Prisoner voting - parameters of reform remain unclear  

Extracts from the article as follows:

...“It is likely the reforms will allow the vote to short term prisoners, and prisoners serving for non-violent or sexual offences. This runs counter to the long-held common law principle that prisoners lose their liberty but retain all other civil rights which are not necessarily taken away by incarceration (Raymond v Honey), and is also contrary to the views of many commentators, including some prison governors, who believe participation in civil society is an important part of rehabilitation,” [Weatherby] says.

So how appropriate is the suggestion that judges may be given responsibility for deciding which criminals should be allowed to vote when sentencing? “There are a number of countries which allow for the right to vote to be controlled and curtailed by judges, and there is nothing which makes this inherently unlawful,” says Weatherby. He adds that in cases involving election offences or the integrity of the State this may be justified, but otherwise this would introduce a discretionary element to interference with the democratic process—something which sits uneasily with the separation of powers."