A man convicted of murder in Inverness lost his bid yesterday to be allowed to vote while he serves his sentence.
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal by George McGeoch and fellow convict Peter Chester.
Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the decision, saying it was a “victory for commonsense” and pledged that his government would not give prisoners voting rights.
McGeoch is serving his life sentence at Dumfries Prison for killing Eric Innes in the Highland capital in 1998.
He received a minimum term of 13 years but, due to subsequent convictions for offences in prison – including taking two nurses hostage during a siege in 2001 – he will not be considered for parole until 2015.
Chester, who is in his 50s, is serving life for raping and strangling his seven-year-old niece, Donna Marie Gillbanks, in Blackpool in 1977.
Lawyers argued that European law gave the men the right to vote, even though UK law does not.
In 2005, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that a blanket ban on serving prisoners going to the polls was incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights.
However, in a judgment delivered yesterday, a panel of seven judges dismissed the challenge by McGeoch and Chester. Lady Hale, deputy president of the Supreme Court, said: “Prisoners’ voting is an emotive subject.
“Some people feel very strongly that prisoners should not be allowed to vote. And public opinion polls indicate that most people share that view.”
She said there was a “substantial majority” against it, adding that parliament had voted against relaxation of the law.
Lady Hale said: “In such circumstances, it is incumbent upon the courts to tread delicately.”
The prime minister said the government had made a “compelling and forceful” argument against giving prisoners the vote.
“I do not believe that prisoners should have the vote and I believe that it is a matter for this House of Commons (to decide whether they should have the vote),” he said.
“The Supreme Court today has stood up for commonsense, it has stood up for democracy and it has made clear that it has nothing to do with the European Union and I think we can all rejoice at that result.”
Sean Humber, head of human rights at law firm Leigh Day, which represents more than 500 prisoners taking legal action through the ECHR, said: “Over the last decade, the European Court of Human Rights have repeatedly found that the blanket ban on prisoner voting in the UK represents a breach of prisoners’ human rights.
“As such, the UK Government remains morally and legally bound to take the necessary action to remedy the breach.”