The prison and court systems are on the verge of collapse. Why aren’t Labour or the Tories talking about it? | Samira Shackle
GuardianJUN 2024
UK Unveils Prison Plan as Male Jails Near Capacity
Above: Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood in the No 9 Downing Street Media Briefing Room, in Westminster, London. Picture date: Wednesday May 14, 2025. Image copyright: Yui Mok/PA Images via Getty Images
The Spin
Labour Party narrative
After 14 years of Conservative rule, prisons are full, crumbling, and unfit for purpose. Tory "tough on crime" posturing has wrecked the justice system — slashing legal aid, gutting courts, and refusing to build further prisons. Now they feign outrage at a crisis they engineered. While Labour may take the slack for making the hard decisions, do not forget who caused this crisis in the first place.
Conservative Party narrative
Labour promised change but is now recycling the same failed establishment thinking. With prisons at breaking point, their answer is mass early release, limiting recall measures and freeing offenders after just a third of their sentence. This isn't reform; it's retreat. Crime is already high, and this will only make it worse. Voters wanted a break from the status quo drift, not more weak decisions dressed up as pragmatism.