Prisons in England and Wales hold 87,499 people and operate at 98% capacity. The Sentencing Act 2026 shifts automatic release points earlier for around 70,000 offenders on standard determinate sentences, excluding the most serious crimes. Around 700 prisoners serving up to 19 months were released on 1 October 2026, with further tranches releasing a total of about 4,500 by next summer to prevent the system from running out of space.
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Should the ‘Get to Work Allowance’ replace Universal Credit for 18 to 24 year olds?
Welfare · 36 votes · 23h 0m left
Should Ed Miliband be removed as Foreign Secretary for meeting the Iranian commissioner?
Personnel · 34 votes · 23h 0m left
Should the UK suspend foreign aid to countries with the death penalty?
Foreign Policy · 33 votes · 23h 0m left
Should the UK make the assessment basis for tax and welfare the same?
Welfare · 33 votes · 23h 0m left
Has the level of misogyny in the UK risen over the last 10 years?
Rights · 34 votes · 23h 0m left
Should the government bring all remaining train companies into public ownership?
Transport · 34 votes · 23h 0m left
Should union political funds be donated to parties in proportion to members’ stated voting intentions?
Governance · 35 votes · 23h 0m left
3 Opinions
Good behaviour and engagement in rehabilitation should always be rewarded. But severe offences must be treated differently, if only by raising the bar for progress toward social norms and education.
Community based sentencing, ankle tags and contracted-out probation services should be used for less serious crimes, everyone in prison for class C drug charges should be released into the community and monitored, while encouraged to take up work, volunteering and community service as much as possible. Alienating any but the most sociopathic/psychopathic prisoners from the community breeds recidivism, not lack of imprisonment. This has been demonstrated in Norway's autonomies
I'd rather have overcrowded prisons than murderers, rapist and dangerous people roaming the streets. Prison is not only reeducation, rehabilitation or punishment. It is also a public protection and incapacitation.