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The government had no choice but to give prisoners the vote due to a European Court ruling, the Commons has heard.
Constitutional reform minister Mark Harper said the government "accepts there is a need to change the law" and end the blanket ban on inmates being allowed to take part in ballots, which dates back to 1870.
However he insisted no decision had yet been made on which inmates would be allowed the vote.
In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the UK's blanket ban on inmates voting was discriminatory and unlawful.
Speaker John Bercow granted an urgent question from shadow justice secretary Sadiq Khan on the government's plans to give prisoners the vote.
Khan said the issue was a "matter of great concern to the public".
He told MPs the ruling opens the door to the possibility of serious offenders being given the vote".
Khan called on the minister: "Can you explain how the government will ensure that serious offenders are not given the vote?
He referred to press reports that sentence length will be the "key determinant" on deciding which prisoners can vote and pressed what length of sentence the government "had in mind".
Khan also called for details of the mechanics on how such a voting regime would work.
He said: The prime minister is reportedly exasperated and furious at having to agree to votes for prisoners. Do you share the views of the prime minister?"
"There is a strong sense that this decision is being forced upon the country against the will of the government and the people's representatives in this Parliament."
In response, the minister said the UK's blanket ban had been "declared unlawful" by the European Court of Human Rights in October 2004.
Harper told MPs: "This government accepts, as did the previous government, that as a result of the Strasbourg court in the Hirst case, there is a need to change the law.
"This isn't a choice, it's a legal obligation. Ministers are currently considering how to implement the judgment, and when the government has made a decision this House will be the first to know."
Harper continued: "You are quite right to draw attention to the fact that the prime minister is exasperated"
He added that every member of the Commons must be "exasperated" but that the government had not choice other than to comply with the law.
Conservative MP David Nuttall (Bury North) asked the minister if he could explain how the "damages figures of millions of pounds had been arrived at", considering nobody has had payments out yet.
"Can I suggest if ever we are forced into paying out damages we knock it off the payments we have to make to Brussels?"
In response, Harper said the European Court of Human Rights is based in Strasbourg and has "nothing to do with the European Union, these are two completely different issues".
Mark Pritchard (Con, Wrekin) asked if it was time to now "scrap the Human Rights Act and put in place a British Bill of Rights".
In response, Harper said it was a decision of the European Court in Strassbourg. He said that even if the act were to be scrapped tomorrow, the government would still have to apply the judgement.
Harper added that Labour was in power for five years after the judgement had been made and did nothing on the matter.
Dennis Skinner (Lab, Bolsover) said the "Murdoch scribblers" would judge the Tories as being "soft on crime and soft on the perpetrators of crime" because of the decision.
Harper said the government is considering how to comply with the law, just as the previous Labour government had to.
Angela Leadsom (Con, South Northamptonshire) asked what would happen if the government refused to accept the findings on the issue.
The minister replied that the government signed up to the convention 60 years ago and must act accordingly.
Former justice secretary Jack Straw hit out at the "nonsense" that the Labour government did nothing on the issue, highlighting two consultations introduced by the previous administration.
Article Comments
Is it not true that the British Government gets to choose what types of crime can be nominated for the loss of the vote. If so then all we need to do is nominate all except those that have committed minor crimes i.e. shoplifting and non payment of TV licences.
Bill Rogers
2nd Nov 2010 at 10:58 pm
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