In 2004, Andrew spotted a collapse in the number of registered voters in Thorney Island in his constituency, where many servicemen and women live. After pressing vigorously he discovered that this was due to the government’s abandonment of the long-established system of service voter registration. Andrew believes this was disgraceful.
Many servicemen and women were unaware that they had lost their vote. Despite Andrew’s repeated warnings to the government, problems with the system of annual registration, and failures in administration, meant many armed forces voters were unable to vote in the 2005 general election.
Since then, Andrew has continued to press for improvements in voter registration for the armed forces and to raise awareness of this issue. If they are prepared to fight and risk their lives for this country, helping to bring democracy to countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, the very least service personnel deserve is to be able to register to vote in the UK without undue difficulty.