Story perspectives

Manchester Mayor Calls for ‘Circuit-Breaker’ Over Prison Crisis

7/27/2026

Summary

Gauke Warns

Justice secretary David Gauke said sentences in England and Wales rose from 16 months in 1993 to 22 months, and murder terms grew from 12 to 21 years.
Three quarters of the public think sentencing is shorter, while 75 % say prisons are failing.
The Conservatives added fewer than 500 prison places, while the Starmer government opened 2,500 more.
By November, prisons risk having nowhere to place new offenders.

Summary

Burnham Demands Reform

Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, entered Downing Street and criticised politicians for failing to address the criminal-justice crisis.
Burnham announced he will push for a “circuit-breaker” to halt the system’s current trajectory.
Burnham described the criminal-justice system as “shattered” and “malfunctioning,” urging a painful, honest conversation about its failures.
Observers questioned whether Burnham possesses the attention span, will and courage needed to drive such a sweeping reform.

History

Historical Context

The 1993 Criminal Justice Act, passed under Prime Minister John Major, built on the 1991 Act’s introduction of private prisons and the 1989 unduly-lenient sentence scheme created after the Jill Saward case. That decade’s “tough-on-crime” shift, cemented by the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act, set a precedent for today’s prison-capacity debates.

1 of 3

Gauke Warns

Justice secretary David Gauke said sentences in England and Wales rose from 16 months in 1993 to 22 months, and murder terms grew from 12 to 21 years.
Three quarters of the public think sentencing is shorter, while 75 % say prisons are failing.
The Conservatives added fewer than 500 prison places, while the Starmer government opened 2,500 more.
By November, prisons risk having nowhere to place new offenders.

1 / 3