Remove the right of these people to vote in British elections

Bizarre reasoning in this leading article in The Times:  http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/opinion/leaders/article4313918.ece

Because there are 1.5 million foreign citizens "eligible" to vote in the United Kingdom the article argues that the Conservatives should appease them by adjusting their policies.

Would it not be more democratic and indeed straightforward simply to remove the right of these people to vote in British elections.

As the author of the article admits, the eligibility is just a hangover from the days of Empire and is now an anachronism.

If the Conservatives gain an outright majority in May they should strike hard and strike fast to remove these foreigners from the electoral roll (if they are so keen on voting in our elections they could always apply for citizenship like every other country requires).