Leaders | Chokka chokey

How Labour should reform Britain’s overstuffed prisons

With no room for new prisoners, something has to change

Security cameras at HMP Wandsworth prison in London, United Kingdom on July 12th 2024
Photograph: Getty Images

BRITISH PRISONS are bursting. The new Labour government has been told that space is so scarce that prisons could start turning away new inmates within weeks; to free up cells, some offenders will be released after serving 40% of their sentence, rather than 50% as normal. Some of the blame for this crunch lies with the previous government: the Tories ducked taking more emergency measures to alleviate overcrowding. But the trouble in Britain’s prisons dates back decades, bears the fingerprints of both main parties and reflects the fraught politics of law and order.

Explore more

From the July 20th 2024 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Leaders

Four test tubes in the shape of human figures, connected hand in hand, partially filled with a blue liquid. A dropper adds some liquid to the last figure

How to improve clinical trials

Involving more participants can lead to new medical insights

Container ship at sunrise in the Red Sea

Houthi Inc: the pirates who weaponised globalisation

Their Red Sea protection racket is a disturbing glimpse into an anarchic world


Donald Trump will upend 80 years of American foreign policy

A superpower’s approach to the world is about to be turned on its head


Rising bond yields should spur governments to go for growth

The bond sell-off may partly reflect America’s productivity boom

Much of the damage from the LA fires could have been averted

The lesson of the tragedy is that better incentives will keep people safe