Scotland's new £1 billion prison shows just how incompetent SNP really are

While the Atlantis was a private investment, the bill for the new mega-jail at Barlinnie goes straight to the taxpayer. It is ten times what was promised when the SNP first outlined the plan in 2014, at an estimated cost of £100 million.

Since then, costs have spiralled. By 2019, the estimated cost was £400m and in 2023 Justice Secretary Angela Constance admitted costs were likely to rise. Now the prison is estimated to cost £998.4m.

READ MORE: £1 billion new Scottish prison 'will still not be big enough'

SNP’s inflation excuse

The SNP government blames the rise on inflation. It is true that rising prices have eaten away at Scottish families’ budgets.

Yet although a pint of milk has gone up from around 45p to 65p, by the SNP’s twisted logic the cost should be £4.50 today. If the same argument was applied to petrol, we would be expecting to pay £10 per litre today rather than £1.37. And anyone who bought their house in late 2013 would be a millionaire.

READ MORE: 'Perfect storm': Prison officers warn 'crisis point' in Scotland's prisons has already been reached

So it’s not just inflation. This suggests that the real problem is that the SNP just can’t deliver. It let a capital project get out of hand at an astronomical cost to the public purse.

To make matters worse, while HMP Glasgow was supposed to relieve the pressure on Scotland’s overcrowded prisons, it will not be sufficient to tackle the problem.

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More trauma for victims

For £1bn, the new prison will only add an additional 357 spaces, bringing the total capacity of the Scottish prison estate to 8,269. But the number of people in custody in Scotland is at a record high of 8,430, and forecasts published last month suggest that the prison population in March 2026 could be as high as 8,800.

Overcrowded prisons mean more early release schemes, of the kind the SNP is presiding over, where hundreds of prisoners are let out before finishing their full sentence. Not only are early releases deeply traumatic for victims, but without proper rehabilitation, they fail to break the cycle of crime that landed offenders in prison in the first place. This is the true cost of the SNP’s incompetence.

READ MORE: 'You can't build your way out of overcrowding', says Scotland's chief prison inspector

Scots are being taxed more but getting less, whether it’s keeping our streets safe or ensuring justice is served. But at least back in 2014, the SNP was willing to confront the question.

Today, John Swinney’s tired administration would rather stick its fingers in its ears. Unbelievably, last week the Justice Secretary said that the SNP will not build any more prisons as, in her words, “if we build them, they will come”.

If she thinks building prison cells encourages crime, she really has got the Atlantis and HMP Glasgow mixed up. Keeping Scots safe should be the first duty for any Scottish Government.

It’s time for an end to the SNP’s mismanagement and it’s time for a new direction.

Jackie Baillie is MSP for Dumbarton, Scottish Labour’s deputy leader and her party’s spokesperson for health