At least David Cameron was right about one thing – prisoners must not get the vote

There's a sentence many of us never thought we would say.

But the very suggestion of prisoners being given the right to vote makes me, like our former Prime Minister, feel physically sick.

For 12 years, Britain has done the right thing in ignoring the ludicrous ruling of the European courts that our blanket ban was a breach of – you've guessed it – criminals' human rights!

What about the human rights of the granny robbed of her life savings?

Or the human rights of the child molested by a paedophile?

Where is the consideration of the human rights of hundreds of thousands of people in this country who are victims of crime every year?

Surely I'm not alone in thinking that when you break the law you forfeit your rights?

I'm not talking about removing all rights. I'm not suggesting we starve prisoners, for example. I'm even quite happy for them to spend all day watching TV if it means they aren't beating lumps out of each other or inflicting abuse or violence on hard-working prison guards.

Call me old fashioned, but prison is meant to be a punishment.

It is staggering the amount of time, and no doubt taxpayers' money, we spend discussing the rights of prisoners and of 'rehabilitation'.

Do we really need an army of teachers, mentors, probation officers, and social workers to re-integrate lags into society?

The rest of us law-abiding citizens managed to get our heads around the concept that you don't batter people or steal from them by the time we were out of nappies.

So why do we persist in spending millions of taxpayers' pounds to teach crooks what is so plainly obvious and a matter of common decency?

And given that prisoners only serve half their sentences behind bars (a concept which most of us struggle to understand why), this is an utter nonsense.

How many prisoners do we actually expect to exercise their not-so-hard-earned right to vote?

I know in this day and age we aren't meant to generalise, but crims don't strike me as the type of people who take pride in their civic duty.

Yes, we want them to be reformed characters when they leave but they have to earn back their rights and freedoms.

Whilst I'm sure they are well-intentioned, those who constantly bleat on about prisoners' rights forget why they are behind bars in the first place.

They are there to be punished and – importantly – to be taken off the streets to keep us safe.

Do we really want criminals who pose a risk to society to be influencing and deciding the political future of this country?

What next? Will MPs be canvassing the wings of HMP Featherstone?

No doubt the Liberal Democrats will shamelessly make any pledge imaginable to drum up support amongst the incarcerated.

Labour already has announced its support for votes for crims.

Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott, who would be in charge of law and order should Britain have a red revolution, says the party backs the European Court of Human Rights on this issue.

And you can't even turn to the Conservatives for common sense.

Justice Secretary David Lidington is reported to be considering letting those sentenced to less than a year in jail and those let out on day release to cast their votes.

Have we really become so pathetic?

Government sources say they fear being sued by prisoners if they do not act.

I would have some sympathy for that argument, but the European courts put the kibosh on that years ago by ruling out compensation.

So let's just do what all our European neighbours do and ignore this bonkers judgment from Strasbourg.

Prime Minister Theresa May, who makes claims of fighting injustice, must know that giving prisoners the vote is fundamentally wrong.

It is also immoral and repugnant.

Britain stands tall as a model of a successful and enlightened democracy with a fair and robust judicial system revered and replicated across the world.

It's one of the reasons we are respected and our counsel sought on the international stage.

So when it so blatantly obvious to millions of good honest Brits that giving prisoners the vote is wrong, why is much of our political class out of touch?

If this Tory Government has any sense it will do what Mr Cameron did for the tenure of his time in Downing Street, and do nothing.