Senior Conservative figures now accept privately that, particularly in the wake of the economic crisis and plummeting property prices, the original plans were “over-optimistic”. Instead, the Tories plan to convert some open jails into category C prisons, and focus much more heavily on rehabilitation so that those leaving prisons do not end up reoffending and returning to jail. This marks a fundamental rethink of the Tory promise that “prison works”. The mantra is now “rehabilitation, not incarceration”.