Badenoch Pledges 50,000 New Prison Places to End Early-Release Scheme

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has pledged to build 50,000 new prison places in England and Wales if her party returns to government, at a cost of £2 billion a year, to end Labour’s early-release scheme, according to The Sun.

“A violent criminal doesn’t become less dangerous just because the government has run out of prison cells,” she said, declaring it “the biggest prison increase since Queen Victoria,” according to the reports.

The vast majority of the new places would be built within one Parliament — up to five years — with the full 50,000 delivered within seven. The £2 billion-a-year bill, covering construction and running costs, would be funded by cutting the foreign aid budget and savings elsewhere in government, according to The Sun and British Bulletin. Legislation early in the next Parliament would override planning and procurement barriers to fast-track construction, with private finance helping to control costs. The extra space would be used to reverse early-release schemes and bring back short prison sentences.

The pledge comes as about 4,500 prisoners, including some jailed for over 12 years, are due to be freed early by June 2027 — the first 700 were released on Thursday — according to British Bulletin. Official figures put usable capacity at around 89,000 places, about 98 per cent full. Labour has promised 14,000 extra spaces by 2031.

Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy said: “Prison works. It works by punishing and deterring, but most importantly by incapacitating,” according to British Bulletin. Ms Badenoch admitted the previous Conservative government had added “nowhere near enough” places while in power, according to The Sun.

Labour chairwoman Bridget Phillipson dismissed the plans: “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,” according to The Sun.

Sources

• The Sun — Kemi to fund 50,000 more prison spaces by slashing foreign aid
• British Bulletin — Kemi Badenoch pledges to end scheme by building 50,000 new cells
• The Brief — Conservatives promise 50,000 extra prison places to end early release