Conservatives unveil plan to expand prison capacity by 50,000 places

Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch stated, “A violent criminal doesn’t become less dangerous just because the government has run out of prison cells.”

She continued, “[Labour’s] answer is to let dangerous offenders out even earlier instead of building the prison spaces we need.”

Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson criticised the proposal, saying, “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,” Phillipson added.

The Liberal Democrats also criticised the Conservative plan, describing it as “fantasy numbers funded by breaking promises.”

“Much like their economic plans, something doesn’t add up,” said the party’s justice spokesperson Jess Brown-Fuller.

Shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy told BBC Breakfast that the 50,000 additional places would be constructed within six to seven years, with the majority completed during the first parliamentary term.

The Prison Governors’ Association emphasised the need for long-term investment and warned that a staffing crisis could impede the delivery of new prisons.

Should the party win power, the Conservatives said they would introduce legislation early in the new Parliament to override planning and procurement barriers, allowing processes to be fast-tracked.

The party indicated that private finance would be used to accelerate delivery and control costs.

Current figures show approximately 89,000 usable prison places in England and Wales, according to the latest government data.

The Conservatives propose increasing this by over 50%, with most new places expected within the party’s first term of up to five years, and the full increase delivered within seven years.

The £2 billion annual cost would be covered through savings in other areas, including reducing the aid budget by £1 billion and cutting the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s budget by £1 billion.

The current Labour government has pledged to add 14,000 additional prison places by 2031.

The Conservatives argued that expanding prison capacity would reduce crime and prevent reoffending by keeping serious criminals off the streets.

Timothy stated, “Prison works. It works by punishing and deterring, but most importantly by incapacitating.”

“Prison should keep violent and repeat offenders away from the law-abiding public.”

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