Lord CHELWOODasked Her Majesty's Government:
What provision will be made in the forthcoming Referendum Bill to ensure that United Kingdom citizens resident abroad who are not members of the Armed Forces and who would be eligible to vote in a General Election if domiciled in this country, will have a right to vote in the Referendum by postal vote, by proxy, or at the British Consulate nearest to their place of residence; and what steps are being taken to inform them of the procedures they should now follow in order to register for this purpose.
§ The LORD PRIVY SEAL (Lord Shepherd)The persons entitled to vote in a General Election in this country are British subjects and subjects of the Republic of Ireland, who are not subject to any legal incapacity, who have reached the age of 18 years, and who, having been resident on the qualifying date, are included in the current Register of Electors.1336WA Registered voters who are likely to be at sea or out of the United Kingdom on polling day because of the general nature of their occupation, service or employment are entitled to vote by proxy. These facilities will be applied to the referendum and Government publicity will be undertaken to bring them to the notice of those concerned. The Government have no plans to extend the vote to civilians who are not on the current register.