Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Prisoners: Voting Rights

Mr. Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps he plans to take in response to the recent Council of Europe Resolution on prisoner voting rights in the UK.

Mr. Wills: The Government note the interim resolution by the Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers' Deputies in the case of Hirst (No 2). We have recently completed a two-stage consultation on the voting rights of convicted prisoners. We are carefully analysing the responses to the consultation. The Government take their obligations under the European Convention on Human Rights seriously. But we must arrive at an approach which respects the judgment of the Court in Hirst (No 2) while at the same time taking into account the political context and traditions of the United Kingdom.

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