Expansion of HMP Parc in Wales should be paused, MPs say
Plans to expand one of the most troubled prisons in England and Wales should be paused until serious failures surrounding staff and inmate safety are addressed, MPs have said,Seventeen men died at HMP Parc in Bridgend in 2024 – the highest number recorded at any prison in England and Wales that year – amid drug use, self-harm, violence and understaffing issues,Another three men died there in the first nine months of 2025,A Welsh affairs committee report released on Monday acknowledged the need for more prison places for adult men, but concluded that Parc is “not the right place to expand the prison population”,Despite the prison’s problems, pre-application approval for adding 345 inmates and 160 staff to the category B facility was granted in September 2024, after the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) said England and Wales would run out of prison places in two months without urgent action.
Parc, which is run by private firm G4S, can accommodate 1,670 prisoners and 676 staff.The committee chair, Ruth Jones, said the events of 2024 had “shone a light” on serious problems at the site.“Every preventable death is a tragedy.It is vital that improving the safety and wellbeing of men at the prison is at the forefront of any decisions,” the Newport West and Islwyn MP wrote.“While some improvements have been made, expanding the prison now would be a distraction that could put that progress – and the safety of prisoners and staff – at risk.
”An unannounced visit by inspectors in January 2025 was highly critical, finding conditions across all key measures had worsened and high levels of drug abuse, self-harm and violence.They also noted that prisoners could be left in their cells for up to 21 hours at a time, poor quality food, staff shortages and under-resourced mental health and substance misuse services.A chief inspector of prisons visit in January 2026 found insufficient progress, but showed what the Welsh affairs committee report called “green shoots” of improvement.In a statement, Parc prison said: “Parc’s latest inspection report highlights that progress has been made in many areas, particularly in disrupting the supply of drugs.“This is significant and is helping to drive wider improvements throughout the prison, especially in reducing self-harm and violence.
”The MoJ said: “We’re taking decisive action to address the prison crisis inherited by this government – building 14,000 extra prison places by 2031 and reforming sentencing to ensure we can always lock up dangerous criminals,”At 87,751, the prison population of England and Wales is close to the all-time record, while Scotland hit its own record of 8,452 this month,Numbers are on the increase as sentences are getting longer and more prisoners are being recalled after release, according to the Prison Reform Trust,Incarceration levels and lengths of sentences are higher in Wales than the rest of western Europe, a phenomenon researchers attribute to gaps and overlap between the English and Welsh systems,Welsh Labour, which leads the Cardiff Bay government, advocates full devolution of policing and criminal justice from Westminster, as per the recommendation of three independent commissions.
Plaid Cymru, which polls suggest will succeed Labour in Wales after May’s elections, is also seeking a full transfer of justice, police, and prison services.
Nigel Farage to snub US conservative conference brought to UK by Liz Truss
Nigel Farage will snub a major conference of US conservatives that is being brought to the UK by Liz Truss.The short-lived former prime minister, who was accused of crashing the economy, was chosen by the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) to lead a version of the event in the UK in July.She announced this on stage in Texas on Monday while next to Matt Schlapp, commentator and chair of the event, which in the US has hosted major figures including Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, Tulsi Gabbard and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán.However, mainstream conservative figures in the UK seem wary to be associated with the Truss-led event.“We will be steering well clear of it,” a Reform UK source said, dashing any hopes that Farage would attend
Zack Polanski meets unions in attempt to get them to switch party funding to Greens
Zack Polanski has kicked off a charm offensive designed to convince trade unions to stop funding Labour and throw their weight behind the Green party, as he delivered the first in a series of speeches to union conferences.The Green leader has had “good conversations” with 10 trade unions, including some affiliated to Labour, according to party sources, and is due to address the University and College Union and the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, not affiliated with Labour, in the coming months.The UK’s largest unions – Unite and Unison – were among those that denied negotiating with Polanski and said they remained affiliated to the Labour party. However, Unite is holding internal discussions about its future relationship with Labour before a special conference in 2027 at which it could potentially decide to disaffiliate.While Green party sources admitted that discussions Polanski had held with individual unions varied in formality, some union insiders were adamant that supporting the Greens would be a no-go area, and that such discussions were “much ado about nothing”
Kemi the attention seeker somehow always makes two plus two equal five | John Crace
Losing sleep over the war in Iran? Worried sick about the cost of living? Can’t pay your energy bills? Then relax. Because Kemi Badenoch has a displacement activity for you.It’s becoming increasingly easy to understand the Conservative leader by viewing her as a hyperactive five-year-old at the back of the class who is constantly disruptive. Who can’t get through a lesson without some kind of attention-seeking behaviour. Who has a constant desire to be indulged even though her first reactions are invariably wrong
Zack Polanski tells NEU teachers’ union that Greens would abolish ‘toxic’ Ofsted – as it happened
The Green party would abolish Ofsted because they view it as a “failed institution”, Zack Polanski, its leader, has told a teaching union conference.Polanski also said that the Greens were opposed to the academisation of schools and that they believe that Labour is not fixing the “failings” in the system by the Tories, but embedding them.In a speech to the National Education Union’s annual conference, Polanski said:double quotation markOfsted is a toxic, failed institution which is harming teachers and children – and it’s time to end it.Talking about school structures more generally, he said:double quotation markThis government’s reforms are simply tinkering around the edges.We need to end the Ofsted era entirely and move towards a genuinely collaborative model
Starmer pledges to tackle new cost of living crisis at May elections campaign launch
The 7 May elections are taking place against a backdrop of “war on two fronts”, Keir Starmer has said, as he pledged action to tackle the resurgent cost of living crisis.Launching Labour’s English local elections campaign in Wolverhampton on Monday, the prime minister said: “We’re facing a war on two fronts – the Ukraine war, now four and a bit years in … and now the Iran war, which I know is causing huge concern.“People look at their screens and they’re worried when they see explosions, infrastructure blown up, the rhetoric that goes with it, worried about whether this is going to escalate even further.”Labour is braced for heavy losses in English council votes on 7 May, in particular in the north-east and London, amid challenges from Reform UK on the right and the Green party on the left. The contests are seen as a major test for Starmer’s premiership
MPs wary of move against Starmer while war is raging
A week after Labour’s election victory in July 2024, officials at Labour HQ held their first crisis meeting about the May 2026 local elections.The party had just secured a 174-seat majority and already strategists were predicting it would be very tough, though none were assuming the prime minister’s own position would be vulnerable.Now, according to multiple officials, it will be nothing short of a “bloodbath” – though it is an open question whether the parliamentary Labour party will use it to depose Keir Starmer.One Starmer ally said it would be impossible to spin the results. “There’s no point us doing expectation management, as the results are going to be terrible anyway,” they said
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