What does the pledge mean?

Labour’s manifesto promised to “scrap” what it said was an “effective immunity for some shoplifting introduced by the Conservatives”, although it did not specify what that entailed.

However, ministers have since said this refers to a section in the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, introduced under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, which defined “low-value shoplifting” as a summary offence, where the total value of stolen goods is less than £200. It specified that a person can be sentenced to a maximum of 51 weeks in prison, fined, or both, for such an offence. However, the maximum sentence is, in effect, six months, as this is the maximum sentence allowed for a summary offence in magistrates’ courts.

The then government said this would free up resources by “increasing the number of police-led prosecutions” and ensure “swifter justice for retailers”.

However, groups such as the British Retail Consortium said in 2025 that this has led to the “perception among some retailers that some police forces do not regard shop theft as a ‘real’ crime, particularly if it is under £200 in value”.

Summary offences are tried in magistrates’ courts, which have lower sentencing powers than Crown Courts.

The government would need to change legislation in order to stop “low-value shoplifting” being a summary offence.

What progress has been made?

The Crime and Policing Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, would repeal the summary offence of “low-value shoplifting”.

This means that, if the bill passes into law, all shoplifting crimes can be tried as general theft, irrespective of the value of goods taken. This is an 'either way' offence—meaning it can be tried in either the magistrates’ court or a Crown Court—and can carry a more severe maximum punishment of seven years’ imprisonment, compared to a maximum of six months for the summary offence of low-value shoplifting.