Mr Brine has sat for the past 6-months on a special joint committee of Parliament charged with scrutinising the Government's draft Bill on prisoners' voting rights and they have published their report today (Wednesday 18 December 2013).
The report reflects the broad range of views the Committee heard during its six-month inquiry and the diverse opinions and experience of Committee members. It also reflects the Committee's serious consideration of this complex and important topic and, with its associated evidence, is intended to inform Parliament when it considers this issue next year.
The Committee was split, with the majority recommending that the Government present Parliament with a Bill to enable those prisoners serving custodial sentences of 12 months or less, plus all prisoners in the last 6 months before release, to vote in local, general and European elections.
The minority on the Committee, which included Steve Brine, recommended putting two options to Parliament: the status quo (i.e. retaining the prohibition on prisoners serving custodial sentences from voting) and the option of allowing prisoners serving custodial sentences of less than 12 months and those in the last 6 months before release to vote.
Mr Brine, who also sits on the influential Commons Justice Select Committee is one of the three Committee members who voted with the minority for a Bill containing two options. He said: "In scrutinising the draft Bill, the Committee has been examining two separate issues: whether prisoners serving a custodial sentence should be allowed to vote; and the conflict between the European Court of Human Rights, the sovereignty of Parliament and the expressed views of the House of Commons which, in February 2011, placed itself firmly against extending the franchise to serving prisoners.
"Whether Parliament accepts the majority or minority recommendations of this Committee, it will need to consider whether it is right to extend the franchise to those denied their liberty and the right to engage in society as a result of serving a custodial sentence. Personally, I think we should uphold the current ban and have every right to do so as a piece of domestic policy. Parliament will also need to consider the extent to which it is content to permit the European Court of Human Rights to encroach into domestic policy areas that appear far removed from the original intentions of the drafters of the European Convention on Human Rights."
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Other areas considered by the Committee include:
- The Committee sees no practical difficulties to prevent prisoners from voting. It recommends that if prisoners get the vote, they should vote by post in their place of normal residence.
- The Committee notes that if the franchise were extended to prisoners serving sentences of 12 months or less it would result in around 7,000 prisoners being able to vote at any given time. The Committee concludes that prisoners' votes are unlikely to have a bearing on the outcome of elections.
- The Committee reviews the history of prisoner voting, and notes that while there has been a partial prohibition on prisoner voting since 1870, prisoners could and did vote from the late 1940s (when postal voting was introduced) until the imposition of a complete prohibition in 1969.
- The Committee notes concerns over the European Court of Human Rights' interpretation of the Convention as a "living instrument", and highlights the unpredictability of the Court's approach to prisoner voting.Copies of the report plus further details of the Committee including its full Membership and transcripts of evidence sessions can be obtained via its website
The Joint Committee was appointed to consider and report on the Draft Voting Eligibility (Prisoners) Bill, which was published in November 2012.
The draft Bill responds to the 2005 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Hirst v The United Kingdom (No. 2) that the UK's current prohibition on prisoners voting contravenes Article 3, Protocol 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which requires states to "hold free elections ... under conditions which will ensure the free expression of the opinion of the people in the choice of the legislature". The Draft Bill sets out three options: enfranchisement of prisoners serving less than 4 years; enfranchisement of prisoners serving 12 months or less; and confirmation of the existing prohibitions.
More information and links ...
You can visit the Joint Committee website where you can see its full Membership and transcripts of evidence sessions