The British Diaspora - where British expats live
of the British community abroad at 5.6 million. The largest British expat
populations are in Australia (more than a million), Spain, the United States,
Canada and France. Communities of more than 1,000 Britons exist in
more than 100 countries around the world.
2010 by the IPPR, is a follow-up to their "Brits Abroad" report of 2006.
Most British emigrants tend to move abroad for work-related reasons
– 55 per cent of all British emigrants in 2008. Approximately a quarter
are students, and around 20% are pensioners. In fact, British pensioners
living abroad represent nearly 10 per cent of all British pensioners.
Most British expats living abroad are unofficial ambassadors, promoting
British values to their host countries. International civil servants, English
language teachers, foreign correspondents of British newspapers,
businessmen and businesswomen, English governesses: all project an
image of their Britishness around them. All face the voting ban after they
have lived abroad for more than 15 years.
Mixed-nationality marriages are often a factor in emigration decisions.
People who marry someone of a different nationality usually have to
choose which of the two countries will become their future home.
The decision of a Spanish-British couple to live in the UK (as in the case
of Nick Clegg MP, the Deputy Prime Minister, and his Spanish wife) has
no undesirable consequences in terms of expat voting rights, because
the Spanish spouse has a lifelong right to vote in Spanish national elections.
But a decision made by a similar couple to live in Spain would, under the
present legislation, lead to the denial of voting rights to the British spouse
after 15 years.
In the IPPR’s view, “Brits abroad are not a burden or an embarrassment:
they are in many ways the best of Britain and we should be proud and
supportive of them.”
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