British MP Robert Lowe called for foreigners to be banned from running in elections in the United Kingdom after Indian-born politician Keo Manivannan was elected to the Scottish Parliament.Lowe, the MP for Great Yarmouth and affiliated with Reclaim Britain, criticized the rules in a post on X after the recent local election results.“Foreign nationals should not be allowed to stand for election, and the Restoration Government will ban this,” Lowe wrote.He also criticized the current election rules after Manivannan, a non-binary candidate representing the Scottish Greens, gained a seat on the regional Edinburgh and East Lothians list despite not having permanent resident status in the UK.
“An Indian has been elected to the Scottish Parliament, even without a permanent visa to stay in the UK,” Lowe said in the post.He added, “This is wrong. They should not be allowed to run. Our position is very clear. The British elections are for the British people.”Manivannan, an anthropologist and poet originally from Tamil Nadu, is said to be the first person to be elected to Holyrood without indefinite leave to remain in the UK.The Scottish Greens candidate currently holds temporary immigration status, and is said to have sought financial support from colleagues for an extension of his postgraduate visa, which would allow him to continue living and working in Britain.
The issue became politically controversial after the Scottish Government changed eligibility rules last year, allowing individuals with limited leave to remain in the UK to stand in elections for the Scottish Parliament.Previously, only people with indefinite leave to remain or permanent immigration status could compete for Holyrood seats.Manivannan has publicly described himself as a “queer Tamil immigrant” and has spoken about social justice, identity, and environmental activism.
