Tools
ToolsJames, Toby S. and Underwood, Jamie (2025) The new mass unenfranchised? Mapping unenfranchised adults and the case for residence-based voting in the UK. The Political Quarterly. ISSN 0032-3179
Full text not available from this repository. (Request a copy)Abstract
Universal suffrage is a defining feature of democracy. The UK electoral franchises, however,prohibit voting on the basis of some, but not all, nationalities. Residence-based voting involves allowing all adults who are legally resident in a country to vote. It has been introduced in Scotland and Wales for some elections. This article provides estimates of the number of unenfranchised adults in the UK. There has been an increase in the number of unenfranchised adults from 2.3 million in 2011 to 4.4 million in 2025. There are also 1.2 million unenfranchised adults in England and Northern Ireland. Unenfranchised adults tend to be concentrated in electoral constituencies in the UK, where they outnumber the number of votes cast for the sitting MP in36 seats. If all residents could vote, 257 seats could have had a different outcome at the 2024general election. This raises important political, constitutional and legitimacy questions about excluding those who contribute to society from the ballot box.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | democracy,elections,electoral integrity,voting,sdg 16 - peace, justice and strong institutions ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/peace_justice_and_strong_institutions |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy and Area Studies |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Policy & Politics Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Political, Social and International Studies |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 20 Oct 2025 13:30 |
| Last Modified: | 20 Oct 2025 13:30 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100726 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/1467-923x.70011 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |