Outcry from MPs as some prisoners get right to vote
MINISTERS provoked anger yesterday by scrapping the blanket ban on prisoner voting.
Justice Secretary David Lidington caved in to European judges, announcing that serving inmates would be allowed to take part in elections.
But only convicts out of jail on day release who are still on the electoral roll will qualify – expected to be fewer than 100.
Ministers have spent more than a decade fighting a ruling that the blanket ban breaches prisoners’ human rights.
Mr Lidington said the move would ‘end an anomaly’ where those freed with an electronic tag could vote but those on day release were banned. No offenders would be allowed out to vote and none will be allowed to vote by post.
As voters drop off the electoral roll after a year, ministers insist only those serving under 12 months will be eligible.
But the move is likely to fuel concern that those locked up for more serious crimes will eventually be given the vote.
Tory MP Philip Davies said it was ‘idiotic, unjustifiable and about as popular with the general public as finding a rattlesnake in a lucky dip’.