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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/scotland-blog/2013/may/13/scottish-independence-prisoner-votes
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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Scottish independence poll 'is time to end ban on prisoners votes' | Scottish independence poll 'is time to end ban on prisoners votes' |
| (9 days later) | |
| This is a strange time to be in Scotland for those who want to see an end to the UK's blanket ban on voting by convicted prisoners. | This is a strange time to be in Scotland for those who want to see an end to the UK's blanket ban on voting by convicted prisoners. |
| Alex Salmond, our first minister, has commendably said: | Alex Salmond, our first minister, has commendably said: |
| The UK government is out of step with civilised people across the continent… The European convention on human rights fulfils a valuable role in Scottish society. | The UK government is out of step with civilised people across the continent… The European convention on human rights fulfils a valuable role in Scottish society. |
| and | and |
| an independent Scotland could be a beacon for progressive opinion south of the border and further afield – addressing policy challenges in ways which reflect the universal values of fairness. | an independent Scotland could be a beacon for progressive opinion south of the border and further afield – addressing policy challenges in ways which reflect the universal values of fairness. |
| It is not long since the Scottish parliament voted to "dedicate itself once more to the vision of an inclusive Scotland that respects, protects and realises the human rights of all". | It is not long since the Scottish parliament voted to "dedicate itself once more to the vision of an inclusive Scotland that respects, protects and realises the human rights of all". |
| Our Cabinet secretary for justice, Kenny MacAskill, has said: | Our Cabinet secretary for justice, Kenny MacAskill, has said: |
| Keeping our communities safe and helping offenders turn their lives around are inextricably linked. | Keeping our communities safe and helping offenders turn their lives around are inextricably linked. |
| This is all to be welcomed and you might therefore expect Holyrood to take a more enlightened line on prisoners' voting rights. Yet on this subject, when it comes to making law rather than speeches, so far it is business as usual. | This is all to be welcomed and you might therefore expect Holyrood to take a more enlightened line on prisoners' voting rights. Yet on this subject, when it comes to making law rather than speeches, so far it is business as usual. |
| The Scottish government has a free hand to legislate on the franchise for next year's referendum. It has chosen not only to reproduce the UK blanket ban, but to go a step further. | The Scottish government has a free hand to legislate on the franchise for next year's referendum. It has chosen not only to reproduce the UK blanket ban, but to go a step further. |
| The relevant referendum franchise bill is designed specifically to ensure that when it comes to having a say on independence, Scottish prisoners should not even benefit from any voting rights which Westminster may grudgingly grant them between now and next autumn. | The relevant referendum franchise bill is designed specifically to ensure that when it comes to having a say on independence, Scottish prisoners should not even benefit from any voting rights which Westminster may grudgingly grant them between now and next autumn. |
| This means the Scottish government accepts the possibility that - if the UK government legislates soon to allow inmates to vote in conventional elections - some convicted prisoners may be able to vote in, say, a local government by-election in September 2014, but not on the constitutional future of their country. | This means the Scottish government accepts the possibility that - if the UK government legislates soon to allow inmates to vote in conventional elections - some convicted prisoners may be able to vote in, say, a local government by-election in September 2014, but not on the constitutional future of their country. |
| It remains unclear why ministers are so keen to exclude absolutely all convicted prisoners from a poll of such exceptional long-term importance or why indeed they are so against any prisoners being given the civic responsibility which voting brings. | It remains unclear why ministers are so keen to exclude absolutely all convicted prisoners from a poll of such exceptional long-term importance or why indeed they are so against any prisoners being given the civic responsibility which voting brings. |
| They have declined to comment on how barring all prisoners from the most high-profile electoral event of our lifetimes may work against successful rehabilitation. Any arguments about human rights swiftly become a discussion about the detailed wording of the European convention on human rights, which refers only to the election of governments. | They have declined to comment on how barring all prisoners from the most high-profile electoral event of our lifetimes may work against successful rehabilitation. Any arguments about human rights swiftly become a discussion about the detailed wording of the European convention on human rights, which refers only to the election of governments. |
| In committee, the principle defence from Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, was simply: | In committee, the principle defence from Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, was simply: |
| Right now, convicted prisoners who are serving prison sentences do not get to vote, and I do not consider that there is a good argument for changing the position for the referendum. | Right now, convicted prisoners who are serving prison sentences do not get to vote, and I do not consider that there is a good argument for changing the position for the referendum. |
| We were also told: | We were also told: |
| People who do not commit crimes and do not get sent to jail will have the right to vote. That is a pretty simple principle. | People who do not commit crimes and do not get sent to jail will have the right to vote. That is a pretty simple principle. |
| But of course it is not as simple as that. Even though Scotland has one of the highest rates of imprisonment in western Europe, most people convicted of a crime are not sent to prison. They retain their vote. | But of course it is not as simple as that. Even though Scotland has one of the highest rates of imprisonment in western Europe, most people convicted of a crime are not sent to prison. They retain their vote. |
| Meantime, ministers themselves have rightly fretted that "Scotland is undoubtedly a civilised society, but perhaps it relies on prison to do too much with too many" and welcomed the findings of government commissions which have concluded that too often in Scotland prison is used to deal with failures of social policy, not to protect the public. | Meantime, ministers themselves have rightly fretted that "Scotland is undoubtedly a civilised society, but perhaps it relies on prison to do too much with too many" and welcomed the findings of government commissions which have concluded that too often in Scotland prison is used to deal with failures of social policy, not to protect the public. |
| As Kenny MacAskill has noted, "half our prison population comes from 15 per cent of Scotland's poorest council wards." | As Kenny MacAskill has noted, "half our prison population comes from 15 per cent of Scotland's poorest council wards." |
| Short-term prisoners in particular will experience a form of arbitrary disenfranchisement. In 2011-12, over 10% of custodial sentences handed down were for shop-lifting, with an average length of 116 days – not all of which will be spent behind bars. Should an accident of timing for such a sentence really be enough to lose your say in Scotland's future? The Scottish government has been willing to stand up for other controversial human rights causes. On recent polling, nearly a third of people are already in favour of voting rights for at least some prisoners. | Short-term prisoners in particular will experience a form of arbitrary disenfranchisement. In 2011-12, over 10% of custodial sentences handed down were for shop-lifting, with an average length of 116 days – not all of which will be spent behind bars. Should an accident of timing for such a sentence really be enough to lose your say in Scotland's future? The Scottish government has been willing to stand up for other controversial human rights causes. On recent polling, nearly a third of people are already in favour of voting rights for at least some prisoners. |
| If more people knew that within Europe only Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Russia and the UK now maintain a blanket ban, opinion would probably shift further. | If more people knew that within Europe only Armenia, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Russia and the UK now maintain a blanket ban, opinion would probably shift further. |
| Nor is this tied up with whether you are a yes, a no or a don't know on the question of independence. Supporters and opponents of lifting the ban are found on both sides and neither of that debate. | Nor is this tied up with whether you are a yes, a no or a don't know on the question of independence. Supporters and opponents of lifting the ban are found on both sides and neither of that debate. |
| There is much talk at the moment of what sort of country Scotland might become. But those of us interested in how we treat some of our most disadvantaged, troubled and troubling citizens will be watching the Scottish parliament carefully over the next few weeks. We want to see what sort of place Scotland is capable of being right now. | There is much talk at the moment of what sort of country Scotland might become. But those of us interested in how we treat some of our most disadvantaged, troubled and troubling citizens will be watching the Scottish parliament carefully over the next few weeks. We want to see what sort of place Scotland is capable of being right now. |
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