Government urged by MPs to give prisoners right to vote

MPs are calling to allow prisoners serving less than a year in prison the right to vote or risk ‘grave damage’ to the UK’s reputation.

16:55 18 December 2013

Currently, the UK does not comply with a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights asking the government to allow prisoners to vote. This is the direct result of an overwhelming Parliament’s vote to defy the ruling by the European court. Even Prime Minister David Cameron reportedly said that allowing prisoners to vote makes him “physically ill.”

However, a cross-party parliamentary committee said that not allowing prisoners to vote risked ‘grave’ implications for the UK’s global standing.

"A refusal to implement the Court’s judgment, which is binding under international law, would not only undermine the standing of the UK; it would also give succour to those states in the Council of Europe who have a poor record of protecting human rights and who could regard the UK’s action as setting a precedent for them to follow," the Joint Committee on the Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill said.

Conservative MP and former prisons ministers Crispin Blunt, added: "There's no deterrent value to denying people the vote.

“Criminals aren't not going to commit a crime because they think they will be denied the vote when they go to jail... so do you really want to leave the European Court of Human Rights on this issue?