Prisoners serving up to four years in jail would be given the vote if Green Party came to power… as critics claim Zack Polanski is trying to reform voting system in his favour
If the Green Party comes to power, prisoners will be given the vote, according to a new law that the party has forced to vote in Parliament.
Hard-left parliamentarians will force Parliament to reckon with the controversial policy.
They want criminals sentenced to up to four years in prison to vote in both local and national elections.
This will have a major impact on May council elections, where the Greens are widely expected to benefit from a surge in support.
Some have suggested this is part of a tactic to ‘prepare the books’ by rearranging the voting system to their advantage and increasing the number of radical Green MPs and councillors.
David Cameron resisted a similar initiative when he was Prime Minister, saying the idea of allowing prisoners to vote made him feel ‘physically ill’.
Zack Polanski regularly outperforms Labor in the polls and garners support from the Left, despite his controversial past as a breast-enlargement hypnotherapist.
As well as reforming the electoral system, the move is also part of Mr Polanski’s broader plan for “restorative justice”: encouraging criminals to “fix” their victims to prevent criminals from suffering “further harm”.
Green Party Leader Zack Polanski addressed Green Party members during a members’ event in Cambridge on Saturday.
Under their other controversial plans, prisoners would have access to ‘meaningful activities’ such as education and arts facilities if detained.
According to him, criminals would be locked up with or near their families and friends.
This approach angered critics. A government source said: ‘They reward those who harm British society.’
Green MPs will push for a vote on the legislation as part of Labour’s ‘Representation of the People Bill’, which will give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote.
As the Greens and Reform race ahead of Labor and the Conservatives among the ‘TikTok generation’, a Whitehall source said: ‘This action will be the first recorded case of turkeys voting for Christmas.’
The Daily Mail previously revealed Green’s plans to legalize prostitution and provide free homes, wages and NHS care to illegal immigrants.
Mr Polanski has come under fire for his ‘soft on crime’ approach, which would legalize crack cocaine and unleash hordes of criminals onto the streets en masse.
A Government source said: ‘If extending the vote to all prisoners serving up to four years in prison is what Green MPs want to prioritize, that tells you all you need to know. ‘They are not a serious government party.’
