Democracy?

In a couple of days the people of the U.K. will be voting on whether or not to remain part of the European Union. Or rather, a select group of the people of the U.K. will be voting - many of my friends will not be allowed to vote in spite of having made their homes here, paying taxes and being a full part of our society, just because they were born elsewhere in the E.U. Another group excluded are U.K. passport holders who have made their homes elsewhere in the E.U., and have lived there for 15 years or more. While I can understand the second of these groups not getting a vote in U.K. elections, in this instance the outcome of the vote directly affects them so surely they should get a say.

In any meaningful concept of democracy, the people voting should include all the people directly affected by the outcome. In this referendum two substantial groups who are potentially the most devastatingly affected by the outcome are excluded - this is not democracy, this is a horrible parody of democracy more akin to the pseudo-democracy of an apartheid state.