Calls are being made for Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and the wider Labour government to repurpose a women’s prison for male-only use as a way to address prison overcrowding. The request comes after Labour paused an early release scheme that had been designed to reduce pressure on prisons. The proposal suggests converting at least one women’s facility to accommodate male prisoners rather than relying on early release to manage numbers behind bars.
The coverage frames the overcrowding problem as ongoing and argues that additional capacity is needed. It also links the push for changes to the timing of the pause of early release, implying that fewer inmates would be leaving custody sooner, increasing demand for places within the prison estate. The reports do not provide details on which prison would be repurposed, the legal or operational steps required, or how quickly such a change could be implemented. They present the idea primarily as an alternative measure to help manage inmate numbers.
