Rhetoric versus Reality

Fantastic to attend the 21st Longford Lecture 'Rhetoric versus Reality' by impressive and thought-provoking keynote speaker, Rory Stewart.

I remember attending a meeting in a cramped room in parliament with him around five years ago when he was prisons minister, discussing how to safely reduce the number of people held in custody on remand. I recall he used a flip chart and pens mapping out the problem to fully understand it, drawing on the expertise in the room, and then worked together with us to plot possible solutions. At the time it struck me as an unusually collaborative and thoughtful approach, although unfortunately he was not in post long enough to take the ideas forward. I was therefore not surprised in his powerful lecture last night that he tackled the issue of prison reform by admitting there are no quick fix panaceas, instead he called for systemic transformations of structure, culture and public engagement.

'We need transformations in structure, ethos and public engagement'

Stewart described the 'institutional sclerosis' which can lead to rigidity and resistance to change. His analysis was also that parliamentarians can be detached from reality and that the public were 'at best disinterested and at worst hostile.' He summarised this as a 'perfect storm' resulting in limited progress.

His solutions? Minimum legal standards for humane prisons causing the Treasury to need to reduce the prison population; better training for officers and new governors; and more access to prisons by the public and media. Although I wasn't sure school trips were necessarily the way forward, more ways to bridge the divide between prisons and the public is spot on. We need people to care and to act. As Stewart noted, reform will not happen with a few 'individual heroes', it requires collective efforts and the building of movements that push for change, like we've seen in response to the climate emergency and racial injustice.

'Our prison system is a fundamental social injustice, but we will address it only if the public really engages'

I loved his description of the need to hold contradictory things in tension, like the strings of an instrument, to play in harmony, as the philosopher Heraclitus described the 'unity of opposites'. The tension between justice for victims who have been harmed and the need for humane prison conditions; between punishment and rehabilitation; between abolition and expansionism; between prison discipline and access to education. He is right that the tensions at play in the system cannot be ignored and these polarities need thoughtful examining and exploring if we are to move forward, rather than be put in the too difficult box.

'We need to re-conceptualise how we think about holding contradictory things in tension like justice for victims and the need for humane conditions in prison'

Drawing on the Swedish model , Stewart highlighted that 'it can be done, it's not a mad fantasy.' That's what I always think when I travel to see prisons abroad. I was recently at a conference in Prague where I learnt about 're-scaled' custodial facilities in Brazil , Netherlands and Germany - small community based prisons without walls, locks or officers, that are focused on relationships, rehabilitation and reparation. We can do things differently and achieve better outcomes for everyone in society.

'Look at Sweden. It can be done, it's not a mad fantasy.'

On the way home I reflected that in our sector we too often lack the space and tools to navigate these complex issues and tensions, to explore the systemic solutions required and to imagine new futures.

I hope that this lecture is a catalyst for much needed discussions about how we balance the tension between responding to immediate needs, but also working towards long-term, transformational change in the structures, culture and public engagement Stewart was talking about.

Thank you, Longford Trust, for such an inspiring evening and the incredible work you do with your amazing scholars .