Government sets prison vote limit

Prisoners sentenced to less than four years will be eligible to vote, the government has announced.

In a statement, the Cabinet Office said criminals serving more than four years will be automatically banned from the ballot box.

In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that the UK's blanket ban on inmates voting was discriminatory and unlawful.

Under the changes, sentencing judges will be given the discretion to stop prisoners with a jail term of less than four years from casting a ballot while they are behind bars.

Constitutional reform minister Mark Harper said the proposal was "not a choice, it is a legal obligation".

"We are ensuring the most serious offenders will continue to be barred from voting.

"If the government failed to implement this judgment, we would not only be in breach of our international obligations but could be risking taxpayers' money in paying out compensation claims."

The government is due to release a written ministerial statement on Monday on voting entitlement.

Have your say...

Please enter your comments below.

Name

Your e-mail address

Listen to audio version

Please type in the letters or numbers shown above (case sensitive)