Photo by Manny Becerra on Unsplash
A senior French MP has thrown his weight behind a campaign in Britain for overseas parliamentary constituencies.
The campaign, run jointly by New Europeans UK and Unlock Democracy, says the UK could benefit by giving a “voice” to the 3.5 British citizens living abroad.
French parliamentarian Alexandre Holroyd is one of 11 representatives of French citizens living abroad and took part in a webinar this week, organised by the two groups.
The purpose was to give supporters of the campaign the chance to hear from the MP how the overseas constituencies system works in practice in France and generate wider interest in the campaign.
Campaigners say the interests of Britons living abroad would be better represented by constituencies representing their region of the world.
The reason is that this is where people are likely to have aligned interests and similar issues around matters such as status, professional recognition and pensions, say New Europeans UK.
This is preferable to “slotting” them in under one of the 650 parliamentary constituencies in the UK.
The campaign groups say the British could learn from the French when it comes to the rights of its citizens living abroad.
In the French National Assembly, overseas constituencies have been in operation since 2012.
To create the constituencies effectively the world map is divided into twelve zones relative in size to the population of French citizens living within them.
For example, Holroyd covers the more densely populated Northern Europe zone, whereas Éléonore Caroit, another French MP, represents French citizens living in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean and South America combined.
Addressing the online webinar Holroyd outlined what he sees as the two principal advantages of a system of overseas constituencies.
The MP, who holds British citizenship, said, “It maintains a bond between national institutions and citizens living abroad more effectively than any other mechanism that we’ve found. It creates a bond that serves as a window for overseas citizens into the domestic political debate – which can otherwise begin to seem distant for those living abroad for an extended period.”
The deputy, elected in 2017 and re elected five years later, cited a second advantage, saying, “It brings added value to the debate in the National Assembly.
“MPs representing citizens abroad will have experience of other countries’ political debates, both directly and through the outlook of their constituents that they can bring to the table in discussion of global issues such as climate and migration policy.”
On the concept of overseas constituencies and voting rights for French citizens living abroad, the MP said, “It goes back to the question of what is citizenship?”
He added, “If something happens to you abroad, the state will try to help you – it won’t make a decision based on how long you have been living abroad.
“Although it is fair to say that citizens living abroad for a long time may become less interested in day-to-day or ‘bread and butter’ issues of domestic politics, they are no less likely to be interested in certain key debates in the French Parliament.
“For example proposals to include climate elements or abortion rights into the constitution, immigration policy – these are issues on which those who live far away can still have very strong opinions,” said the MP, a member of the French Parliamentary Friendship Group with the UK.
“To be a French citizen is to be part of a community that believes its destiny is decided by the totality of the community, whether they live in France or not.”
He also addressed arguments around taxation and parliamentary representation.
The Swiss-born MP said, “It goes to the philosophy of what we consider political representation to be. If you live in France and you don’t pay taxes, you still get to vote in French elections. By the same token, there is no reason why someone who moves to London or Brussels should no longer be entitled to choose who governs their country.”
He told the webinar that topics that crop up a lot as a representative of overseas citizens include taxation and pensions, healthcare access and mobility.
These are, he said, issues made more complex by being stuck between two different state systems.
Turnout among registered overseas voters rose significantly at the last French elections because electronic voting was introduced for the first term and he said he hopes this trend can continue.
Previously, having to travel to distant voting booths, possibly only in an embassy or consulate – especially for multiple, non-concurrent two-round elections, as in France – was a major hurdle to voting abroad, he noted.
He also spoke about the integration of overseas deputies into national politics.
On this, he said, “French overseas MPs are not treated as a different species and sidelined.
“They’re fully integrated and have occupied very significant roles.”
Of the eleven current overseas representatives, one is the Minister of Industry, another is the chair of the European Affairs committee.
He said, “We all play a role in the functioning of parliamentary groups and of government.”
On overseas voters, he concluded, “It’s a huge pool of voters. It’s something that is quite hard to ignore.”
