Migrants push for voting rights ahead of local elections

Millions of United Kingdom residents excluded from the ballot box are set to lobby Parliament on 20 April, as immigration dominates the political debate ahead of the upcoming local polls.

Kennedy Ogenna

Organised by the Migrant Democracy Project, the lobby will bring together migrants and their supporters to call on the government to extend the right to vote to all UK residents.

According to the organisers, the event follows the government’s introduction of the Representation of the People Bill, which campaigners say must go further to include migrants, who are currently excluded from general elections despite living and working in the UK. “The Representation of the People Bill is the government’s big promise to create a fairer democracy,” said Lara Parizotto, Executive Director of the Migrant Democracy Project, and warned that without extending voting rights to migrant residents “that goal will not be met.”

“We believe votes for all is the way forward. This is about democracy, justice, social cohesion, and everyone getting the chance to shape their future,” she added.

The group says that after three years of advocacy it now has an opportunity to push for residence-based voting rights for those currently excluded from the democratic process.

“I was born and raised in Brazil. I’ll never forget officially voting for the first time at the age of 17 and how proud I felt at that moment,” said Raissa, a resident in Belfast and spokesperson for the Votes for All campaign.

“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to do the same with my daughter. I have lived in Northern Ireland for 12 years, I work, pay taxes, own a house. Why can’t I vote for the people who make decisions that directly affect my life?”

According to the Migrant Democracy Project, over 4 million residents in the UK cannot vote in general elections, and more than 1 million cannot vote in either local or parliamentary elections. In contrast, Scotland and Wales introduced residence-based voting rights for local and devolved elections in 2021.

The campaign has also gained political backing. In the most recent parliamentary session, Manuela Perteghella, MP for Stratford-on-Avon, tabled an amendment to extend voting rights to all UK residents in both local and general elections.

Supporting the proposal, James Naish, MP for Rushcliffe, said: “We should use this opportunity to extend the franchise to more adult residents, not just younger ones, given that there are 4 million people in this country that can’t vote in a general election.”

The lobby day comes as immigration remains a central issue in British politics.

Reform UK last week published a report claiming that post-2019 migration levels would cost every British family £20,000 between 2026 and 2030 and called for an end to indefinite leave to remain and benefits for foreign nationals. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour government has sought to strike a different tone. In March, Starmer said: “The Britain I love is one that draws on our shared values of decency and tolerance,” adding that “there are those who will seek to use those events to divide us further.”

Political scientists have long noted that voter turnout rises when significant issues are at stake. According to research by Charles Pattie and Ron Johnston, “voters take part in elections in large numbers when something important is at stake and the outcome cannot be predicted.”

With immigration set to play a major role in future elections, the Migrant Democracy Project says the timing of its lobby day is deliberate — placing migrant voices at the centre of the political conversation before millions of voters go to the polls.