Let short-term prisoners vote say MPs

Prisoners serving short sentences or approaching the end of their time behind bars should be given the vote, a cross-party parliamentary committee has recommended.

The committee said it would be "wholly disproportionate" for the UK to defy a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights and said the Government had failed to set out a "plausible" case for maintaining the existing blanket ban.

It called on the Government to table a Bill granting the vote in local, general and European elections to those serving less than 12 months or within six months of release, with exceptions for those convicted of particularly serious crimes.

This recommendation is rather hypocritical it calls on the government to lift the existing ban but then states those serving less than a year or those who are close to release can vote but those convicted of serious crimes can’t.  

So this committee has recommended one rule for some and a different one for others, either everyone serving less than a year or  everyone six months away from release can vote or they can’t, don’t say well this group can but this group can’t.

No prisoner, I repeat no prisoner should be allowed to vote and I applaud the government for sticking with its policy of banning them from doing so, and challenging the stupid ruling by ECHR that frankly is doing everything it can to undermine sovereignty in this country.