Many of were ahead of him there and applied as soon as it became possible to do so.
I have everything set up already and my proxy has been appointed.
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I registered to vote and then made the separate request for a postal vote that was accepted (a proxy wasnât an option).
Iâve never postal voted before so will be interested to see how it works
Iâve decided to vote in-person on Thursday and roll it into a long weekend in London.
Wouldnât want to miss a carnival weekend 
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The original calculation was rather that the overseas voters are more likely to vote con hence the change in law in the first place.
I think that was the case pre-Brexit but not any more.
She also dismissed the perception that British expats are more likely to vote Conservative, saying: "That is a stereotype that belongs to the 1980s, and the whole question of mobility in the EU has meant that going to live abroad is no longer posh people going to live in villas on the Mediterranean â itâs a hugely diverse population, they have hugely diverse views.â
Numerous polls have shown a strong backlash against the conservatives for their handling of Brexit and the fact that its diminished our rights and opportunities in the EU and even Switzerland (for those now applying for residency).
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77 Tories standing down at the next election rather than face the music.
Cowards 
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Perhaps not cowards but realists. They may be the more intelligent of their peers.
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No doubt a lot of them are eyeing up lucrative positions to take advantage of their post Brexit chaos.
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The comedy continues in the Conservative parties national election campaign with the announcement of the reintroduction of mandatory national service ( for 18 year olds ) if the Tories are re-elected in the forthcoming General Election.
Fortunately National Service can be done in the voluntary sectors without the compulsion to do military service from whatâs gathered from this mornings announcement.
So not dissimilar to Switzerland then.
Has he done the calculations as to the cost of it all, equipping and feeding soldiers doesnât come cheap.
Yet another one of his hare-brained schemes.
Must be really worried about the Russians
It seems to be falling out of favour a bit here in recent years. Employers are a bit rolly-eyed when chaps have to pop off for 2 weeks every year or two and leave them short staffed. Almost all of our C level are non-Swiss and have often discussed the merits of hiring non-Swiss so they donât have to keep going to the military.
I suppose thereâs nothing to stop the Swiss adopting the voluntary service alternative option for those called up for National Service ( if they donât do it already for conscientious objectors ) & maybe any compulsory voluntary service ( alternative option ) can be done in their spare time, allowing them to still hold down a permanent job ?
That was my sonâs biggest fear when he was job hunting in the summer having finished his studies.
He had to do the military (or civil) service before the end of this year when he turns 25 so either January or July recruit school which would mean 4 months off just after starting a new job.
He was worried that he would be competing with loads of people who had either already completed the basic training or who were exempt for whatever reason and future employers would lean towards those rather than him for obvious reasons.
He decided to be upfront about it in interviews and every one of them said it wasnât an issue and was a common occurrence.
Whether they were just saying that because they had to weâll never know but as it happens he was offered two jobs pretty quickly, one of which was the one he really really wanted so in the end it didnât seem to make a difference.
He went back to work last week having completed his basic training (considerably lighter but much fitter) and to say they were pleased to see him would be an understatement.
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Also what about the idea being bandied about - of a Pensioners National Service, for as you all know were all living longer ( on average ) and the new generation of Pensioners are a lot healthier than their forbears.
The idea being tied to the State Pension, namely the State Pension age reverts back to 65 BUT in order for Pensioners to receive it at 65 ( rather than the âwith demographic effectâ, upper age eligibility namely 68 ) they have to put in so many hours ( maybe 17.5 hour week ) of voluntary work, community or charitable work which the govt rewards by paying them their full state pension from their 65 birthday rather than from their 68th birthday. Those that would rather not do this will obviously have to wait for their demographic adjusted eligibility on their 68th birthday. Maybe the French Govt should look into this as a way of placating the state pension protests ??
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They already have that option which some choose to do but itâs longer than military service (1.5x) so not attractive for many.
Quite a few from my sonâs section transferred to civil service rather than completing the recruit school.
Overall they lost around a third of recruits either through injury, incapacity or change of service which seems huge to me.
Jacob Rees-Mogg praises Rishi Sunakâs magnificent election launch announcement as the epitome of British stoicism akin to Gene Kelly in the film âSinging in the Rainâ despite the British press jibes of âThings Can Only Get Wetterâ & âDrowning in the Rainâ Lol !!!
As I see it, the funniest thing about the current British politics is that members of the government were chosen based on the leftist ideas ( diversity, inclusion, minorities representation at top levels etc) only to form probably one of the most conservative, anti-immigration government in the last decade or so. Lol!!!
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They say they are anti-migration but reality is the opposite. From FT May 2023
On the eve of the 2016 referendum on EU membership, official figures showed annual net migration to the UK had risen to an unprecedented high of 336,000 â fuelling demands from supporters of Brexit to âtake back control of our bordersâ. In the coming week, analysts expect new estimates from the Office for National Statistics to show net migration rose to at least double that level last year â a record that is largely the result of government policy choices and has much less to do with clandestine boat arrivals from France.
Another reason why the Conservative have such a low approval rate. They say something appealing to voters and then do the opposite.
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I honestly donât know who to vote for. Conservatives are a shambles and Sunak is so cringe awkward. But I also canât stand Starmer and Rayner, they make me want to tear my ears off.