10/02/11 - The Rt. Hon. David Davis MP joins Chris Kelly MP in calling for 'no votes for prisoners'

Former Shadow Home Secretary & leadership contender, the Rt. Hon. David Davis MP, recently joined Chris Kelly MP at the Dudley South Conservative Association’s annual dinner at The Granary in Shenstone.

Mr Davis, scourge of prisoners demanding the right to vote, delivered a typically robust address to a record, sell-out audience of 150 including many members of the Conservative Party in Dudley, local residents and senior local business representatives. Mr Davis’s remarks included the importance of the recent Commons vote on a motion he tabled calling on the Government to block the attempt by some serving prisoners to obtain the right to vote via the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Last week MPs voted on the motion put forward by Mr Davis and veteran Labour MP Jack Straw stating - in strong terms - the dissatisfaction amongst MPs with the ruling from the ECHR that we, in Britain, must give prisoners the right to vote:

'That this House notes the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights in Hirst v the United Kingdom in which it held that there had been no substantive debate by members of the legislature on the continued justification for maintaining a general restriction on the right of prisoners to vote; acknowledges the treaty obligations of the UK; is of the opinion that legislative decisions of this nature should be a matter for democratically-elected lawmakers; and supports the current situation in which no sentenced prisoner is able to vote except those imprisoned for contempt, default or on remand.'

The Commons vote was a free vote which meant that MPs were able to vote according to their consciences (or not to vote at all) in an un-whipped vote.

Mr Kelly said: “I felt that it was very important to be in Parliament last Thursday to help deliver the largest majority possible giving the Government a strong hand in arguing with the ECHR. I am pleased to report that 165 Conservative MPs, including myself, voted for the Davis/Straw motion, along with 62 Labour MPs. 22 MPs (almost entirely Labour & Lib Dem) voted against the motion in what I can only describe as a bizarre decision on their part.

“The House of Commons has now spoken loudly and clearly. I cannot for a moment imagine that my constituents would wish to see some of the most serious and vile offenders in the country given the right to vote in our elections. I find the notion sickening and repugnant. The Government now has a strong Parliamentary mandate to find a solution to a problem that Labour did nothing to resolve during their last term in office. It is now likely that the number of years served by prisoners allowed and not allowed to vote will now be determined according to legal advice; the Government should do the absolute minimum to meet its legal obligations in this respect thereby ensuring that the most serious offenders will remain barred from voting whilst payment of compensation to prisoners using taxpayers' money is avoided.”

Mr Kelly concluded by saying that he was “pleased that such a senior member of the Parliamentary Conservative Party agreed to address Dudley South Conservative Association’s annual dinner.” He continued: “I was also pleased that the dinner was held immediately in advance of such a crucial vote on a motion of great concern to so many of my constituents tabled by our prestigious guest speaker himself.”

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NOTES TO EDITORS

High resolution photograph available to download via http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5218/5408561331_95c6c95df5_o_d.jpg

The Dudley South Conservative Association’s annual dinner was held on Friday 28 January 2011 at The Granary Hotel & Restaurant, Heath Lane, Shenstone, Kidderminster, Worcester DY10 4BS. For more details see http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=138697772814139.

The 2012 Dudley South Conservative Association annual dinner will be held on Friday 3 February 2012 at The Granary Hotel & Restaurant, Heath Lane, Shenstone, Kidderminster, Worcester DY10 4BS with the Rt. Hon. Jeremy Hunt MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media & Sport ahead of the 2012 London Olympics - see http://facebook.com/event.php?eid=146705835391132.