Tories propose £1 billion aid cut to fund 50,000 new prison places

The Conservatives, led by Kemi Badenoch, have unveiled a plan to cut the United Kingdom’s overseas development budget to £1 billion per year and redirect the funds toward constructing 50,000 new prison places, the largest increase since Queen Victoria’s reign. The scheme also includes a £1 billion reduction in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport budget and a £0.5 billion cut to Cabinet Office communications. Over the party’s 14-year tenure in government, only about 500 net prison spaces were added, prompting the claim that previous capacity was insufficient.

Labour’s Bridget Phillipson and shadow justice secretary Nick Timothy dismissed the proposal as implausible and pointed to the party’s past record on prison building. Independent analysis suggests the aid cuts are larger than the government’s own figures, with the UK’s overseas aid already reduced by at least £1.2 billion. The plan is presented as a response to ongoing early-release schemes that have seen thousands of inmates freed under both Conservative and Labour administrations.