The Guardian view on early prisoner release: don’t lose sight of systemic reform

‘Mr Burnham would be better off using his talents as a communicator to advance the argument for a reformed justice system.’ HMP Dartmoor. Photograph: Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures Ltd/Corbis/Getty Images

There are no votes in leniency for criminals, which is why oppositions demand harsher penalties and ministers acquiesce. It is a policy ratchet that can keep turning as long as there are enough cells to accommodate those who are jailed.

But spending on new prisons, or for that matter improving conditions in the dilapidated, overcrowded ones already in use, is also not a vote-winner. Most people can think of more deserving beneficiaries of public money than prisoners.