The Conservatives 2015 manifesto promised ‘votes for life’ for all Britons living abroad – in line with other major democracies, such as the USA, France, Italy, and Canada.

Two recent UK Constitutional Law Association blogs (see here and here) have highlighted the importance of rights in the context of the UK’s referendum on EU membership, and indeed within EU law more generally.

The government now stands at a crossroads, and the first step they must take is to expand full voting rights to every permanent citizen in the country.

It's cock-up, not conspiracy - but the end result is the same. Countless EU citizens in the UK are being blocked from voting in the European parliamentary elections by onerous bureaucratic requirements, institutional complacency, and an administrative system which was taken by surprise that they were happening at all.

Brexit has turned our lives upside down and I had two options: to sit down and wait for my fate to be delivered to me, or fight for my rights and my beliefs. I choose to stand up.

It is critical that we do not lose focus – waiving the fee does not take away the problems with the application process.

For millions of Europeans like me, today is a difficult watershed moment – settled status will no doubt create a new Windrush generation.

In many ways all of this has been an integral part of daily life for EU citizens in the UK since the referendum. What makes it extraordinary now is that over two years have passed and nothing has changed.