Democracy in Britain - disappearing down the tubes?

Copied from Votes for Expat Brits blog  - 8th July 2012

British Overseas Still Denied Vote and Yet British Democracy in Terminal Decline! by right2vote4xpatbrits

British citizens resident overseas wanting to vote are still denied such rights after 15 years abroad and yet British democracy is in terminal decline, as Corporate power,  unrepresentative politicians and apathetic voters leave the UK 'increasingly unstable', says study.

Surely this is when additional barriers to participation in the political process such as the 15 year rule should be removed and British citizens encouraged to vote including those resident overseas?

If you agree we would appreciate you adding your vote in support of  Votes for Expat Brits in our Sign-up poll here.

"the depth of public disillusionment and the range of ways voters are turning away from politics revealed by the latest study could shock even those involved"

 

"The reality is that representative democracy, at the core, has to be about people voting, has to be about people engaging in political parties, has to be about people having contact with elected representatives, and having faith and trust in elected representatives, as well as those representatives demonstrating they can exercise political power effectively and make decisions that tend to be approved of," said Wilks-Heeg.

"All of that is pretty catastrophically in decline. How low would turnout have to be before we question whether it's really representative democracy at all?" The UK's democratic institutions were strong enough to keep operating with low public input, but the longer people avoided voting and remained disillusioned, the worse the problem would get", said Wilks-Heeg.

"Over time, disengagement skews the political process yet further towards those who are already more advantaged by virtue of their wealth, education or professional connections. And without mass political participation, the sense of disconnection between citizens and their representatives will inevitably grow."

Membership of political parties and election turnout has fallen significantly in the last decade, with only 1% of the electorate belonging to a party, and just over six out of 10 eligible voters going to the ballot box in the 2010 general election and barely one in three in European and local elections. But the depth of public disillusionment and the range of ways voters are turning away from politics revealed by the latest study could shock even those involved.

Sadiq Khan, shadow justice secretary and former chair of human rights group, Liberty, said: "What I find really troubling is there's no shortage of big issues which we must get to grips with – the economy, the future of our health, education and social care systems, our environment – many of which grab the attention of the public, but there's a disconnect when it comes to party politics."

Winter Fuel Payment - Latest news 8th August 2012

This item is updated on the 8th August 2012.
Since writing the piece below on the 6th July some movement has taken place.
 A correspondent aged 80+ and who retired to France before 1998 and who has up to now not received the WFP has been informed by the DWP that they are eligible - as long as they can demonstrate  an established relationship to the British Social Security system. 
I am informed that more information is available on the Spanish Expatriate Association site.
http://www.ukgovabusesexpats.co.uk/

            **************************************************
The SUN published the following recently.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/politics/article4398847.ece

Is this item correct?  Though it would seem certain that the Winter Fuel Payment should be available to all elderly Britons in receipt of the State Pension and who are totally dependent on the United Kingdom for their social security - wherever they live in the European Union or EEC, the consent by the British Government is still not clear.
The Direct Gov. web site  is still saying that one has to have received the WFP in the UK before one can receive it abroad in Europe.  The EU law seems to say otherwise.
I am asking questions in Westminster as to the present position. I have searched the EU judgements to see if anything more clear has been said but have so far got no information.  
It would seem to be the case that Whitehall is dragging its heels.
Any person who is in the situation, that they would be qualified to receive the WFP were they to live in the UK should claim it now, and keep note of all correspondence.

TERGIVERSATION** in the HOUSE of COMMONS

To go to the index click here.

*** ‘tergiversation!’***  = turning one’s back on previously held convictions.

Wednesday 27^th June 2012,

British Democracy has again been sold down the river, carried away with the flotsam of  party politics scattered by the Liberal Democrats.

During this afternoon the almost empty chamber of the Commons listened to passionate exhortations from the MPs - Geoffrey Clifton Brown, Gary Streeter, Nick de Bois and Heather Wheeler, explaining why the expatriate citizen should have the right to vote for Life. Mr Clifton Brown had tabled a clause last week which would give all Britons Abroad a vote (representation) for LIFE.

An extract from a letter by a campaign supporter  (Margaret Hales) was read by Nick de Bois. 

Yet David Heath, Deputy Leader and Liberal Democrat MP for Somerton and Frome persuaded  Mr Clifton Brown to withdraw his clause.  This was his reasoning:-

what are registration officers to do to identify all those abroad who might be qualified to vote? Putting an onus on them similar to the responsibility we are placing on them in this Bill to seek out everyone who could possibly be qualified to vote would provide an insuperable problem for them if applied to overseas electors. I think that the hon. Member for The Cotswolds would probably acknowledge that that is the case.  Then very shortly after he said….

I ask the hon. Gentleman to withdraw his new clause. He has made some very important points and I undertake that the Government will give them serious consideration. We will see whether there are proposals that we might wish to bring forward in due course to address some of his points.

So many ifs and buts… So for the foreseeable future, the British Citizen Abroad will still not be represented after 15 years.  I myself will never again have a representative MP, for next year I am disenfranchised.  

Was it the Liberal Democrats who not openly, but surreptitiously in the tearooms of Westminster, pulled the rug from under the foundation for this campaign that we and so many other expatriates have tried so hard to build.  The Citizens abroad have been thrown aside like some unwanted rubbish to float away. 

Here are the views of Nick Clegg – as expressed by his assistant Rory Belcher.

“Nick appreciates that there are some British expatriates who have lived abroad for over 15 years and who want to vote in British elections. However, as you may know, Nick supports the existing legislation on this issue, including the removal of the right to vote after 15 years of living abroad. If a Briton has settled in another country, it is intuitive that they would know about and be directly affected by the issues of that country. If they want to become politically active, then they should register to vote in  the country they have settled in.”

Did Mr. Clegg put pressure on Mr Heath?   It is a mystery why Mr. Clifton-Brown changed his mind.  Internal politics?  “We mustn’t  expose cracks in the coalition must we?”

    Is Nick Clegg a Leader? Is Nick Clegg a Statesman?  I do not think so. 

Was there not here a glorious opportunity to stand up for British Citizens – The Citizens who are at the cutting edge of British Influence in the World. – The Citizens who spread the spirit of Britain. An opportunity for Britain to stand tall amongst the Nations.

   Is any Britain Abroad proud of this performance in Parliament?  I do not think so.

Hope always remains.   This Bill has to go before the Lords – once again we must express our concerns and get the peers on our side.

There is no good reason for the Clause to have been withdrawn.  There is absolutely no reason why the current process of registration which I have performed every year should not in some form continue.  There are no increased administrative difficulties. At the next election in 2015 let us all remember the role of the Liberal Democrats in this matter.  Tell your children, your parents, your aunts and cousins.  Tell your friends.  Tell all in Britain what the Liberal Democrats have done this day. 

‘The Liberal Democrats are opposed to Life-time Democracy for British Citizens.’

********************************

Withdrawal statement by Mr Geoffrey Clifton-Brown

May I suggest to the Deputy Leader of the House and to the Committee a practical way of dealing with the issue? The hon. Gentleman should table an amendment on Report or an amendment should be tabled in another place to take powers to extend but not reduce the 15-year period at a time when the Government are satisfied that the registration process is robust and maintains the integrity of the electoral register. He would be able to do that in tandem with the Parliamentary Secretary, Cabinet Office, his hon. Friend the Member for Forest of Dean (Mr Harper), who told the House last week that he would look at the measures for the registration process that I suggested to him—namely, using the passport as an identity document, abolishing the annual requirement to register, perhaps introducing a permanent opt-in for people who had registered validly once, and the possibility of using British embassies so that people could register and, even better, vote there. The Cabinet Office Minister undertook to look carefully at those measures, which could be introduced under the Bill and under the existing legislation and secondary legislation. I suggest that the Deputy Leader of the House table an amendment to take a power to extend the 15 years when the Government are satisfied that those measures are in place. On that basis, I beg to ask leave to withdraw my new clause.

Note – There is no mention of Life-time Democratic Representation here!  

Removal of the `15 year limit’ is not mentioned. Only extension!

Mr.Clifton Brown is intelligent and passionate.  Why did he change his mind?

What conspiracies are constructed over the coffee cups in Westminster?

************

We must fight again in the House of Lords. 

Author Brian Cave

Health Costs - Europe June 2012

To go  to the index click here

Posted by Brian Cave (lefourquet@gmail.com)

I have had correspondence  with  the EU officials on this subject and the response is not helpful.

My letter of February 22^nd 2012 to Commissioner Andor can be read here

The reply from Jackie Morin [Head of Unit on Social Security Co-ordination]

of June 22^nd can be read here.

Below I  transcribe relevant extracts from the EU Regulations relating to Health provision and costing for British Pensioners in France under EU law.

These regulations consist of  two kinds - the Basic and the Implementing.   The Implementing Regulations are dated 2009.  The Basic - 2004.  Both have the full power of Law.

The Implementing Regulations explain in detail how the Basic are to be used. The wording of the implementing regulation is very precise

I have coloured in portions – to make them easier to understand.

Greyed areas-  are of no interest, but given because they are referenced elsewhere.

Purple entries are added by myself by way of explanation.

N.B. The Basic regulations have been in operation (in a similar form but began under other Regulation headings -1408/1971 and 574/1972)  for many years.  The more recent Implementing regulation came into force on May 1st 2010.  From 1973 to the present day, payment was made via a formula laid down in Article 95 of the the Reg 574/1972 and not on 'actual amounts'. The current Implementing Regulations are more precise and definitive than the previous.

The UK joined the EU in 1973.

It seems to me obvious that  the currant regulations are not being implemented to the letter.

I leave it to the reader to comment – I should reply to Jackie Morin but  await  any views before so doing.   Views of people with a legal background would be helpful.   Brian Cave.

-------------------------------

REGULATION (EC) No 883/2004 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 29 April 2004

on the coordination of social security systems

Article 24

No right to benefits in kind under the legislation of the Member State of residence

British Pensioners who have NEVER  paid  into the French Social Care system have no right to benefits under French Legislation.

1. A person who receives a pension or pensions under the legislation of one or more Member States and who is not entitled to benefits in kind under the legislation of the Member State of residence shall nevertheless receive such benefits for himself and the members of his family, insofar as he would be entitled thereto under the legislation of the Member State or of at least one of the Member States competent in respect of his pensions, if he resided in that Member State  (i.e the UK). The benefits in kind shall be provided at the expense of the institution referred to in paragraph 2 by the institution of the place of residence, as though the person concerned were entitled to a pension and benefits in kind under the legislation of that Member State.

2. In the cases covered by paragraph 1, the cost of benefits in kind shall be borne by the institution as determined in accordance with the following rules:

(a) where the pensioner is entitled to benefits in kind under the legislation of a single Member State, the cost shall be borne by the competent institution of that Member State (i.e. the Dept. of  Health/NHS)

(b) where the pensioner is entitled to benefits in kind under the legislation of two or more Member States, the cost thereof shall be borne by the competent institution of the Member State to whose legislation the person has been subject for the longest period of time; should the application of this rule result in several institutions being responsible for the cost of benefits, the cost shall be borne by the institution applying the legislation to which the pensioner was last subject.

Article 35

Reimbursements between institutions

1. The benefits in kind provided by the institution of a Member State on behalf of the institution of another Member State under this Chapter shall give rise to full reimbursement.

 2. The reimbursements referred to in paragraph 1 shall be determined and effected in accordance with the arrangements set out in the Implementing Regulation, either on production of proof of actual expenditure, or on the basis of fixed amounts for Member States the legal or administrative structures of which are such that the use of reimbursement on the basis of actual expenditure is not appropriate.

3. Two or more Member States, and their competent authorities, may provide for other methods of reimbursement or waive all reimbursement between the institutions coming under their jurisdiction.

CHAPTER 2

Benefits in respect of accidents at work and occupational diseases

-----------------------------

Article 41

Reimbursements between institutions

1. Article 35 shall also apply to benefits falling within this Chapter, and reimbursement shall be made on the basis of actual costs.

REGULATION (EC) No 987/2009 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL

of 16 September 2009

laying down the procedure for implementing Regulation (EC) No 883/2004

on the coordination of social security systems

TITLE IV           FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

Chapter I

Reimbursement of the cost of benefits in application of Article 35 and Article 41 of the basic Regulation

SECTION 1

REIMBURSEMENT ON THE BASIS OF ACTUAL EXPENDITURE

Article 62

Principles

1. For the purposes of applying Article 35 and Article 41 of the basic Regulation, the actual amount of the expenses for benefits in kind, as shown in the accounts of the institution that provided them, shall be reimbursed to that institution by the competent institution (i.e the DoH/NHS), except where Article 63 of the implementing Regulation is applicable.

SECTION_ 2

REIMBURSEMENT ON THE BASIS OF FIXED AMOUNTS

Article 63

Identification of the Member States concerned

1. The Member States referred to in Article 35(2) of the basic Regulation, whose legal or  administrative structures are such that the use of reimbursement on the basis of actual  expenditure is not appropriate, are listed in Annex 3 to the implementing  Regulation.

Annex 3

France is not listed in Annex 3  and therefore will ask for repayment (for any British pensioners in France)  from the UK on the basis of ‘actual costs’.

The UK is listed and will ask France for repayment (for any French pensioners in the UK) on the basis of a fixed amount.

This annex 3 lists the following nations which will seek payment of health costs for foreign  EU pensioners on their territory by means of fixed sums.  Thus health payment provided in Britain for a French pensioner will be made via a 'fixed sum'.  All other countries (including France) will demand the 'actual amount' as defined above -so it seems!

IRELAND, SPAIN, ITALY, MALTA, THE NETHERLANDS, PORTUGAL, FINLAND, SWEDEN, UNITED KINGDOM

I was informed some time ago by the Department of Health that France will henceforth seek repayment of actual costs.

UK vs French Parliament 2012.

To go to the Index  click here

What you can do -  Read Below at end.   And read UPDATE at end.

 

UPDATED 4th November 2012 (at *s)
 454,901 expatriate French have voted for their President and soon will vote world-wide  for deputies to their Assembly in Paris -
<see left << The red is where François Hollande was supported (46.93%).  Blue - Sarkozy (53.05%)

And if this had been a British Election?  No such map would be possible without similar overseas voter representation.

[Map downloaded from easyexpat.com]

Yet there are 5,500,000 British people across the globe (twice as many as their French counterparts). But after 15 years abroad they have no representation.

How are we to encourage Britons abroad to vote – permanently and meaningfully?

Is there any hope in the next session of parliament that a Briton abroad will be recognised by his/her country?– The overseas Briton who is still impacted by British government policies; - the patriotic Briton who shows the flag of Britain round the World; -  the Briton who, retired in later years, still depends on Britain, who still cherishes the traditional memory of Britain, who still has concern for his/her family and friends at ‘home’;  – the younger Briton who  extends the commerce of Britain throughout the World:- what hope is there for them to be similarly recognised as their French counterparts for their contribution? 

This nation that once spread its national British colour red across the globe must not go on contracting in influence to become no more than a past epoch of history. This Government must again grow the economy through commerce and should in support empower its huge force of Citizens abroad so that they promote the virtues that lie at the heart of British culture.  And by this support render to them a feeling of pride in being British.

Britons Abroad can reflect a pride in Britain , but they remain detached because they are not represented at home and have no voice.  No politician is elected or appointed specifically to represent their interests.   How different from the French who are represented wherever they live.  And to the French we can add the Citizens of  Spain, Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Portugal, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Sweden – and USA, and Lebanon -  and Morocco  -  Tunisia – Russia …and more ... All citizens of these countries are honoured by their home  Governments in some form or another.

Two items in the Queen’s Speech give a glimmer of hope.  There are two Bills which touch on this.

1. The  Bill on Individual Electoral Registration * under debate in House of Lords*)
2. The Bill on the re-constitution of the House of Lords.* Abandoned becasue of political infighting between Conservatives and Liberal Democrats*

The first Bill could include a clause making voting a permanent  right for all Citizens, subject to proof of individual identity eg by passport for overseas citizens and a valid residential address eg via utility bills, as already accepted by the banks in conformity with international financial regulations.

  .

Reflecting their different needs, the second Bill *now dead* could incorporate several elected representatives in the Lords for Britons Abroad; (or initially a Minister who understands and listens to their needs).

Would not every Briton Abroad raise their heads with pride. And they would think to themselves ‘we are respected by our British Government and we really do count for something as British Citizens'.
                                                              
(author -Brian Cave .)

Lastly - view this -A Veteran of 90 who cares deeply - The story of Harry Shindler.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18017198

What you can – should? - do –  
individual mailings are so important!

Urge  MPs to favour clauses in these bills supporting representation of Britons abroad.

[ UPDATE September 21st 2012 -  ON October 23rd Lord Lexden will table an amendment to the Electoral Registration BIll which would remove the 15 year time limit on representation of overseas citizens.
Please write to him at lexdena@parliament.uk  (copy also to lefourquet@orange.fr) giving support -
* November 4th this bill was delayed in the Lords and has not yet commenced its main debating stage*
 
"Dear Lord Lexden,  I am delighted that you are tabling an amendment to the Electoral Registration Bill to remove the 15 year limit. I (we) support you! "- that is all that is necessary, but you can of course add more. He needs to feel that he is speaking for Britons across the world - that will give him moral strength!] 

  Otherwise send this item to the MP of the place where you reside (if in the UK) or last resided in Britain .

If you cannot do this or believe it to be a futile thing to do,

then send it to [or also to..]
* Chloe Smith is now Minister for Political and Constitutional Reform in the Cabinet Office)

chloe@chloesmith.org.uk     -  Mark Harper was moved from this post.
Several Ministers in the Cabinet Office are most closely concerned with determining policy.  Their opinions have been previously expressed as follows. Most are dead in the water, I fear.

Francis Maude, who has previously said he is for extending representation.
 francismaudemp@parliament.uk

Nick Clegg. Who has till now been strongly opposed to the representation of Britons Abroad.
nick.clegg.mp@parliament.uk

And also Oliver Letwin,  and Nick Hurd (Their opinions are not known)

The email addresses of all MPs and Peers can be found at.

http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/mps/

The postal address is :--House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

 Please circulate widely to all who should be concerned about Parliamentary Democracy.