27/03/10 - Labour to Give 28,800 prisoners the vote

Up to 28,800 prisoners could be given the right to vote under proposals announced by the Government. A Ministry of Justice consultation document on voting rights of convicted prisoners suggests that criminals sentenced to less than four years in prison would be given the right to vote.

Shadow Justice Secretary, Dominic Grieve commented: ''Many people will question whether this is a sensible development. The principle that those who are in custody after conviction should not have the opportunity to vote is a perfectly rational one. Civic rights go with civic responsibility, but these rights have been flagrantly violated by those who have committed imprisonable offences.

"The Government must allow a parliamentary debate which gives MPs the opportunity to insist on retaining our existing practise that convicted prisoners can’t vote.''

Commenting, Paul said, ''I'm against prisoners having a right to vote. Civil rights go with responsibilities. Part of prisoners paying their debt to society should include them temporarily forfeiting rights that the rest of us enjoy. The very fact that Labour is considering putting a mechanism in place that would let prisoners vote is just another example of how out of touch with public opinion they are. The public will never approve of extra money being spent on rehabilitation if they aren't convinced that those in prisons have been forced to suffer some temporary loss of liberty while they are there. Our prison system is full of people who have little or no literacy or who have mental health issues. Rehabilitation is what is needed, not exercises to allow prisoners to vote. Finally I would say that it is the British people who should decide what rights and privileges we allow our prisoners, not the European Council.''