Do we all agree with Mr Cameron over this?

[anotheoldgit]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/.../uk-politics-20053244

And if he sticks to his guns, what can The European Court of Human Rights do?

[tonyav]

Yep, I agree with him, Don't know what the European court can do though ?

[dotty.]

as long as they also pay council tax and water rates i have no issues with it

[KerrAvon]

Yes, I agree but I fear that all he'll do is give the compo lawyers a birthday. The sooner he gets us out of this meddling mess the sooner we'll be able to make our own decisions.

[New Judge]

Yes KerrAvon is quite right. The ECHR has no powers to punish or enforce the UK to do anything. However, when the poor hard done by prisoners take their cases for compo to the UK courts they will almost certainly succeed and be awarded vast sums to help heal their devastation.

Quite what the government would do when faced with a court order to pay is anybody's guess, but I cannot imagine them defying a court order. The Prime Minister is in a pickle over this issue. He stated categorically yesterday that no prisoners will get a vote. The Commons has endorsed that stance. The outcome will establish quite clearly who governs the country (as if we did not know).

[LazyGun]

I fail to see why we need a blanket ban on prisoners voting.It is within the ECHR rules to ban certain classes of prisoner from having the vote, so you might wish to strip prisoners convicted of the most serious of crimes from having the vote, but it can only be a symbolic punishment at best.

[KerrAvon]

what puzzles me is the thinking that is needed to conclude that prisoners should have the vote. Can anyone talk me through that reasoning? Surely part of prison is the deprivation of things that normal people can do.

[DTCwordfan]

Do prisoners on parole have a right to vote; if not, then he makes them, eligible and end of matter; at worst allow minor category prisoners at less than 6 month sentences.

[LazyGun]

I do not believe that the threat of losing your vote will act as any kind of deterrent to a prospective criminal, so it has no value there. Compared with the loss of freedom, loss of the right to vote can only be considered a symbolic issue at best.

I am puzzled that anyone gets particularly exercised at the idea that prisoners would be entitled to vote

[New Judge]

I imagine, LG, it's because most people seem to hold the view that if somebody has misbehaved badly enough to finish up in prison then, as part of that punishment, they should forfeit some of the rights and privileges that people who behave themselves are afforded.

But there is a wider issue at stake. The Commons voted decisively to reject the notion that prisoners should have the vote. That, as far as the UK is concerned, should be the end of the matter until and unless the Commons decide otherwise.

[Graham-W]

What constituency would they vote in? Would it be the prison, their home address when convicted, birthplace, etc?

[New Judge]

I believe there is a proposal to have a "prison" constituency, Graham. So all the prisoners throughout the country would elect one MP to represent them all.

[whiskeryron]

//
New Judge

I believe there is a proposal to have a "prison" constituency, Graham. So all the prisoners throughout the country would elect one MP to represent them all.//

There have been one or two naughty MPs who have served prison sentences
so perhaps one of them would like to volunteer to represent these poor deprived souls.

WR.

[LazyGun]

I had never heard that there was a proposal for a kind of "prisoners MP". I had assumed the most likely mechanism for handling their votes would be a kind of postal vote contributing toward the constituency within which they would normally reside.

And I do get that a prison sentence should be a combination of punishment and rehabilitation. Its just that I cannot see denying a prisoner their vote being considered that big a deal, when compared with depriving them of their liberty. Much of the drive towards rehabilitation and a reduction in recidivism centres around making prisoners more aware of their connection to their own community, and automatically depriving them of the vote does not seem to help with that.

[ichkeria]

I don't agree with Cameron. What's more, I disliked intensely his crude "not on my watch" histrionics in the Commons.

[Psybbo]

I'm sorry, how do we know if we agree with him, he changes his mind every time.

[rojash]

"how do we know if we agree with him, he changes his mind every time."

That's a good point, sibton.

[jake-the-peg]

He's made a rod for his own back

If he'd just agreed to give a postal vote to anybody serving less than a 1 year term that'd have been it and it'd all have been over and done with.

But he wanted to play the tough guy and now he's in a mess.

Sorry no sympathy

[Ric.ror]

What happened to the good old days when courts used to award one pound in compensation - I am thinking of a goal keeper

[KerrAvon]

perhaps jake but if you don't believe that prisoners should have the vote then why would you go along with some sort variant based on sentence?

[anotheoldgit]

/// Much of the drive towards rehabilitation and a reduction in recidivism centres around making prisoners more aware of their connection to their own community, and automatically depriving them of the vote does not seem to help with that. ///

Perhaps in the quest for them to connect with the community, should we then make them honourable members of the local golf club or a seat on the village church council maybe?