‘Labour has the chance to save our prison system after years of inaction from the Tories’

Over the past decade or so, an increase in news stories spotlighting chronic overcrowding and violence in UK prisons have pointed towards the complete degradation of the prison system. This decline is something Community has been shouting about for years, but before the Labour Party came into power in 2024, it felt like we were shouting into the void.

Labour inherited a prison system in crises following years of austerity and budget cuts from the previous Conservative government. Issues of crumbling infrastructure, staff retention and safety have made it clear that the system requires a major overhaul. For this reason, it is incredibly positive to see the Government taking a step in the right direction with the announcement of an independent review focusing on safety and security. If the findings are used to institute major reform, Labour has the chance to save our prison system, which has been decimated after years of Tory inaction.

It is vital for the next Prime Minister to prioritise prison reforms 

Amid political uncertainty, it is vital for the Government to be unwavering in its commitment to fixing the prison system. Whoever takes on the mantle of Labour leader will have to do their part in pushing through wide-reaching reforms. The party has done this in the past and can surely do it again.

READ MORE: ‘A century of keeping Labour true to working people – and the work continues’

The Government has already committed to building 14,000 extra prison places by 2031 and this will go some way in improving overcrowding, which has also been addressed through the Sentencing Act.

Also on the agenda is the issue of court backlogs, which have been targeted through a bill currently making its way through Parliament.

At the moment, it feels as though we’re on a knife edge. The situation we find ourselves in has not happened by chance. Between 2010 and 2024 the Conservative Government added a net 500 prison places to the estate – a significant contrast to the 28,000 prison spaces added between 1997 and 2010 by the previous Labour Government.

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Idleness and underinvestment are how we got into this state. A report from the National Audit Office (NAO), released in 2024 concluded that the current crisis in the prison estate “is a consequence of previous governments’ failure to align criminal justice policies with funding for the prison estate.”

Prison workers have suffered the consequences of Tory inaction

One of the most devastating impacts of underinvestment has been its effect on justice and custodial workers. A survey we ran in 2025 revealed that 63% of our members in the sector have been assaulted at work. Our research also showed these assaults created a culture of fear that undoubtedly fed into the staff retention crisis.

Most workers don’t expect to be abused or violated while on the clock, but unfortunately this is something many prison workers have come to expect and this is something we continue to campaign on.

Staff assault cases in England and Wales peaked two years ago, with a reported 10,281 assaults in the 12 months leading up to June 2024. This was a 30% increase from the previous 12 months.

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Since the Labour Government has come into power the number of staff assaults have started to decline. This is a trend that needs to continue, but it will only do so with targeted safety measures and a complete overhaul of the prison system.

This review promises to root out “violence, Illicit drugs and organised crime” through “long-term reform” but it also needs to recognise and make a commitment to combating staff assault in the short-term.

Justice and custodial workers have had to bear the brunt of Tory inaction, and it is vital for their safety to be at the forefront of this review.

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