Letter to the Editor: Commonwealth Votes

SIR - Thousands of people in Sussex may soon lose the right to vote in future European elections. Spain is taking the British Government to the European Court of Justice in a bid to ban Commonwealth citizens in Gibraltar from voting in elections to the European Parliament.

If this case succeeds it could have huge implications for the many thousands of my constituents who are Commonwealth citizens. They may find themselves prohibited from participating in our democracy, regardless of the fact that many of them have lived, worked and voted freely in the UK for years.

With the EU having such influence on our lives, it is vital that those who have the right to vote should have that right in European elections too. I hope the Government will resist this petty meddling by Spain. Commonwealth citizens in Sussex can count on the support of Conservative MEPs in protecting their rights.

Yours faithfully,

Nirj Deva DL MEP
Member of the European Parliament for Surrey