Just in case anyone still believed Gordon Brown’s “right long-term decisions” claim, then the Observer’s interview with Anne Owers – the chief inspector of prisons – should set them straight.
Owers stresses that the the current prisons crisis is down to past (in)action on the part of the Government:
“You wouldn’t start from here if you wanted to create a decent prison system …. This is a result of decisions taken – or not taken – a long time ago.”
And who – in the past – refused to put up the money for increased prison-building? That’s right – Chancellor Brown.
If he’s to regain any credibility, Brown needs to rapidly shift into short-term mode. The problem – for his party, and for the country – is that he seems pathologically incapable of doing so. All the more reason, then, for the Tories to be bolder.
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