Spain tops the list in numbers of expat deaths (1,786) and arrests (2,012).

Spain tops the list in numbers of expat deaths (1,786) and arrests (2,012). A brief recent stroll through Benidorm found English fans watching football, drinking Tetley's and eating haddock and chips. But not everyone conforms to the stereotype.

In May, there will be Britons running for office in local elections and it is estimated that expats could hold the balance of power in as many as 19 towns in the Valencia region, which includes the Alicante province.

George Thomas, a much-travelled Glaswegian, is a member of the PSOE, the Spanish socialist party, in Xabia on the Costa Blanca, which will have a number of expats on its candidates' list, although he is not under any illusions about the difficulties of integration. "There are some fully integrated Brits who speak Spanish but many live in an almost sealed community," he said. Earlier this year he gave a talk at the local Casa de Cultura on the subject and pointed out that more than half of the residents of the town were foreigners but only 12% had registered to vote.

Journalist Benny Davis, who writes for the expat paper, EuroWeekly News, said: "Brits tends to live in a bubble. With more and more information available in English, there's less reason to learn Spanish and, as a consequence, less opportunity to understand the local culture. Many residents speak no more than 10 Spanish words in an average week – usually restaurant Spanish – and they pride themselves on 'getting by'.

"By moving to Spain, most have opted out of the rat race, substituting social responsibility for social activity within the numerous Brit clubs, amateur theatre and charity groups that have mushroomed over the entire Costa Blanca." Davis said expats on candidate lists were usually just "hooks to catch expats votes".

Expats are excluded from voting in the Spanish general elections but some continue to vote in the UK. Conservatives have traditionally seen the expat vote as theirs. David Cameron made a pitch for it last year when he was granted a gentle interview on Talk Radio Europe and Eric Pickles flew to Mallorca to bang the Tory drum.

But some long-term British expats in Spain find themselves effectively disenfranchised, unable to vote in either place. James Preston, a real estate investment manager originally from Leicestershire and now resident in Madrid, has taken the British government to court because he is not able to vote either in the UK or in Spain.

"I have never voted in my life but I became angered by Tony Blair taking us into the Iraq war so I started to investigate," he said. He discovered that anyone who has been living for more than 15 years outside the country but not in public service loses the right to vote.

"I'm a British citizen and only a British citizen, married to a British wife and both of us work for British firms," he said. "This law penalises me for taking advantage of the opportunities that the British government promised to all citizens when Britain joined the EU." His case is being heard in the high court this year.

Ray Mitchell, 67, a Lancastrian who lives at La Cala on the Costa del Sol and is a member of Conservatives Abroad, does not think that having an MP is a priority. He said: "I think it's unworkable because we are so widespread. It's not high on my personal agenda but I know it is for a lot of people who are still paying tax in the UK."

He said it was a "fair criticism" that the British were not, in general, well integrated: "It's difficult. I try to practise my Spanish but people come back to me in English."

The locals might agree. "British people do not seem to integrate terribly well," said a woman reporter on a Spanish daily. "They are very good at societies, book clubs, social organisations of different kinds but, in general, they seem to associate with themselves more often with other expats.

"In my personal experience, many Britons seem to have many things to complain about – the madness of the property market and rental prices, the even madder madness of red tape and paperwork when they need to deal with government offices and funcionarios. This is partly due to the culture shock and the contrast between the Anglo-Saxon and Latin mentalities but it does make some things difficult when it comes to integration."

But, she said: "There are the Britons who moved to cities like Barcelona with the idea of establishing themselves there, most of them professionals and many of them with some previous living-abroad experience. They have been working in fields like journalism, English teaching, literary translations, opening different types of shops, tech companies. They do make an effort to integrate and care more about local issues as they do make a living, pay taxes, bring up their children there."

An increasing number of British children are growing up in Spain and there are now about 60 British schools, according to Donat Morgan, of the National Association of British Schools in Spain, with another 30-40 in the works. "The student population varies from region to region, but most have large percentages of Spanish students," said Morgan. "My own school [Oakley College, Las Palmas] has 85% Spanish students." By Spanish law, all "foreign" schools must teach Spanish and Spanish history and geography from the age of 12.

Some expats are returning to Britain now, hurt by the decline of the pound. Perhaps some who remain will be encouraged to integrate further by the lead story last month in the English language Costa News: "Expats who speak Spanish 'ward off dementia for longer'." Orwell's advice about carrying that small dictionary in the pocket to whip out at a moment's notice still holds true.

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