Politicians warned over prisoner voting rights – The Guardian

Posted February 4th, 2011 in elections, human rights, news, prisons by sally

“Europe’s human rights watchdog has warned British politicians that if they continue to exclude prisoners from the right to vote they risk undermining a crucial element of democracy.”

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The Guardian, 4th February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

UK may be forced to give prisoners the vote in time for May elections – The Guardian

Posted February 2nd, 2011 in elections, news, prisons by sally

“The government may be forced to grant the vote to prisoners serving sentences less than four years by this May’s local and European elections or face substantial compensation payouts.”

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The Guardian, 1st February 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Far fewer prisoners will now get the right to vote – The Guardian

Posted January 20th, 2011 in elections, human rights, news, prisons by sally

“Faced by a backbench rebellion, the government is to slash the number of prisoners to be given the right to vote, even though it is likely to increase the risk of successful compensation claims against the government in court.”

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The Guardian, 20th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peers bed down for marathon session to pass reform bill – The Guardian

Posted January 18th, 2011 in elections, news, parliament, referendums by sally

“Lords debate reduction in the number of MPs in parliament.”

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The Guardian, 17th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

28,000 prisoners will have right to vote – The Guardian

Posted January 6th, 2011 in elections, human rights, news, prisons by sally

“More than 28,000 prisoners are to win the right to vote, new figures showed yesterday, as David Cameron faces a growing revolt from the Tory right against the lifting of the 140-year-old ban on inmates voting in British elections.”

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The Guardian, 5th January 2011

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

R (Chester) v Secretary of State for Justice and another – WLR Daily

Posted December 21st, 2010 in elections, human rights, law reports, prisons by sally

“Removing the blanket ban on prisoners’ voting in elections, which was required by decisions of the European Court of Human Rights to comply with the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, involved a controversial area of social policy. It was for the Government to decide on the appropriate amending legislation to be enacted to comply with the law. The judiciary ought not to construe existing statutes so as to confer on the courts the function of deciding whether any given prisoner should lose his vote.”

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WLR Daily, 20th December 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Judges can strip prisoners of voting rights – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 20th, 2010 in elections, news, prisons by sally

“Judges can strip prisoners of the right to vote, while criminals sentenced to four years or more will also be excluded from voting, under new proposals.”

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Daily Telegraph, 17th December 2010

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Regina (Woolas) v Parliamentary Election Court and others – WLR Daily

Posted December 9th, 2010 in elections, judicial review, law reports, parliament by sally

Regina (Woolas) v Parliamentary Election Court and others [2010] EWHC 3169 (Admin); [2010] WLR (D) 217

“The relationship of a parliamentary election court to the High Court was such that it was to be regarded as an inferior tribunal so that its actions could be the subject of judicial review; and the jurisdiction in judicial review of an election court was not confined to an excess of jurisdiction in the narrow sense but extended to correcting errors in its application of the law.”

WLR Daily, 8th December 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Lords ruling paves way for separate AV referendum and election dates – The Guardian

Posted December 7th, 2010 in elections, news, referendums by sally

“Alternative voting referendum could be on a different day from 5 May elections according to a House of Lords amendment.”

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The Guardian, 6th December 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Court clarifies constitutional role in Woolas decision – The Guardian

Posted December 6th, 2010 in constitutional law, elections, news, parliament by sally

“Phil Woolas has lost his election court challenge but the decision shines a light on an obscure part of the constitutional system.”

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The Guardian, 3rd December 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Woolas’s exit paves way for BNP to stand in by-election – The Independent

Posted December 6th, 2010 in defamation, elections, news, parliament by sally

“Phil Woolas has given up his battle against becoming the first MP for almost a century to lose his seat for lying about an opponent.”

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The Independent, 4th December 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Regina (Conservative and Unionist Party) v Election Commissioner – WLR Daily

Posted November 25th, 2010 in costs, elections, law reports, local government by sally

Regina (Conservative and Unionist Party) v Election Commissioner [2010] EWCA Civ 1332; [2010] WLR (D) 296

“It was not open to a petitioner to an election court to seek an order for costs under s 51 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 against the respondent’s political party and its local party association who had not been parties to the petition. Once the election commissioner had made a final order for costs and dealt with all aspects of the petiton under the Representation of the People Act 1983 he did not have the authority to re-open a decision as to costs and consider making an order against a third party.”

WLR Daily, 24th November 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Give prisoners the vote in six months or face severe penalties, UK warned – The Guardian

Posted November 23rd, 2010 in elections, human rights, news, prisons by sally

“The UK must introduce laws allowing prisoners to vote within six months or face severe legal and financial penalties, the European court of human rights has warned.”

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The Guardian, 23rd November 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Election for the 2011 Bar Council: Results – The Bar Council

Posted November 23rd, 2010 in barristers, elections, news by sally

Cick here to view the election results for the 2011 Bar Council.

The Bar Council, 22nd November 2010

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Judgement reserved in Phil Woolas election case – BBC News

Posted November 18th, 2010 in disciplinary procedures, elections, judicial review, news by sally

“Three High Court judges considering former Labour MP Phil Woolas’s bid to overturn his ban from politics have reserved judgement.”

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BBC News, 17th November 2010

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Voting reform referendum will go ahead in May 2011 – The Independent

Posted November 16th, 2010 in elections, news, referendums by sally

“A referendum on whether to ditch the first-past-the-post voting system will go ahead next May after Labour peers failed narrowly in an attempt to derail the Government’s timetable.”

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The Independent, 16th November 2010

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Phil Woolas challenging ban from politics – BBC News

Posted November 16th, 2010 in appeals, disciplinary procedures, elections, judicial review, news by sally

“Former Labour immigration minister Phil Woolas will begin a legal bid to overturn a ruling that he should be banned from politics for three years.”

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BBC News, 16th November 2010

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Watkins v Woolas – WLR Daily

Watkins v Woolas [2010] EWHC 2702 (QB); [2010] WLR (D) 288

“S 106 of the Representation of the People Act 1983, which imposed the penalties for an election candidate found guilty of a corrupt or illegal practice, was compatible with the right to freedom of expression contained in art 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. The interference with the right to freedom of expression by s 106 and the penalties imposed for breach of that section were proportionate to the legitimate aim of the section.”

WLR Daily, 12th November 2010

Source: www.lawreports.co.uk

Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.

Lords committee criticises government plans for constitutional reform – The Guardian

Posted November 15th, 2010 in constitutional reform, elections, news, parliament by sally

“A collection of peers has criticised the government’s proposed constitutional changes, concluding that the reforms will strengthen the executive’s grip on parliament.”

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The Guardian, 12th November 2010

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Peers threaten voting reform bill – BBC News

Posted November 15th, 2010 in elections, news, parliament, referendums by sally

“Government plans for a referendum in May on changing the voting system could be at risk if peers vote later to refer them to a Lords committee.”

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BBC News, 15th November 2010

Source: www.bbc.co.uk