Former British Defence Secretary Liam Fox has rejected charges that Conservative backbenchers have proposed to deprive hundreds of thousands of Irish living in Britain of the right to vote in general elections.
Backbenchers have complained recently that voters from some Commonwealth countries - including India and Pakistan - can vote in British general elections, even though British subjects living in those countries cannot do the same.
However, Mr Fox and other leading Conservative figures have strongly denied that they ever contemplated taking the right to vote in general elections from the 345,000 Irish living in Britain.
"I do agree with the reciprocal voting arrangement with Ireland, given the strong links between our two countries. However, I do not believe that there is case for other foreign nationals to be able to vote on the future of the United Kingdom, " Dr Fox told The Irish Times .
The chairman of the influential 1922 Committee of Conservative backbenchers, Graham Brady equally rejected charges that Irish voters had ever been included in the proposals being debated by colleagues.
“My concern is about the countries where reciprocal voting rights are not given to British subject. It is not about countries such as Ireland where those rights are reciprocated,” he declared.
Figures from the House of Commons show that 345,000 Irish-born voters are eligible to cast a ballot in May, along with 306,000 Indians, 180,000 Pakistanis, 73,000 Australians and 52,000 people from Zimbabwe.
Eligible voters born in Nigeria, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Canada and Bangladesh could also prove to be significant in some constituencies, particularly inner-city ones that traditionally are home to newly arrived immigrants.
Last week, Conservative MP Brian Binley said the calls for changes to voting rights did not threaten Irish voting rights: "We do see the relationship with Ireland as being very important and much more integrated, in truth."
Irish-born voters living in Britain are “in a different category”, he said. “We have had a special relationship for centuries, for good or ill, and that is something I would argue very strongly to protect for the future.”
Meanwhile, Labour leader, Ed Miliband will warn young voters to register to vote, saying that 1m people have dropped off the electoral register in the last year alone because they have not replied to letters seeking confirmation of their address.
The numbers could be critical in key constituencies. Major university cities as Cardiff, Liverpool, Newcastle, Southampton and Brighton have seen numbers drop by more 10,000 in some constituencies. In London, 100,000 names have gone.
