Funny what you read in the Spanish papers!

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The Lib Dems are proposing an MP (or MPs given the number of Brits there) for the Costa del Sol:

The Liberal Democrats will fight to introduce a Costa del Sol MP after agreeing on a policy for overseas constituencies at their spring party conference.

An interesting idea but it seems a little odd to me. Right now ex-pats retain voting rights (at either a registered address or in the constituency where they last resided) for 15 years after departing these shores.

Now I've a bit of a problem with this idea.  Someone who departs for good to some other land (and, in the case of Spain at least) will get all those democratic rights in the new place - why should they retain them in the place they moved from? Were I to depart from Cullingworth for, let's say, Billericay, I wouldn't expect to retain the right to vote in Bradford's elections when I get the wonderful opportunity to elect people to Basildon District and Essex County!

Why do this for folk living in Benahavis who will either retain their registration in the UK or else will get the chance to elect people to the Benahavis council, the Andalucia region and the Madrid parliament?

Perhaps the Lib Dems think these ex-pats will vote for them? They are in for a cruel shock I think!

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They'll need a lot of boats!

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Apparently contingency plans for evacuating Brits from Spain are being drawn up:

Ships, planes and coaches could be sent to bring home Britons who find themselves unable to withdraw money to pay for basic needs or travel home because of a Spanish or Portuguese banking crisis, while diplomats scramble to get special treatment for ex-pats from local banks.

According to The Sunday Times, the Foreign Office and the Treasury have both been drawing up contingency plans after credit rating agency Standard & Poor's last week downgraded the status of ten Spanish banks.

Do they realise just how many British residents there are in Spain & Portugal:

There are also a significant number of British (359,076 as of 2011, but more than one million are estimated to live permanently in Spain) and German (195,842) citizens, mainly in Alicante, Málaga provinces, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. 

You'll need a lot of boats and planes!

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A comment on Spanish local elections and British apathy!

There are local elections in Spain this weekend - elections which are likely to see a thorough trouncing for the ruling Socialist Party:

According to the election polls, the center-right Partido Popular (PP) will handily defeat the ruling Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) that may be left without control of any major Spanish city.

But this comment isn't about who will win but about how many of the 370,000 foreign residents in Andalucia will be voting - with the answer being 'not many'. Here are the numbers:

The number of foreigners registered to vote around Andalucia on May 22 stands at 82,483. This means if all the registered foreign voters turn out on the day they would certainly change the political map. The degree of influence however depends on the municipality.

Interestingly, nearly half of the foreigners registered to vote – 40,410 – are resident in Malaga province alone, where there are an incredible 152 foreign candidates hoping to become local councillors.

And half of those voters are British, which means that Spanish politicians are - for perhaps the first time - actively targeting these voters:

In my local town, I believe for the first time ever, one of the major Spanish parties is actively looking to entice non-Spanish residents to vote for them.

The PP candidate sent this message (and arranged a meeting):

The party wishes to present their candidate at the municipal elections, Francisco Góngora Cara, who will stand for mayor of El Ejido, to the foreign residents of El Ejido.

Francisco Góngora in his meetings with local residents appreciates the participation and understanding of the party´s electoral programme for the next four years; he is also calling this meeting in order to know at first hand the worries, needs and aspirations of the foreign population here in El Ejido.

The problem is that - if past form is a guide - most British residents won't be voting either because they're not registered to vote or from apathy. However, not all are so apathetic.

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