John Hirst has been fighting for prisoners' rights for years

 

Britain has been pressured by European human rights legislation to allow prisoners the right to vote in the next election.

There has been a significant delay in the UK granting prisoners the vote since 2005, when the original judgement that the British government was in breach of the European convention of Human Rights.

The action against the British government began with a former prisoner, John Hirst, who brought the original legal action first in Britain’s High Court in 2001 and then to the ECHR in 2005.

John Hirst said today,
“I’m very happy now there’s no reason why prisoners should not be able to vote next year.
“The only question Gordon Brown and Jack Straw have to answer is, is it worth being expelled from the EU on this issue? The answer is clearly no.”

Bob Cummines, chief executive of Unlock, the National Association of Reformed Offenders, pointed out:

"It makes more sense to encourage prisoners to engage with social issues through the ballot box rather than continue to reinforce their exclusion from society which often causes them to commit crime in the first place."

Prison reform groups have called on the government to act swiftly so prisoners will be able to vote in the next general election forecasted for next spring.