The room gave citizenship a near-monopoly on the national mandate, but not quite the absolute rule posed by the question: Yes won by more than three to one, while the floor’s most respected argument carved out Irish citizens in Northern Ireland.
The winning case cast voting as membership rather than contribution. Its highest-rated voice called citizenship a “precondition for voting”, while another said national decisions should belong to those “formally invested in the future of the UK”; the common thread was that taxes, residence and legal status did not amount to the same commitment.
No voters argued from exposure to government rather than nationality. Their sharpest formulation was “All long-term residents are subject to government policy and have a stake in our future”, alongside the familiar claim that “If you pay in, you deserve a say”; the reply was that the question was who holds the national mandate, not simply who lives under policy.
The debate also exposed two different versions of Yes. One wanted to end the Irish and Commonwealth exceptions as “a courtesy from another century”; others wanted citizenship combined with residence, while No voters likewise objected to citizens living abroad voting. The question was therefore settled decisively, but the boundary between nationality and attachment remained unsettled.
The chamber was close to one mind on the destination, even when it disagreed about the map: citizenship won, but residence and historic ties refused to disappear.
35 Opinions
This seems incredibly obvious, with one caveat - there may need to be a special case made for Irish citizens living in Northern Ireland. Outside of that I see no problem at all with requiring citizenship as a precondition for voting.
Voting should absolutely be restricted to citizens. It is a basic principle of what it means to be a democratic country - the people of the country should elect leaders, not the citizens of other countries.
The only time foreign nationals should be allowed vote in UK general elections is where countries have reciprocal arrangements like between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.
Yes, voting is right and privilege of adult citizens . Also all candidates to parliament should be citizens too.
Someone may live and work here and pay taxes, but if they haven’t chosen to become a British citizen, I don’t think they have the same long term stake or commitment to the country as citizens do. National political decisions should ultimately be made by those who are formally invested in the future of the UK.
Those saying that anyone paying taxes should also have a vote are omitting a key point. Those paying taxes are already benefiting from an income (otherwise why pay taxes). Further, extending the logic, anyone choosing to voluntarily pay into a country could have a vote. Clearly, this is nonsense. If you want to vote, be a citizen. Simple.
The vast majority of nations only allow citizens to vote in national elections which is the common sense approach only those who are citizens should have the right to shape a country’s future
In a homogenous society rules which seem bizarre might exist because they work & which on balance benefit all - Irish being able to vote - In a disrupted society & where untrammeled immigration has been criminally permitted/facilitated for purely Political advantage from the left & Globalist interests the natives have to protect themselves tgrir families & their land from those who would destroy that culture & history & forcefully impose their own.
Very simple if you live in the uk, what happens here affects you, if you don't live here then no vote should be given to you.
According to Google Gemini: Zero sovereign entities allow non-citizens to vote in legally binding, government-run primary elections at the national level. While around 50 countries allow non-citizens (permanent residents or foreign nationals) to vote in certain municipal, local, or occasionally general elections, public primary elections are an entirely separate democratic mechanism.