The Liberal Democrats have today launched an organisation to communicate with the party’s overseas supporters.

Liberal Democrats Abroad aims to keep members and supporters in touch with the UK party, to encourage supporters to join, and to register to vote in the UK.

So, who’s eligible to vote?

British citizens who live overseas but were last on a UK electoral register within the last 15 years can vote in elections. If you are abroad but not on the electoral register, you’ll need to contact the council for the area where you last lived in the UK.

People who were under the age of 18 when their parents moved abroad can also vote once they reach 18 – for up to 15 years from the time when their parents were last registered in the UK.

There’s already a Brussels and Europe local party, and more branches are planned soon.

Nick Clegg (who is himself abroad today, at the UN in New York) said:

In response to requests from our many supporters overseas and reflecting the Party’s internationalist outlook, we have decided to set up a new organisation called Liberal Democrats Abroad to connect with our members and supporters living overseas.

Our aim is to ensure that Lib Dems living overseas can stay in touch with the Party in the UK and make certain that, in return, the Party understands the concerns of its members overseas.

We will also encourage our members and supporters to register to vote in the UK.

To this end we will set up a network of Lib Dems Abroad branches in as many countries as we can. We will then give them our continuing support.

Both the Conservative and Labour parties also have international organisations, and with 2.5 million Brits abroad, there’s a significant number of votes to be harvested.

For more information, including how to register to vote, visit the Liberal Democrats Abroad page on the party’s main website.