The Conservative Government’s Queen’s Speech in May 2015 did not refer to any plans to change the current legislative position, and David Cameron subsequently implied that the blanket ban on prisoner’s voting rights would not be changed while he remained Prime Minister. This debate has largely focused on the constitutional issues raised by the judgment, in particular: the UK’s relationship with the ECtHR; reform of the Human Rights Act 1998; and the importance of parliamentary sovereignty. The judgment has also been criticised by some as an example of the misuse of human rights, in the sense that the ECtHR’s interpretation of Article 3 of Protocol No 1 went beyond the drafters’ intentions. It agreed to report back to the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers by September 2018. The responsibility for local and devolved elections in … The first two call for a public inquiry to take place into the 2016 referendum on EU membership. The Council of Europe is a different … MPs will debate three petitions on Monday 5 October 2020 in Westminster Hall at 6pm. The Hirst (No 2) judgment set off a political debate. The Welsh Government’s Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill was introduced into the National Assembly on 18 November 2019. The main change proposed is to allow prisoners on Temporary Licence to vote. The 1870 Act denied offenders their rights of citizenship. The Bill deals with disenfranchisement of prisoners in the United Kingdom. In 2013, a Joint Committee scrutinising the Bill recommended that all prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or less should be entitled to vote in all UK parliamentary, local and European elections. This briefing gives a summary of events before May 2015 and examines the debate since May 2015. Bruce Springsteen reveals all on his radio show, MPs have overwhelmingly rejected the idea of prisoners getting the vote, Government lawyers say prisoner votes ruling 'fairly helpful'. The Council of Europe confirmed that the case was closed at its meeting of September 2018. In 2012, the Coalition Government of 2010-15 published a draft Bill which gave three options for the right to vote in UK Westminster Parliamentary and European Parliament elections: the status quo – an outright ban; a ban for prisoners sentenced to 4 years or more, or a ban for prisoners sentenced to more than 6 months. The domestic courts rejected the challenge and one of the prisoners, John Hirst, then took his case to the ECtHR. The issue remained unresolved for over a decade. The Bill as introduced made no mention of prisoner voting, but amendments brought forward by the Welsh Government in March 2020 would, if passed, allow prisoners sentenced to less than four years to register to vote in time for scheduled council election in 2022. Labour said it believed those given custodial sentences should not be entitled to vote. Image caption Only prisoners on remand can currently vote . The CJEU’s judgment also explained that the French law in question was lawful because it was proportionate, which in these circumstances meant that the law took into account “the nature and gravity of the criminal offence committed and the duration of the penalty”. However, any prisoner serving a sentence that exceeds 12 months is legally incapable of voting.There are some other limited circumstances where a prisoner may meet the criteria to register to vote, for example they may be able to register if they are released on temporary … In 2001 the ban was challenged by three convicted prisoners. The court's critics are predicting a constitutional clash. Ministers know they have to come up with something or risk paying compensation to lots of prisoners. The coalition will hope to find some form of compromise acceptable to the majority of Conservative backbench MPs, as well as the court, although nothing short of maintaining the blanket ban on prisoners voting is likely to satisfy some on the Tory right. Find out more about how we use cookies. In a summary of its judgement, the court said it "accepted the [UK] government's argument that each state has a wide discretion as to how it regulates the ban" both in terms of the type of offences covered and whether the matter should be defined in law or left for judges to decide. The current provisions are set out in Section 3 of the Representation of the People Act 1983. The disenfranchisement of prisoners in Great Britain dates back to the Forfeiture Act 1870 and was been linked to the notion of ‘civic death’. The Welsh Government’s Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill will not extend prisoner voting to Senedd Cymru elections. This comes seven years after the court first ordered the UK to rethink its absolute ban on convicted prisoners voting. Neither a response to the Committee nor a consultation on the Human Rights Act has yet been published. Convicted persons serving a prison sentence of 12 months or less meet the criteria to register to vote. Offenders who have been given a suspended sentence can vote, and prisoners regain the right to vote when they are released from jail on licence. Amending the legislation has caused controversy in the United Kingdom. These proposals are more limited in scope than those included in previous proposals. The Government intended to implement the proposed changes by the end of 2018. [3], On 10 December 2012, the Council of Europe advised that the United Kingdom could not continue with its 'blanket ban', observing that one of the available options in the draft bill would contravene the ruling against the UK.

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