Five years ago the European Court of Human Rights ruled it was illegal for ministers to deny voting rights to all prisoners.

Since then the government has held two public consultations but the law has not changed. Despite rigorous lobbying from prison and penal reform groups, Britain’s 85,000 prisoners are still not entitled to vote.

However, if they could vote, would they? And which party would be more likely to get their support?

Nacro spoke to a small group of women prisoners about the forthcoming election. The women were from a variety of backgrounds, ranging in age from mid 20s to mid 60s. Some were sentenced and some were on remand.

Never voted

None of the women ever voted when living in the community. We asked why this was; one said she was just too busy to sit and weigh up who would be worth voting for. Another said she didn’t vote because her mother, who never voted either, had always told her they were all as bad as each other. One said she felt that she should have voted out of respect for the woman who fought for the right for women to vote in the past, but never saw it as a priority whilst another felt the whole process was irrelevant to her life and circumstances.

The group was asked if they would vote from prison if given the chance. Three said they definitely would, two weren’t sure, and one still wouldn’t. Those that said they would vote from prison said they would have time whilst in custody to look into what the parties were offering and make an informed decision. One woman said it would be important to exercise the right from prison if someone had fought for it on their behalf.

Party broadcasts

When it came to party policies, there were certain issues that were deemed important. Most of the women had watched party political broadcasts in the few days prior to our talking to them. One area that had stayed with two of the women was the promise from Labour to make sure anyone with a suspected cancer would see a specialist within two weeks; they said they wouldn’t vote for a party that wouldn’t support this pledge.

Drug and alcohol addiction was another important issue for the women. One said she would definitely vote for any party that promised to legalise drugs, saying that this would instantly lead to a massive drop in crime. Another woman didn’t agree with her, but said she would vote for a party that offered more and better help for those with drug addictions. All the women had anecdotes about fellow prisoners who had been in and out of prison countless times because of drug addiction. One estimated that 90% of the prisoners were in for drug or drug related offences. Alcohol was seen as a problem for many women and it was felt that more services should be provided to help with this addiction.

Cuts

This small sample group had varying opinions on policy but interestingly seemed more engaged in politics than they had ever been before. They will not be able to influence the outcome of the polls on 6 May, but as one woman summed up: whichever party was successful, there were bound to be cuts to the prison service. They were already suffering reduced education classes and a lack of counselling and psychological services due to cutbacks throughout the prison.

Like the rest of us, they expected further reductions to these vital services.

Judith Ford and Angela Hughes
Nacro Criminal Justice Solutions