Kamis, 03 Desember 2009

Why John Hirst, not UKIP is more likely to get the UK out of Europe

Iain Dale has been very consistent in tracking the case of John Hirst, a former prisoner who has been arguing that convicted criminals should not lose their right to vote in elections. Iain and I take different views on this matter (I believe that all UK citizens should have the right to vote unless they are convicted of an electoral offence and he doesn't). but I commend him on his assiduousness in this matter.

Iain reports that the Government has failed to take account of the European Court of Human Rights' judgement that the current UK position (that prisoners should not be able to vote) is incompatible with Human Rights law. The Government has responded that they are still consulting. The ECHR says that they have had long enough and so they must change the law immediately (ie in time for the next General Election) or be kicked out of Europe.

The Government has the perfect opportunity to change the law (there is a Bill going through Parliament at the moment that they are planning to amend with a commitment to a reform of the voting system), so that is no excuse.

It seems to me that (unintentionally) Mr Hirst has a better chance of forcing the UK out of the EU than UKIP!

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