Alexandra Runswick (London, Unlock Democracy): For me the last six months have felt like death by a thousand government consultations. Unlock Democracy has been responding to consultations on the role of the Attorney General, war powers, treaty ratification, how petitions should be used in local government, freedom of information regulations and flag flying to name but a few. But there is one that seems to have disappeared without a trace: on the right of prisoners to vote.
On 6th October 2005 (in the case of Hirst v the United Kingdom), the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg ruled that the UK ban on prisoners voting breached the right to free elections, and was "a blunt tool." The government duly acknowledged that there would need to be a change in the law to allow at least some prisoners the right to vote and in December 2006 announced a consultation on how this should be done. But that was the last that was heard of it. The consultation closed in March 2007 and has been missing in action ever since.
The Cabinet Officer guidelines on public consultations state that the government must
make sure all responses are carefully and open-mindedly analysed, and the results made widely available, with an account of the views expressed and the reasons for decisions finally taken
But a year on no report of the consultation has been published and, according to the Electoral Services division of the Ministry of Justice, there is no timetable for publishing an analysis of the consultation or to make any announcements about how the government intends to take this matter forward, although apparently it is "being considered."
So the UK remains in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and consultees remain in the dark. At a time when many people are convinced there is no point in taking part in government consultations, this is hardly helpful. Anyone would think they simply wanted this inconvenient and controversial issue to disappear.
