration, while the other was about self-determination. 

It doesn't make any sense why I could vote in one of these, but not the other...

Would love to see 'expat' stats for Brexit.  Almost every 'expat' I have met out here voted to leave - citing immigration into the UK as one of the major reasons they left the country.  These same imbeciles consider themselves 'British expats' rather than what they actually are - immigrants! The face they pull when I tell them - 'you're an immigrant too!" Unbelievable levels of arrogance - it's as though they think Brits are lords of planet earth!   

They're not at all happy when I remind them that it's a very long time now since Britannia ruled the waves!

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2 hours ago, Sonoftherock said:

It doesn't make any sense why I could vote in one of these, but not the other...

Would love to see 'expat' stats for Brexit.  Almost every 'expat' I have met out here voted to leave - citing immigration into the UK as one of the major reasons they left the country.  These same imbeciles consider themselves 'British expats' rather than what they actually are - immigrants! The face they pull when I tell them - 'you're an immigrant too!" Unbelievable levels of arrogance - it's as though they think Brits are lords of planet earth!   

They're not at all happy when I remind them that it's a very long time now since Britannia ruled the waves!

They're not really arrogant...they're just pig shit ignorant. Best given a wide berth.

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7 hours ago, Sonoftherock said:

 

I was able to vote in the Brexit poll, so why wasn't I allowed to vote in the Indyref?  Probably because the British government knew the implications either way - they may not have got Brexit over the line and they certainly would have lost the indyref.

I thought the Scottish parliament decided the voter eligibility criteria for the last Indy Ref? 

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6 hours ago, maryhilldon said:

I thought the Scottish parliament decided the voter eligibility criteria for the last Indy Ref? 

 

6 hours ago, Parklife said:

I think it would've had to be agreed upon by both governments as part of the Section 30. 

There was a franchise Bill passed in 2013 that set out eligibility to vote (or not if you were banged up. 

There was another Bill passed at the start of this year that sets out the rules for any future referendums in Scotland. 

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