What does the pledge mean? 

Labour’s manifesto pledged to “carry out a review of sentencing to ensure it is brought up to date”. 

The length and type of sentence a person receives following a court hearing is determined by judges and magistrates, both of whom are independent of Parliament and government so that they can “make decisions freely and fairly”. These decisions must adhere to sentencing guidelines. 

The manifesto pledge does not, therefore, relate to specific sentences given to particular individuals or the role of the judiciary. It’s been framed to address what the government calls the “prison crisis”, with the need to free up space to ensure there are sufficient prison places for the number of prisoners in England and Wales. It is also intended to prevent the government from having to release prisoners early, as it has done in the past, in order to make room for others.  

What progress has been made?

We are rating this pledge as “achieved”, after the publication of the Independent Sentencing Review on 22 May 2025.

This review, launched in October 2024 and chaired by former Conservative Lord Chancellor David Gauke, was given “three core principles” to follow in its re-examination of the sentencing framework.

Broadly, these were ensuring sentences punish offenders and protect the public, reducing reoffending, and exploring tougher punishments outside of prison. The review also looked specifically at the treatment of crimes against girls and women to determine whether more can be done to tackle this type of offending.

The review made a series of recommendations for an overhaul of the sentencing guidelines.

Among them were that offenders should only be given short custodial sentences of less than 12 months in exceptional circumstances; allowing suspended sentences to be used for up to three years rather than the current limit of two; and a move to an “earned progression” model of sentencing whereby some prisoners can ‘earn’ an earlier release into the community by displaying good behaviour in custody.

Responding to the publication of the review, justice secretary Shabana Mahmood accepted all of the above recommendations, along with several others.

However, she rejected a proposal that those serving extended determinate sentences—typically given to the most serious offenders—should also be able to earn an earlier release as part of the new model. She said: “Judges give extended sentences to those they consider dangerous, with Parole Board hearings happening no earlier than two-thirds of the way through the custodial sentence. I will not change that.”