That arch-busybody in British affairs, the European Court of Human Rights, has ruled that sentenced prisoners should be allowed to vote, a privilege originally denied them by the Forfeiture Act of 1870.
Though it is said that the Prime Minister is ‘exasperated’ by the ruling, I can’t say that I can personally get too worked up by it, particularly as prisoners on remand awaiting trial, fine defaulters and people jailed for contempt of court are able to vote.
It does strike me, however, that organising a vote for prisoners - presumably those able to prove British citizenship - is going to be an administrative nightmare for the Prison Service, an organisation not often renowned for its speed of bureaucratic action. With a population sometimes moving between prisons and with some prisoners gaining early release, getting a vote organised efficiently throughout the prison system is going to take a great deal of detailed organisation.
But in theory, they would seem to have plenty of time to get it together.
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Though it is said that the Prime Minister is ‘exasperated’ by the ruling, I can’t say that I can personally get too worked up by it, particularly as prisoners on remand awaiting trial, fine defaulters and people jailed for contempt of court are able to vote.
It does strike me, however, that organising a vote for prisoners - presumably those able to prove British citizenship - is going to be an administrative nightmare for the Prison Service, an organisation not often renowned for its speed of bureaucratic action. With a population sometimes moving between prisons and with some prisoners gaining early release, getting a vote organised efficiently throughout the prison system is going to take a great deal of detailed organisation.
But in theory, they would seem to have plenty of time to get it together.
.
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