I am a first year BAMMJ student at Bournemouth University, Assistant News Editor for the Bournemouth Rock and News Reader for Nerve Radio. This blog is a showcase of my work, enjoy!

Sunday 17 May 2015

Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

By Abi Simpson
HMP Norwich, Britannia Barracks
Photo by: Caroline Astell
A prisoners right to vote: liberty or luxury?  This is a question which seems to have split the country down the middle. 

Surrounded by ‘keep calm’ posters, tea drinkers and all things stereotypically British you wouldn’t know you were in anything but a normal quaint little café, with a great view sipping earl grey, unless you looked behind you. 

The crumbling Victorian structure of HMP Norwich is not something that can be easily missed upon approach to this popular establishment, even with the stunning panoramic views over the whole of Norwich.   

The location isn’t the only thing slightly different about Café Britannia, as most of the staff waiting on the mismatched tables are serving prisoners or ex-offenders. 

Tim Ansell, a 29 year old ex-offender is one of them.  He has recently been released from prison having served an 8 ½ year sentence for threatening to kill someone.  Ansell was issued with an Indeterminate sentence for the Protection of the Public (IPP) in 2006.

The controversial topic of whether prisoners should be allowed to vote has been in the spotlight since 2005 when convicted killer John Hirst took the UK to the European Court of Human Rights over the issue and won. 

The subject is one that has split the country pretty much down the middle.  Ansell is among those who believe prisoners should not be allowed to vote.

Looking slightly nervous, he was quiet and almost mousy, tall with dark eyes he appeared to have strong feelings about what he thought the rights of prisoners should be.

Ansell said: “I think it’s just a given understanding that when you’re incarcerated you will obviously have your civil liberties removed from you and one of those is the right to vote.”

“It’s just part of the package you receive, I don’t think you should be able to vote purely because you know you committed a crime and the laws of the land state that you may face a penalty that’s appropriate” such as a custodial sentence.

He argued that: “If you’re going to let me vote then why not let me go to the shop, you know where are you going to draw the line?”

In February 2015, the European Court of Human Rights ruled for the fourth time against the UK’s blanket ban on the right of prisoners to vote and with the recent election many are hoping to see a change in the law.

Alex Hewson from the Prison Reform Trust disagrees with Ansell saying prisoners should be allowed to vote. 

He argues that: “People are sent to prison to lose their liberty; not their identity.  The 19th Century punishment of civic death makes no sense in a 21st Century prison system focussed on effective rehabilitation.”

Hewson said: “Nearly 65 000 UK citizens were denied the vote in last week’s general election.” 

Online GraphingHe said: “Under the UK’s blanket ban, declared unlawful by the European Court over a decade ago, people serving a custodial sentence are unable to vote.  People held on remand are allowed to vote but often can’t.”

The Prison Reform Trust feels that: “The UK is out of step with other European countries, as well as many states around the world.”

The European Court of Human Rights have told the UK government on 4 separate occasions that the current laws on prisoners’ rights to vote are in breach of Article 3 of the First Protocol of the European Convention of Human Rights, which says everyone is entitled to free and fair elections. 

Sean Humber, Partner and Head of the Human Rights Department at the law firm Leigh Day in London, represented over 500 prisoners in the most recent action taken to Strasbourg.

Humber specialises in prison law and has represented prisoners in a variety of matters for the last 15 years. 

He said, this last action was first brought shortly after the 2010 general election and has been “chuntering back and forth for the last few years.”

“The blanket ban remained in place despite our letters to the government, so we decided to take it to Strasbourg.”

Even though the ECHR ruled in favour of the prisoners earlier this year, a “flaw of the system is that it is left to the government to sort out the matter once they’ve found to be in breach” as there is no “formal mechanism in place to enforce it” meaning that the UK government don’t actually have to change the law if they don’t want to. 

Humber said: “Personally I think all prisoners should be allowed to vote, they still remain a part of society, they use the NHS, they have families that use the education system, some of them work and even pay taxes” whilst in prison.

“It seems strange that they shouldn’t be allowed to vote.  The idea of a kind of ‘civic death’ when you go into prison is an attitude from the Victorian times.”

Since the rulings in Strasbourg there have been suggestions that maybe some prisoners and not others should be allowed to vote, as it is only the ‘blanket ban’ that has been found to be in breach. 

Humber argued that some governments aren’t prepared to go as far as to allow all prisoners to vote and so maybe those with shorter sentences or those coming to the end of their terms should be awarded the vote.

Humber is not alone in his belief that prisoners should be allowed to vote. 

Frank Owens, 41, author of the ‘The Little Guide to Prison, a Beginners Guide’ and ex-offender also thinks that prisoners should be allowed the vote, but thinks this is unlikely to happen.

Owens, also known as prisoner A1443CA, served a year in prison for witness intimidation, but says his incarceration was due to his, then untreated, bipolar disorder.

He believes that anyone who has committed a crime that is not a Category A prisoner should be allowed to vote.  They are “a resident of the UK” and therefore “should be eligible to vote.”

But with over 90, 000 people incarcerated in the UK, this represents quite a small percentage of the total number of people allowed to vote.  Owens argues, that politicians would lose more than 90 000 votes if they were to push to allow prisoners the right, so it simply isn’t worth it.  It would cause more problems than it would solve.

He said: “There are two types of criminality, the ones that get caught and the ones that don’t.”

“If you ride a train and don’t pay for a ticket and walk away you have committed a crime.  But if you haven’t got caught then you’re not a criminal and you’re allowed to vote.”

It comes back to the argument of where to draw the line, and who in society should be allowed to decide where that line is drawn.

Owens said: “If you allow a vote for one prisoner you can’t distinguish one with the other by their crime.  This is why it’s a topic that really won’t do anything more than antagonise society.”

What do you think, should prisoners be allowed to vote?



Thursday 19 March 2015

How to stay safe during the solar eclipse

By Abi Simpson

People across the United Kingdom will experience the first major solar eclipse since 1999 tomorrow morning.  Here's some tips for watching it safely. 

Obviously the best way to watch the eclipse would be through professional equipment, but not all of us can afford the latest tech.  Here are some cheaper ways of staying safe.
Solar eclipse glasses                           Photo by: Joaquin Souryis

Solar Eclipse Glasses:
The best, safest and cheapest way of watching the eclipse tomorrow would be through special eclipse viewing glasses, These are available on Ebay although you may have to spend quite a lot of money, they are also being given away free with issues of the BBC's Sky at Night magazine.

Kitchen Colander:
Yes, that's right you can watch the solar eclipse through your kitchen colander.  Simply stand with your back to the sun, hold the colander in one hand and put a piece of paper behind it.  The holes in the colander will project lots of shadows of the eclipse onto the paper.

Pinhole Viewer:
Hold up a piece of card with a pinhole in it, and stand with your back to the sun.  Hold a piece of white paper or card, behind the one with a pinhole in it.  The image of the eclipse will be projected by the sun through the pinhole onto the piece of paper.

Photo by: NASA's Marshall Flight Center 
Whichever method you use, it's important to stay safe during tomorrow's eclipse.  Contrary to rumour, sunglasses will not protect your eyes from the eclipse, and should not be used as protection to stare at the sun.

Professionals are also warning that taking 'solar selfies' could cause blindness.  The sun emits radiation which can burn the retina of the eye, causing blindness.  So when taking your selfies tomorrow, avoid looking directly at the sun.  

The eclipse is expected to reach it's peak at 9:31, with a slight delay depending on where you are in the country.  The best eclipse is expected in Scotland.  However, with the weather forecast set as cloudy tomorrow, it could be that none of us will get to see as much as we would like.

Bottoms up after the budget

Photo by: Simon Cocks
By Abi Simpson

Chancellor George Osborne delivered his sixth budget today, outlining lots of changes for the coming year.  Here is a run down of the top five changes announced by the Treasury.

Click here for the full story...

Wednesday 18 March 2015

New £1 coin design revealed by the Royal Mint

By Abi Simpson

The Royal Mint revealed today, the new design to go on the next £1 coin. 

15 year old David Pearce, from Walsall, won the competition to design the 'tails' side of the coin.

David was really excited to hear the news, and was shocked that he'd actually won.

He was told today that he had won the competition by Chancellor George Osborne, who said the coin would be recognisable for years to come.

The design features the four flowers associated with each of the United Kingdom's Nations.

The winning desin: rose, leek, thistle and a clover leaf
This £1 coin will be like no other, it will have 12 sides and consist of two different colours.

The Royal Mint has said it will become the most secure coin in circulation because of the two metals included in the design and new anti-counterfeiting technology.

David defeated 6000 other entries in the competition.  The coin will be in circulation as of 2017.

The Budget 2015

By Abi Simpson

Today marked the final budget of this government, with the general election in only 50 days. But what does this mean for you?

George Osborne delivered his sixth budget as Chancellor of the Exchequer today.  But what did it say, here is a summary of some of the main points.

The UK's economy grew by 2.4% last year, and Mr Osborne predicted a growth of a further 2.5% for the coming year.

Unemployment in Britain fell by 5.3%, with employment at a record high.

Inflation is expected to continue to fall, reaching 0.2% in 2015.

Borrowing is also set to fall by nearly £7 billion this year, from £97.5 billion to £90.2 billion.

Welfare bills are expected to be an average of £3 billion less than was predicted in December.

Widows of policemen and fireman will now be able to remarry, and their existing pensions will be protected.

More importantly, beer duty will be cut by 1p a pint and cider by 2p.  There will also be a freeze on wine duty, and a 2% cut in excise duty on Scotch whisky.

Petrol duty has also been frozen, and the planned increases for September cancelled.

The tax-free personal allowance will rise from £10 000 to £11 000 by 2017, with an increase to £10 600 in the next tax year.

Annual paper tax returns are to be scrapped and replaced by digital accounts.
Photo by: HM Treasury

The budget also appears to favour savers, with the first £1000 interest on savings income to be tax-free for basic rate taxpayers and a £500 allowance for 40p taxpayers.

First time buyers will also have access to 'Help to Buy' ISA's, where the government will add £50 for every £200 saved for a deposit.

£25 million has been set aside to help war and nuclear attack veterans.

These are among some of the proposals laid out in today's budget.  

Monday 16 March 2015

Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

Please help me out by answering this one question, it's for a piece I'm preparing to do as part of an assignment at university.  My final feature piece will go on here as soon as it's complete.

Should prisoners be allowed to vote?



Thursday 12 March 2015

Sir Terry Pratchett has died, aged 66

By Abi Simpson
Photo by: Frederico Gianacelli

The renowned fantasy author, Sir Terry Pratchett, has died aged 66. 

The creator of the famous Discworld series has died eight years after being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

The author died at home surrounded by his family, with the cat asleep next to him on the bed.

Pratchett published 70 books during his long career, finishing the final one last summer.

The announcement of his death was made on his Twitter page on Thursday afternoon, with his daughter Rhianna writing shortly after: "Many thanks for all the kind words about my Dad.  Those last few tweets were sent with shaking hands and tear-filled eyes."

Despite his campaign for assisted suicide, which began shortly after his diagnosis, his death was completely natural.

Sir Terry was known well for his flamboyant looks, and his floppy black hat.  He will be greatly missed by all his family, friends and fans.


The End.