A former borough council treasurer is battling Boris Johnson for a seat in Parliament to highlight expat frustrations at not being able to vote.

Frank Jackson, who retired to Carcassonne, France, believes rules on overseas Brits which ban them from voting despite paying UK tax are unfair.

Despite their inability to vote in elections, British subjects living abroad can still stand for Parliament.

Mr Jackson, who was formerly treasurer of Colwyn Borough Council, has put himself forward for election in Boris Johnson’s target seat of Uxbridge and West Ruislip in west London.

The Representation of the People Act 1985 prevents expats who have lived abroad for 15 years or more from voting. The previous limit of 20 years was reduced in 2002.

Mr Jackson, who went to work in the Falkland Islands in 1996 and still pays UK tax on two pensions, said: “There’s a lot of controversy in Europe with people who haven’t got a vote. We pay tax and have British passports.

“They are talking about giving prisoners the vote, but we are disenfranchised.”

Mr Jackson decided to stand in Mr Johnson’s target constituency as the London Mayor is also an advocate of expatriate Brits getting a vote in general elections.

Of the rule which allows him to stand in the same election he’s not allowed to vote in, Mr Jackson said: “It’s ludicrous. I’m not expecting many votes at all, but if I did win I could do it all from here.

“In Italy, they vote by electronic means. The French have MPs dedicated to overseas expats.

“There are about 5.5m British people living abroad - about 2m in Europe and about 1m who should be entitled to vote under these conditions.

“You have to register every year in the place you last lived.”

For Mr Jackson, that meant Clwyd West until the latest rule change scuppered his chance to influence this year’s general election.

He said: “As far as the general election is concerned, my vote will not make much difference.

“But, if there is an EU referendum, I want to vote. If we vote to come out of Europe, then we will immediately become illegal immigrants.

“We can easily be identified by NI number or Inland Revenue records. We are not hidden people with no links or pride in being British.

“We all feel if we are paying UK income tax we should get a vote.”

A spokesperson for the Cabinet Office said: “Under the Representation of the People Act 1985, any British citizen living overseas is entitled to apply to the electoral registration officer for the area in which he or she was most recently registered in the UK, in order to be placed on the ‘overseas electors’ list.

“Parliament decided to impose a time limit on the eligibility of overseas electors to vote because it was thought that generally over time their connection with the UK is likely to diminish.

“The length of the time limit has been changed on two further occasions, first increasing to 20 years then being reduced to 15 years on April 1, 2002.”