NO BAR TO VOTING......

I've been burgled. Twice. Major ransacking of my tiny little flat in Salford was the major reason I moved to the quiet hills of Hebden Bridge 14 years ago.
And having your house trashed is a not a pleasant business.
However......it woulsd made not ablind bit of difference to my distress had my burglars had access to the ballot box.
Indeed, I hope they would have voted Labour - and remain utterly astonished at the way in which the various Westminster tribes have huddled together on the issue of prisoners voting.
Only a handful of Labour MPs (Glenda Jackson, Andy Love, John McDonnell, Kerry McCarthy) took the (I think) sensible stance that just because you are behind bars that does not utterly negate your basic right to have a say in our democracy.
In short, you are still a human being
But clearly I am in a minority so tiny it does not even include most of the "usual suspects."
Did the overwhelming majority of MPs back this incredibly reactionary stance on a wave of outrage whipped up by "libertarian" Tory David Davis and hard-liner Jack Straw.
Or were they just scared of upsetting constituents also frothing at the mouth thanks to the rubbish spouted by the Daily Mail et al.
For the life of me I cannot see what the fuss was all about.
Even the poor wretches shipped off in clanking irons and transported to Australia eventually got the chance to rehabilitate into society.
In denying prisoners the vote, we are writing them off as irredeemable. Bad call.