§ Mr. Nicholas BennettTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what representations he has received from members of the armed forces and their dependents serving overseas regarding the introduction of postal voting in United Kingdom elections; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. NeubertI am not aware of any recent representations on postal voting overseas. The Representation of the People Act provides a separate registration procedure for service personnel enabling them to retain their right to vote when serving overseas and allows the spouses of service personnel to register under this procedure if they so wish. Currently service personnel and their spouses must vote by proxy when overseas. They can use either the proxy or the postal voting procedure if serving away from their constituency but within the United Kingdom.