EU & Labour to give prisoners the right to vote after 1,000 years

**-:Undertaker:-** · 08-02-2010, 09:20 PM

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...ction-ban.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council...CoE_and_the_EU

Rapists, paedophiles, burglars and muggers could be among 28,800 prisoners handed the right to vote, it emerged last night. The Government is preparing to demolish 1,000 years of legal practice by proposing that inmates serving up to four years in jail will be allowed to help elect MPs and councillors.

Labour is implementing a verdict by the European Court of Human Rights, which ruled five years ago that it was unfair to stop convicts casting their vote. The case was brought by axe killer John Hirst, who became the self-styled ' jailhouse lawyer'. The Strasbourg court said a blanket ban was illegal - but did not specify all prisoners must be entitled to vote. Discretion on how it should be implemented was left to ministers. Last night, the scale of the revolution proposed by the Government caused shockwaves. With as many as 29,000 votes up for grabs, it raises the prospect of politicians having to canvass for votes inside prison.

Tory justice spokesman Dominic Grieve said: '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 practice that convicted prisoners can't vote.'

An absolute disgrace, and who do you think these prisoners will vote? - will they vote Labour who give them the cushy prisons/pathetic sentences they recieve or will they vote for another party?. If you commit a crime you forfeit your right to civil liberties in my mind otherwise whats the point in prison if its not a punishment.

Also as a side-note before anyone says the European Courts are not the European Union, both are very closely linked/connected and the EU itself is many bodies put together all 'working for an intergrated Europe' as is the European Court - why bother having elections with that unelected and corrupt lot running our country? - I want our courts and politicians running this country, not some (now totally crazy) European socialists from the planet zog.

Thoughts, should prisoners be allowed to vote?

Smits · 08-02-2010, 09:22 PM

They lose the right to vote when they commit the crime.

All this will lead to is even comfier prisons as parties try to grab those potentially crucial votes.

Obviously theyre goign to vote with labour.

**dirrty** · 08-02-2010, 09:23 PM

they shouldn't have the right to influence who comes into power in this country. they lost that right the second they committed the crime.

alexxxxx · 08-02-2010, 10:02 PM

lets kill em all too.

but srsly, they should have the vote, but it wont make any difference to an outcome.

and it's not the EU again. ^_^ the CoE and the EU aren't the same thing at all. but of course intricacies such as these don't matter to you at all.

**-:Undertaker:-** · 08-02-2010, 10:07 PM

Originally Posted by alexxxxx

lets kill em all too.

but srsly, they should have the vote, but it wont make any difference to an outcome.

and it's not the EU again. ^_^ the CoE and the EU aren't the same thing at all.

It'll make a difference in swing seats where you have Labour and another party neck and neck in the polls, 1,000+ votes from a nearby prison can dramatically alter that vote. On why they should have the vote, why should they? - they forfeitted their rights when they plunged a knife into someone, murdered people in cold blood, raped innocent women/children and so forth. Why on earth have any remorse/respect for their 'human rights', they already get Xboxes and all the toys and games they want in prison (Ian Huntley who murdered two little innocent girls).

On the EU, again not offically but both are very connected and both working towards a 'intergrated Europe' as shown by the diagram on the link. Not to mention the fact both were never elected or chosen by the British public.

**dbgtz** · 08-02-2010, 10:08 PM

Why don't we just give them better food the the NHS? ...

Prison isn't much of a punishment for most.

alexxxxx · 08-02-2010, 10:16 PM

Originally Posted by -:Undertaker:-

It'll make a difference in swing seats where you have Labour and another party neck and neck in the polls, 1,000+ votes from a nearby prison can dramatically alter that vote. On why they should have the vote, why should they? - they forfeitted their rights when they plunged a knife into someone, murdered people in cold blood, raped innocent women/children and so forth.

On the EU, again not offically but both are very connected and both working towards a 'intergrated Europe' as shown by the diagram on the link. Not to mention the fact both were never elected or chosen by the British public.

you think that prisoners should lose their human rights? what happens if we start criminalising other things. it's a long slippery slope when you mess with things like this. plus if you read the article, you should notice that the ruling was not for all prisoners, but for just SOME prisoners and only prisoners serving up to 4 years in prison MIGHT be given voting privileges which spreads to around 8k in the country, split literally all over the country. then you have to think that these people are unlikely to vote. it will make very little difference. last time i checked, cold blooded killers get more than 4 years in prison.

i don't think we got a vote on whether to prohibit cannabis, nor whether we should be in the UN. the coe was made up after the second world war and court set up and human rights were made by them.

I went to a very good conference in Paris at the weekend, with Vince Cable, Sharmi Chackribati (cba to spell her name), tory MP Pickles and 2 labour MPs and Vince Cable was quite clearly the best politician. And Sharmi's talk on human rights was absolutely outstanding. Plus we were shown in detail how the EU works and about the CoE and Human rights. (h)