This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-36370522
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
Version 0 | Version 1 |
---|---|
Expats lose Supreme Court bid for EU referendum vote | Expats lose Supreme Court bid for EU referendum vote |
(35 minutes later) | |
Two Britons living abroad have lost their Supreme Court battle over the right to vote in June's EU referendum. | Two Britons living abroad have lost their Supreme Court battle over the right to vote in June's EU referendum. |
The UK's highest court upheld the decisions of both the High Court and Court of Appeal. | The UK's highest court upheld the decisions of both the High Court and Court of Appeal. |
UK citizens are not eligible to vote on 23 June if they have lived outside the UK for more than 15 years. | |
The challenge was brought by World War Two veteran Harry Shindler, 94, who lives in Italy, and lawyer and Belgian resident Jacquelyn MacLennan, 54. | The challenge was brought by World War Two veteran Harry Shindler, 94, who lives in Italy, and lawyer and Belgian resident Jacquelyn MacLennan, 54. |
Mr Shindler, who has lived in Italy for 35 years, and Ms MacLennan, from Inverness, who has lived in Belgium since 1987, argued that the 15-year rule acted as a penalty for them having exercised their rights to free movement, and was an infringement of their common law right to vote. | |
But giving the judgment of the court, Lady Hale said there was no argument to conclude that the right to free movement was affected by the European Referendum Act 2015. | |
More than 2m British expats are affected by the decision. |