James Preston’s expat voting rights case against the British government was heard in the High Court in London two days ago on the 8th November, and final judgement is currently awaited. According to an article in the expat Telegraph, which first covered his case in 2010 (before the last general election)

“James Preston is a brave man. Rather like David goading Goliath, he has decided to take on the full might of the British government by applying for a judicial review of the expatriate voting rights law. The curious thing about James Preston, a married fund manager from Leicestershire working for a property-investment firm, based in Madrid, is that he’s never voted in his life.

He told me: “I know this might sound odd, but until I got married and had children, I really never felt the need to vote. It was my strong feelings about the Iraq war that persuaded me to think about voting in the forthcoming UK elections but now that I’ve reached the 15 year watershed of living in Spain, I’ve lost the chance. I’m basically being stripped of a fundamental democratic right. The right to vote.”

Due to the wider implications of this case, James Preston’s costs should he lose have been capped by the court at £20,000.

You can read more and vote your support here

(News: Spain)