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Straw: Prisoners won't be able to vote until after general election
Martin Bentham, Home Affairs Editor08.10.09
Jack Straw is to delay legal changes that will allow prisoners to vote until after the general election.
The Ministry of Justice is expected to announce its final plans over the coming months for giving the vote to inmates, after a public consultation.
The move follows a ruling in the European Court of Human Rights that Britain's ban is an unlawful breach of the right to take part in free elections.
The Justice Secretary, who is opposed to changing the law, is understood to believe there is no urgency to comply with the ruling issued five years ago. He plans to ensure there is no change ahead of polling day, expected next May.
"Complying with European rulings that effectively grant extra rights is not as important as responding in other cases," said a source close to Mr Straw. "We are consulting on this, but will not be rushing to make any decisions."
This will also avoid potentially unpopular and politically damaging reform in the run-up to the election. But it will infuriate penal reform campaigners as well as the Liberal Democrats, who support a change in the law.
Andrew Neilson, assistant director of the Howard League for Penal Reform, criticised any delay. "This is too vital an issue to further prevaricate in the hope it is somebody else's problem after the election," he said. "If we want prisoners to become responsible citizens on release, we must treat them as such."
The Government's slow implementation of the ruling was criticised in June by the Council of Europe's committee of ministers and was rebuked last year by the UN human rights committee.
The ministry's consultation on giving prisoners the vote, its second on the issue, ends next week. It outlines options for how many of Britain's 84,000 inmates will gain the right to vote. These include giving it to all prisoners sentenced to fewer than four years or restricting the entitlement to those jailed for a year or less.
It also discusses where prisoners would be registered, how they would cast their ballot, and how their details might appear on the electoral roll. The ban on prisoners voting has stood for nearly 140 years, but was declared unlawful by the European Court of Human Rights in 2004. Mr Straw's decision to delay any action, and a possible new government, means reform could be postponed until 2011.
Reader views (14)
Jo, criminals relinquish their human rights the moment they commit the crime. Once they are caught, tried and receive a custodial sentence they should be stripped of these rights until they can prove categorically that they will respect the human rights of all other members of society. This is called rehabilitation and is the prime intent of criminal justice system. To allow convicted criminals the same rights as law abiding persons is perverse and undermines the ability to rehabilitate - hence the chronic reoffending rates we see every day in the news.
- Dannyp, Egham
When the relevant minister who is responsible for ensuring human rights is effectively denying human rights it is a sad day for law, justice and democracy. Labour introduced human rights legislation and is now choosing to ignore their own laws. What this case shows is that the new supreme court has no power to strike down offending legislation.
- John Hirst, Hull, England
What a lot of ignorant comments - everyone has the right to human dignity and respect and if the law says prisoners should vote they should be allowed to vote. This government would be frightened that no prisoners will vote for them as little or no rehabilitation is provided for prisoners who are often the most vulnerable people in society and need help to become respectable and able citizens. Of course, there is also the matter of people being kept in prison on indeterminate sentences, some with VERY short tariffs, which shows the government to be both inhumane and unfair. Do the government not realise that the families of these people, i.e. hundreds/thousands of people, will not vote for them either - let this government show some decency and justice by giving prisoners the vote now and releasing the short tariff indeterminately sentenced prisoners. Surely the public want to see justice and fair play coupled with proper rehabilitation of prisoners. To achieve this they must be demonstrably treated with dignity and respect if we wish to achieve positive change from them. Do not forget that a percentage of prisoners are also wrongly convicted and they, and their families/friends will never vote for a party that retains them in prison for years with little hope of release. European law says prisoners should be allowed to vote - let them.
- Jo, London
If you can drag them away from their Playstations and drug taking in prison.
They should NEVER have voting rights ever..! Period.
Read my lips Man of Straw...
They are in Prison..!
- Paul Jardine, Bromley
"This will also avoid potentially unpopular and politically damaging reform in the run-up to the election."
Pushing it into the background - it kinda sums it all up, doesn't it. Election tactics? Manipulation, more like!
- Rogan, Irving
Jack Straw has decided that the two million illegal immigrants that have been allowed to make Britain their home under his corrupt government will be enough to give Labour a fighting chance of survival.
- General Lee Wright, Communism on sea Kentish Gulag 3 .
Judith - "Human rights should be things that you EARN in life, not have automatically". You haven't quite got the hang of this have you?
The very first article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.
- Nolan, Londonist
Being in prison surely loses any right to vote?
- Dom, London
Human rights should be things that you EARN in life, not have automatically, so that if you break the law and are incarcerated for it you should LOSE your rights. Until this dotty law is changed in some way, we will keep pandering to prisoners which is completely WRONG.
- Judith, KIng's Lynn, Norfolk, UK
Clearly Straw correctly perceives that prisoners will not vote Labour - is that gerrymandering?
If they have the right to vote then like everybody else they must be allowed to vote immediately.
- James, City of London
Simple gerrymandering, obviously the Labour party is frightened that the old lags won't vote for them.
- Threaded, Roskilde, Denmark
Surely with Labour's "Soft on crime" policy, prisoners would vote for Labour and therefore Labour should allow prisoners to vote
- Ed, London
It is utterly unbelievable that scum who put themselves outside of the framework of a society are eligible to vote within the framework of that society.
You break the rules of a society, you lose your rights provided by that society. Liberal-Lefties scumbags destroying the fabric of our society.
- Frank, Home Counties, England.
The European Court of Human Rights ruling means nothing to Jackboot Straw and others of his ilk.
Joe Public needs to realise that Jackboot Straw, Meddleslime, Blunkett, Prescott and Gormless Brown are all hell-bent on making their own laws as they stumble towards demolition at the general election.
- Reuben Camara, Morecambe Compound, EUSSR
