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Beyond the Cycle

July 21, 2026July 21, 2026

“Every person caught in the revolving door has a story”: Our members’ messages to the new Prime Minister

This week, Andy Burnham became the new Prime Minister. We have set out a new set of asks in our latest Beyond the Cycle briefing, but we thought we’d also take it directly to our members – people with lived experience of the cycle of crisis and crime – to ask them what they want to see under a new leadership, building on progress already made and sowing green shoots of hope for progress to come.

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R*

I think the new government should make sure there’s enough funding for young people who’s not in school or just left school to get into training so they don’t slip down the wrong path. I think they should stop overlooking the smaller towns and leaving them no option to just keep getting worse. Address that problem first then this will reduce reoffending dramatically. 

K*

Please invest more in support for people leaving prison who are recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. Access to housing, mental-health care, and jobs gives people the best chance to rebuild their lives. Supporting recovery creates safer communities and reduces reoffending. Also, there are not many who know how to restart life with criminal records and starting life outside supported accommodation without their own accommodation and a job – I am unemployed for example seven years now and simply can’t afford living on my own or private rent. 

A*

I would like the government to make it policy that prison leavers with addiction issues move directly to a recovery house once released from prison.

A*

I’d hope the new PM would address the HMO situation in the country, improving the quality of support within them, improving the regulations on what is considered supported accommodation as unfortunately many massively fall short and are being used to exploit vulnerable people. So a general rise in the quality of the support provided and the living space itself. 

I would also hope for more work promoting recovery. To many people, currently recovery is more like harm reduction, so basically a script. I’d like to see diversion for PPOs , actually helping the vulnerable person to overcome the challenges they face by diverting them from prison/the justice system to recovery organisations, supporting them to gain the life skills they probably struggle with and to provide them with a pathway to independent living and their rightful place within the community. 

I’d like to see the stigma of “addiction” removed and for it to be seen as what it actually is – the vulnerable person who’s struggling with life, living skills and coping mechanisms and actually supporting them rather than stigmatising.

I’d also like to see inmates being supported, taught life skills and coping skills whilst inside prison, with through the gate support into recovery centred housing, onto life skill courses, therapy for their trauma and other groups to help them as they come back into the community. So an individual’s time in prison would be seen more as rehabilitation than punishment…which we can already see doesn’t work. 

K*

When people are coming out of prison, they have somewhere to live, they get help if they have drug issues or substance issues, there is a gateway to help them, they are not living on the streets and they don’t keep going round the revolving door. It is something very simple.  House people and make sure people are looked after. Give help with their benefits.

R*

To treat addiction as a health issue instead of a criminal one. To divert people with addiction issues from court and to focus on rehabilitation and drug treatment programmes in the community. For policymakers to understand the root cause of addiction.

N*

What is needed is a genuine commitment from Government to undertake a comprehensive national review of how we respond to addiction-related offending, working closely with people with lived experience, frontline services, the criminal justice system, health providers, and other key stakeholders to create lasting change.

In the meantime, I would like to see a far more compassionate, holistic, and person-centred approach adopted by the courts and wider justice system. Addiction should be recognised and treated as an illness rather than viewed primarily as a criminal issue. Every person caught in the revolving door cycle has a story, and many are carrying deep-rooted trauma, poor mental health, homelessness, poverty, or other complex challenges. Instead of repeatedly punishing people for the consequences of these problems, there should be dedicated professionals who take the time to understand the individual, build trust, and help address the root causes of their addiction and offending.

Real recovery becomes possible when people are offered support, hope, and opportunities rather than simply another conviction or prison sentence. If we are serious about breaking the revolving door cycle, we must stop asking why people keep failing the system and start asking why the system keeps failing them.

Find out more about our roadmap for change in Beyond the Cycle: 2 years on