Cameron vows to defy Europe on prisoner voting Backbench MPs said it was a "good day" for democracy and the Prime Minister had "drawn a line in the sand." It came as parliamentary research suggested European judges would like to see at least one in four prisoners get the vote, including thousands of sex offenders and violent thugs. The Echr ruling, first made in 2004, has led to an eight year battle between the UK and Strasbourg over who dictates voting rights. Mr Cameron previously said the prospect of granting prisoners the vote made him "sick in the stomach" and has been under increasing pressure to defy the court. Last February, MPs voted by 234 to 22 to maintain the voting ban. The motion was not binding but the Government has held it up as the view of Parliament. Mr Cameron was asked during Prime Minister's Question Time yesterday if he would give an "undertaking not to succumb to the dictact" of the Echr and would "stand up for the sovereignty" of parliament and the British people. He said: "The short answer is yes. I have always believed when you are sent to prison you lose certain rights and one of those rights is the right to vote. Speaking earlier, Mr Balls said: "This is one of those times in politics where there is cross-party consensus. The court first said this in 2004, that prisoners should be able to vote, and Labour then said we disagree and we did not implement it. If David Cameron is going to go out there and fight this one, we will be supporting him on that. Andy Burnham, the shadow health secretary, added: "The court has crossed a line with this one and we need to take a stand genuinely. It's an unacceptable intrusion into domestic policy in my view. I do think there is an important issue of principle here and we should together send a very clear message back to Strasbourg. Dominic Raab, the Tory MP, said: "This is a good day for British democracy. The Prime Minister is absolutely right to defend our democratic authority. The decision will have zero negative practical consequences for us, because we can't be fined and compensation awards are unenforceable, but it draws an important constitutional line in the sand. The Echr upheld its ruling on the UK at the same time that it backed a voting system in Italy where inmates serving less than three years are allowed to vote. Research carried out for the House of Commons Library found a similar rule in this country would mean more than 22,000 prisoners would be allowed to vote, including more than 1,200 sex offenders and almost 5,000 violent offenders.