Tories pledge 50,000 prison places at £2bn a year to end early release

The Conservatives have promised to build 50,000 new prison places in England and Wales if they return to government. The party says the plan would cost £2bn a year and would let it end the early release of prisoners. Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch announced it on the eve of her party's annual conference in Birmingham, and the Daily Express reports she described it as the biggest boost to prison places since Queen Victoria's reign.

The pledge comes days after the first wave of prisoners was freed under Labour's new early release rules. GB News reports that 700 prisoners left jail on Thursday, the first of around 4,500 due out early by June 2027. Labour said the Tory proposals were not credible and blamed the previous Conservative government for leaving the criminal justice system "at breaking point".

What the Tories are promising and how they would pay for it

The party says the £2bn a year would cover building and running the new jails, and GB News reports that this figure applies to the first five years. The money would come from cuts elsewhere. The BBC says the aid budget would be cut by £1bn and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport budget by £1bn, while GB News reports Mrs Badenoch also named £500million from Cabinet Office communications.

Shadow Justice Secretary Nick Timothy told BBC Breakfast the places would be built within six to seven years, with "the vast majority of them" in the first parliament. The party says it would bring in a law early in a new Parliament to override planning and procurement barriers, and would use private finance to speed up building and control costs. Mrs Badenoch said Mr Timothy would announce an expert advisory group in the coming weeks, with a full plan ready before the next election.

Critics were quick to respond. Labour Party chairwoman Bridget Phillipson said the Tories "added just 500 prison places and closed 23 prisons" across 14 years in government, while the Daily Express reports Mrs Badenoch herself admitted the fewer than 500 places created in that time "were nowhere near enough". The Liberal Democrats called the plan "fantasy numbers funded by breaking promises". The Prison Governors' Association warned that a "staffing crisis" would make it hard to find the officers, governors and specialists needed to run new jails safely.

Who is being let out early now, and who is not

Under the current scheme, eligible prisoners can be released on a community licence after serving one-third of their sentence, according to the BBC. Prisoners convicted of murder, manslaughter, a sexual or grooming-related offence or the most serious driving offences are excluded. GB News reports that the number due for early release had been closer to 6,000 before those exclusions were added.

The reports give different totals. The Daily Express says nearly 5,000 prisoners will be freed in stages over the next year as the Sentencing Act 2026 comes into force, while the BBC and GB News put the figure at around 4,500. The government has also effectively scrapped one-year jail terms, and the Tories say they would use the extra cells to reverse both changes.

Early release is not new. The BBC reports that a scheme under the previous Conservative government freed more than 10,000 prisoners early between October 2023 and September 2024. Mr Timothy told GB News that under his party's plan, violent offenders, repeat burglars and repeat shoplifters would "definitely" go to prison.

Key numbers

• 50,000: the new prison places the Conservatives say they would build.
• £2bn: the yearly cost the party gives for building and running them.
• 98%: how full prisons in England and Wales are, according to the latest government figures reported by the BBC.
• 87,499: the prison population on Monday, according to Ministry of Justice weekly data reported by GB News.
• 14,000: the extra prison places Labour has promised by 2031.
• 150,000: GB News says the Tory plan would take capacity to more than this, against more than 103,000 under Labour's plan.
• 55%: the share of GPS and radio tags fitted on time, according to a probation inspectorate report cited by the Daily Express.

What happens next with early release

This is a pledge from an opposition party, so nothing changes yet. It would only go ahead if the Conservatives win the next election, and the detailed plan is not due until before that election. In the meantime Labour's early release scheme carries on, with prisoners leaving in stages through to June 2027, according to GB News.

The government insists the conditions on released prisoners are strong. Transport minister Keir Mather said they are tagged and kept out of exclusion zones drawn up after consulting victims, but he was challenged over the probation inspectorate's findings on tags. Former Home Office minister Jess Phillips said she was not confident the measures would keep the public safe.

What you can do now

If you were the victim of a crime and are worried about an offender being released early, the government says it has set up a national helpline for victims along with trauma-focused local support services. The details are on the government page about the new restrictions on offenders on licence, which came into force on 1 October 2026.

That page also explains the new powers, including restriction zones just a few miles wide and bans from pubs, clubs, football matches and public events. Mr Mather said victims and their families are consulted directly on exclusion zones, so if you are a victim it is worth asking whoever is handling your case whether you can have a say.

If you think a released offender is breaking their licence conditions, report it to the police. The Tory plan itself is only a promise, so there is nothing to apply for or change at this stage.

Your questions answered

Will the Tory plan stop prisoners being released this year?

No. It is a pledge for if the Conservatives return to government, and releases under Labour's scheme are already under way. The first 700 were freed on Thursday, according to GB News.

Where would the money for new prisons come from?

The Conservatives say the £2bn a year would come from savings, mainly cuts to the foreign aid budget and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport budget. They also plan to use private finance to speed up building. The Liberal Democrats said "something doesn't add up".

How many prison places are there now?

The BBC says there are around 89,000 useable places in England and Wales, while GB News puts maximum capacity at 89,055. The Tories say their plan would raise capacity by more than 50%, compared with Labour's promise of 14,000 extra places by 2031.