Some thoughts on the franchise and Brexit. If Brexit has uncovered anything, then it is that it is dangerous to deny the franchise to a large group in the population. 1/
Before the @dailytelegraph became a Brexit propaganda machine they published this, on how the EU referendum vote was a gerrymandered franchise: "Why can residents from Rwanda or Mozambique vote in the referendum, but not those from Belgium or Portugal? 2/ telegraph.co.uk/news/general-e…
Most EU citizens in the UK don't have UK citizenship. It's become progressively more expensive (£1200), progressively more difficult, with more and more hoops to jump through such as language tests, life in the UK test (not about life in the UK but about kings and queens etc.) 3/
Not to mention the CSI (comprehensive sickness insurance) requirement if you are a parent, or carer, married to a UK citizen, or a student - things we did not know about. Many of us do not qualify and will never qualify to become UK citizens. Many of us can't afford it 4/
But even though we are disenfranchised, we are subject to the rule of law in the UK. We can be detained (indefinitely!) and EU citizens are increasingly in detention centres, some commit suicide out of despair. 5/ theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/a…
So we are subject to the rule of law, but we have no say in how those laws are made. Indeed, if the immigration exemption to the Data Protection Act goes through we cannot even correct or see the data the gov't holds about us 6/ theregister.co.uk/2018/03/05/uk_…
Meanwhile, we cannot vote but are the topic of votes. Not only the EU Referendum which scapegoated EU citizens to a shameful extent, but also in the most recent election in 2017 where the Conservatives promised to cut net migration to the 10,000 7/
Think about it: Conservatives in 2017 offered nothing but sack and ashes: continued austerity, foxhunting, dementia tax, but crucially, they offered to cut net migration to the 10,000s. And many people voted for the Conservatives for this reason. 8/
Recall also this, a wordcloud of reasons for those intended voting Leave by British electoral study. I forgot who said it, but that's not a word cloud, that's a scan of Nigel Farage's brain 
And even now today, someone like Iain Duncan Smith can glibly speak about how much we cost in benefits without actually mentioning our net tax contributions. All a smokescreen for when the going gets tough, then they can blame us again, and there's nothing we can do about it 10/
I am a member of several EU citizens in UK FB groups and we're debating on whether to take citizenship. Many of us don't want to anymore. Feel rejected or pushed into it. This article says it all: medium.com/@FlimFlamma/so… 11/
Nevertheless, applications for citizenship are up as this Guardian graph shows. What did it for many people was: "I don't want to have another election where I am the topic of policies but have no say in them". 12/
Oh and by the way, none of my recently naturalised EU citizen friends is planning to vote Tory. Quite the opposite in fact. Maybe in a while we will still be a force to be reckoned with /13
Restricting the franchise to citizens made sense when people stayed by and large in their own countries, but note that even there UK gives franchise to Commonwealth. But now, it just creates first- and second-class citizens. This needs to stop. 14/
here a report to extend the franchise to EU citizens across the EU, so as to prevent another Referendum that was, in effect (let's be honest nobody was talking about sovereignty except the likes of Davis) a referendum on limiting migration /end cadmus.eui.eu/bitstream/hand…
Apparently the graph did not show correctly so adding it. Also perhaps of interest to @The3Million
