Did you know that Aussies living in Lundun, and also the rest of the UK, can vote to oust Theresa May in the upcoming general election on June 8?
No? Neither did most of the Australians I spoke to, or the bona fide British people I excitedly told who were a bit peeved that ~this guy~ has the right to vote, but not the right to use the EU/UK line at the airport (I am the only one peeved about the last part).
To vote in the UK general election you gotta be:
- 18
- a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen
- live at an address in the UK, with leave to enter or remain in the UK (no voting without a valid visa!), or be a UK citizen living abroad
- not be legally excluded, by say having a criminal conviction or a severe mental illness or by being detained in a psychiatric hospital because of criminal activity
It’s just that easy!
Voting in the UK isn’t compulsory, and wont be as good as an Australian election because there are no democracy sausages!!! and June 8 is a Thursday which is weird, but it’s good to know that by virtue of being borned in a place the Brits decided to take for themselves, 200 years after the invasion, we are allowed to have a say in who runs the Motherland and how they use the taxes we pay while living here.
Currently the Tories have quite the lead, but that lead is narrowing according to pollsters. They also reckon that among the 18-24 set Labour is ahead by 19 points – you could be part of that 19 points, or you could vote for May, maybe you are pro-Brexit or something, that’s on you.
Today is the closing day to register though – so you’ll have to get on that by 11.59pm GMT if you wanna participate in democracy during your gap yah! Whee!
Photo: Christie Goodwin / Getty.
