So prisoners can vote!

Posted 2 Nov 2010 by Walaa Idris

Until this morning I did not even think about whether prisoners should or should not vote and why should I? Isn’t voting – a right – an expression of freedom and liberty and doesn’t prison means no to them!?

But as it turned out it isn’t so simple – imagine that!

A ‘European’ court ruling has resulted in UK prisoners, for the first time in 140 years, being allowed to vote in a general election. And since fighting that ruling will incur a huge financial cost, plus other logistics, our government decided against fighting it!!

If it sounds like nuts and political correctness gone mad, rest assured that you are not alone in thinking so.

Common sense questions how can a criminal, who broke the law and is in prison either as punishment for what they did or because they are a danger to others gets to enjoy the same rights and freedoms enjoyed by law observing citizens?

But as long as we are run by Europe, there will always be some irrational laws imposed on us where we have little or no choice in the matter – now where is the liberty in that?

3 comment(s)

Mark

Mark
2 Nov, 20:00

How are rulings by a European court binding on Britain? Is that by treaty? What would have been the cost to defy such a ruling?

Walaa

Walaa
3 Nov, 15:52

Don’t have an exact amount but it was huge hence giving in to them.

NickOLarse

NickOLarse
9 Nov, 12:06

With regards to European law, does the U.K. not have the same input into the framing of European legislation as other member states? If so, laws are not really ‘imposed’ on the U.K. – the U.K. is involved in the legal process.

With regards to the more specific issue I am sure that you don’t believe prisoners have forfeited ALL of their rights, therefore they cannot be denied the vote solely on the basis that they have forfeited that right along with all others.

Surely a right should be preserved unless there is a reasonably strong case for its withdrawal. In this instance I have yet to hear such a case.

Do you think ALL prisoners should be denied the vote, or would it be just for certain offences? What about those convicted but not imprisoned? What exactly, in your opinion, would the denial of the vote achieve, in a practical sense?

Simply describing the legal position as “political correctness gone mad” might well be convenient for The Daily Mail, but it adds nothing to the debate.

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