Skip to main content
The Morning Star Shop
Three decades of injustice and exploitation
Stripped of their industrial muscle and left at the mercy of ministers and management, prison officers have been pushed way beyond breaking point, warns STEVE GILLAN

THE Prison Officers Association (POA) has long warned it’s impossible for the government to build its way out of the prison capacity crisis.

Instead we believe the billions of pounds earmarked for new jails should be invested in the ones we already have and in community support to reduce offending.

It’s therefore disappointing that the new Labour government is continuing the Tories’ programme of building a new generation of mega-prisons, each holding up to 2,000 inmates and run by the private sector for profit, when we know smaller units run by the public sector for public good are far more effective in supporting rehabilitation.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You can read five articles for free every month,
but please consider supporting us by becoming a subscriber.
More from this author
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves (left) during a visit to Horiba Mira in Nuneaton, to mark the launch of the Government's Industrial Strategy, June 23, 2025
Features / 19 July 2025
19 July 2025

After one year of a Labour government attacking winter fuel allowance and disabled people, the trade union movement must step up regardless of who holds power, writes STEVE GILLAN

HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow, October 16, 2013
TUC 2024 / 9 September 2024
9 September 2024
Tory austerity triggered a crisis in our jails and only a decisive break from the past can turn this around, explains STEVE GILLAN
The Martyrs Inn in the Dorset village of Tolpuddle
Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival 2024 / 20 July 2024
20 July 2024
We can take inspiration from our forebears and win the repeal of anti-worker legislation and bring about fair pay and decent public services for all, says STEVE GILLAN
(left-right) Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hosts his first
Durham Miners' Gala / 13 July 2024
13 July 2024
The pressure is now on the government to deliver its promises, and that pressure is not just from the unions, but from a working class that will look to the right if things under Labour don’t markedly improve, writes STEVE GILLAN
Similar stories
A prison officer in a prison
Workers' Rights / 3 May 2025
3 May 2025

Working in a high-risk sector, prison officers’ calls for proper PPE must be heeded – and the POA will be fighting to ensure effective protection at work is delivered, writes MARK FAIRHURST

HMP Barlinnie in Glasgow, October 16, 2013
TUC 2024 / 9 September 2024
9 September 2024
Tory austerity triggered a crisis in our jails and only a decisive break from the past can turn this around, explains STEVE GILLAN