- Published
The Conservatives have promised to build 50,000 new prison places in England and Wales to stop criminals being released early, if they return to government.
asserted
they → publish → government
The party said it would cost £2bn per year to build and run the new prisons, funded by spending cuts including to the foreign aid budget.
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it → say → budget
On Thursday hundreds of prisoners were released early, under new rules introduced to prevent jails reaching capacity, with around 4,500 due to be freed by next summer.
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4,500 → release → summer
Labour blamed the previous Tory government for leaving "our criminal justice system at breaking point" and said the party's proposals were not "credible".
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proposals → blame → point
The announcement comes as Conservative members gather for the party's annual conference in Birmingham, which begins on Sunday.
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which → come → Sunday
Prisons in England and Wales have been running close to capacity for years, with the latest government figures showing they are 98% full.
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they → run → years
Under the latest early release scheme, eligible prisoners can now be released on a community licence after serving one-third of their jail sentence.
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prisoners → release → sentence
Those excluded include prisoners convicted of murder, manslaughter, a sexual or grooming-related offence, or a driving offence that led to a death.
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that → exclude → death
The government has also effectively scrapped one-year jail terms.
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government → scrap → terms
The Tories said they would use extra prison capacity to reverse these measures.
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they → say → measures
An early release programme introduced by the previous Conservative government saw more than 10,000 prisoners freed early between October 2023 and September 2024.
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prisoners → introduce → October
Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch said: "A violent criminal doesn't become less dangerous just because the government has run out of prison cells."
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government → say → cells
She added: "[Labour's] answer is to let dangerous offenders out even earlier instead of building the prison spaces we need."
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we → add → spaces
Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said: "The Tories are taking the public for fools.
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Tories → say → fools
Across 14 years in government, they added just 500 prison places and closed 23 prisons.
"
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they → add → prisons
Now Kemi Badenoch expects the British people to believe they'll build 50,000."
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they → expect → 50,000
Meanwhile, the Prison Governors' Association said "long-term investment" was needed and warned a "staffing crisis" would pose challenges to delivering new prisons.
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crisis → say → prisons
If the party wins power, the Tories said they would introduce legislation early in the new Parliament to override planning and procurement barriers, allowing the process to be "fast-tracked".
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process → win → barriers
It said the use of private finance would help speed up delivery and control costs.
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use → say → costs
The Tories said their proposals would increase this figure by more than 50%, with the vast majority of new places expected within the party's first Parliament in government - up to five years - and the full increase delivered within seven years.
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proposals → say → years
The £2bn a year cost would be funded through savings in other areas, including cutting the aid budget by £1bn and reducing the budget of the Department for Culture Media and Sport by £1bn.
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cost → fund → 1bn
The Labour government has promised to add 14,000 extra prison space by 2031.
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government → promise → 2031
The Tories argued increasing prison places would cut crime and prevent reoffending by keeping serious criminals off the streets.
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increasing → argue → streets
Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said: "Prison works.
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Prison → say → ?
It works by punishing and deterring, but most importantly by incapacitating.
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It → work → ?
"Prison should keep violent and repeat offenders away from the law-abiding public."
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Prison → keep → public
The prison population has risen significantly in recent decades, partly as a result of longer sentences and more people being returned to prison for breaching the conditions of their release.
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population → rise → release
Successive governments have pledged to increase the number of prison places - but delivery has often fallen short of those promises.
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delivery → pledge → promises
New prisons take years to build, often facing local opposition and obstacles in the planning process.
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prisons → take → process
The Prison Governors' Association said: "Building 50,000 cells is one thing; finding the thousands of experienced officers, governors and specialists needed to run them safely is quite another.
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finding → say → them
"Politicians have spent years announcing prison places while the service struggles with overcrowding, ageing infrastructure and staffing shortages.
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service → spend → overcrowding
The real test is not how many places can be promised, but how many prisons can be operated safely, effectively, and sustainably."
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prisons → promise → ?
The Aporia
