Can leaders ever reform prisons without playing politics? Four things Andy Burnham could do

Lauren Hurley / No 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND The UK’s prime minister, Andy Burnham, is facing his first major test with the public over the upcoming early release of thousands of prisoners. These plans are part of the Sentencing Act 2026, passed by Keir Starmer’s government in response to an independent review of sentencing. The review recommended a model whereby eligible prisoners could be released at the one-third point of their custodial term, if they engaged constructively with the…