Labour responds to Tory proposals on prisons

Bridget Phillipson MP, Chair of the Labour Party, responding to the Tory prison proposals, said:

The Tories are taking the public for fools. Across 14 years in government, they added just 500 prison places and closed 23 prisons. Now Kemi Badenoch expects the British people to believe they'll build 50,000. These proposals are just not credible from a party who left our criminal justice system at breaking point.

Labour is fixing the broken system the Tories' left behind so victims of crime get the justice they deserve.

Ends

Notes:

BACKGROUND BRIEFING: Tories left prisons at "breaking point" and undermined the justice system

Key points

• The last Conservative government left our prisons in crisis, just days away from collapse. If our prisons had run out of space, the country was headed for a total breakdown in law and order. This Labour government will do what it takes to ensure this never happens again.
• Four consecutive Conservative manifestos promised more prison places, with a pledge to add 20,000 extra prison places by the mid-2020s. This deadline was later delayed by half a decade. They failed to deliver on their promises.
• Just 482 additional prison places were added during the Conservatives' 14 years in power - equivalent to just 34 places per year - while 23 prisons were closed. By comparison, between 1997 and 2010, the last Labour Government added 27,830 prison places.
• As a result, when Labour took office in July 2024, the prison estate was on the verge of collapse. Capacity stood at 99%, and during the riots there were fewer than 100 spare cells across England and Wales.
• Labour is delivering the largest prison building programme since the Victorian era. More than 3,000 prison places have already been delivered since taking office, backed by £4.7 billion of investment. The Government is on track to open 14,000 new prison places by 2031.
• Alex Chalk, Justice Secretary in the final months of the Conservative Government, said that Rishi Sunak and the Conservatives would need to "get down on their knees and pray" for the criminal justice system if an emergency early release scheme was not introduced.
• Chalk later acknowledged that a "parlous" political situation had contributed to Conservative failures in overseeing the prison system.
• In October 2024, former Conservative leader Lord William Hague told Times Radio:

"They [Labour] have a really good point, actually, that the Conservative government failed to grasp either, they either had to build more prison places or they had to let people out and they didn't want to face up to either over a long period. That's a real failure."

• This Labour Government took action to prevent the imminent collapse of the criminal justice system.

A timeline of Conservative failure:

•      2015: The 2015 Conservative manifesto noted said: There are around 3,000 more adult prison places today than in 2010. We will make further savings by closing old, inefficient prisons, building larger, modern and fit-for-purpose ones.
•      2017: The 2017 Tory manifesto pledged to invest over £1 billion to modernise the prison estate, replacing the most dilapidated prisons and creating 10,000 modern prison places.
•      2019: The 2019 Tory manifesto pledged to add 10,000 more prison places.
•      2020: The 2020 Spending Review settlement provided the Ministry of Justice with £4 billion to expand prison capacity. This was intended to fund 20,000 new prison places by the mid-2020s.
•      2023: In September 2023, it was reported that plans for 20,000 additional prison places by the mid-2020s are not expected to be completed until 2030 due to planning delays.
•      2024: The 2024 Tory manifesto pledged to build four new prisons, completing our programme of 20,000 new prison places by 2030.
•      2024: Rishi Sunak is warned he is at risk of breaching his legal responsibilities if he doesn't act over Britain's broken prisons. Alex Chalk, the Justice Secretary, puts forward plans for SDS40 but they are blocked by Downing Street.

Sources:

• The Conservatives introduced the early release in October 2023. (UK Parliament, 09/11/2023)
• They later expanded it from 18 days to 70 days early release as prison overcrowding worsened. (Ministry of Justice, 12/07/2024)
• By June 2024, more than 10,000 prisonershad been released early under the scheme before Labour entered office. (UK Parliament, 25/07/2024)
• 23 prisonswere closed, removing 7,519 prison places. (UK Parliament, 17/03/2026)
• The number of prison places built and closed between 2010-2024 can be found here:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-number-of-prison-places-built-and-closed-2010-2024
• The number of prison places added between 1997-2010 can be found here:Written questions and answers - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament
• By July 2024, there were fewer than 100 spare prison placesacross the adult male estate, forcing emergency measures to prevent the system running out of capacity. (UK Parliament, 29/01/2026)
• The prison estate operated at over 99% capacityfor the final 18 months of Conservative governmnt. (UK Parliament, 18/07/2024)
• Despite repeatedly promising 20,000 additional prison places, the Conservatives added fewer than 500 net prison placesover 14 years. (10-Year Prison Capacity Strategy, 12/24) and (UK Parliament, 01/07/2026)
• Labour has delivered over 3,000 additional prison places, with a further 14,000 prison places planned by 2031 through the largest prison building programme since the Victorian era. (Parliament, 1 July 2026)