Justifying acts of denialism: The case of prisoner disenfranchisement in the UK

Abstract

This chapter will explore the case of prisoner disenfranchisement in the United Kingdom (hereinafter UK) as a concrete example of political denialism and human rights. It will explore the basis of denialism and human rights, from two approaches, asking both how and why denialism is perpetrated and justified in the UK. Initially seeking to challenge how the blanket ban on prisoner voting is justified at a domestic level. The paper will then identify why political denialism is contentious within the concrete example that prisoner disenfranchisement provides, determining the conceptual and legal basis and subsequent political support for the prisoner voting ban.