Rishi Sunak said voting is a “privilege” as he rejected Labour calls to extend the franchise to millions of EU citizens.

Sir Keir Starmer is considering plans to extend voting rights to some five million EU citizens and other non-nationals permanently residing in the country.

The Labour leader said last week it “feels wrong” to exclude EU citizens who live and pay tax in the UK from voting in general elections.

At the same time, Labour is considering changing the law to allow over-16s to vote.