The scale of reoffending in the UK cannot simply be attributed to the fact that prisoners cannot, every five years, vote which party they want in power. A better way to improve rehabilitation rates would be to increase training and job opportunities for ex-offenders, not let them choose which politician dictates foreign policy. To claim that the loss of the right to vote has a major impact on their lives when their civil liberties, including freedom of movement and communication, are all limited is a mistake. If we therefore accept that rehabilitation for people who repeatedly reoffend must follow a longer path and that it will not be helped by voting, the next logical step would be to implement the punitive side of the justice system. This would mean that losing the vote (which as I have shown above does not constitute a violation of human rights for repeat offenders and those guilty of the most serious crimes) would be the logical conclusion. We can see how removing the right to vote from some prisoners is justified; if we can demonstrate that, due to their continued recidivism or the severity of the crime, they do not understand the purpose of voting and