Green Party co-leader calls for prison reform
The co-leader of the Green Party, a descendent of Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, has spoken out about the need for prison reform, citing the influence of his Quaker roots
Jonathan Bartley, the co-leader of the Green Party and a descendent of Quaker prison reformer Elizabeth Fry, has spoken out about the need for prison reform, citing the influence of his Quaker roots.
He tweeted: ‘To paraphrase my great (x4) Grandmother Elizabeth Fry, with such appalling conditions in UK prisons it is Government ministers who should be in the cells.’
The comments came after an Observer investigation last month found that two-thirds of prisons are providing inmates with inadequate conditions or unacceptable treatment.
He told the Friend that Britain is imprisioning far more people than other European counties. He said: ‘It is clear that our prison system is under-funded. It is possible to drastically cut the numbers. We should be making them places of rehabilitation. Of course, we want to protect people, but a lot of prisoners could be serving community sentences.’
Jonathan Bartley discovered he was related to Elizabeth Fry fifteen years ago when his father did a family tree: ‘I’ve been a huge fan of restorative justice for years, so I was thrilled. Clearly, the Quaker tradition has had an effect, even subliminally.’
The Green Party co-leader spoken about his Quaker roots in his first speech to the Green Party conference in Birmingham in September 2016: ‘The Cadburys were part of a social revolution – a revolution that began with one of my own ancestors, the prison reformer Elizabeth Fry. Working together, the Quakers brought radical change. They set up the town of Bournville. They showed the world how decent housing and a green environment were vital to everyone’s wellbeing.’
Jonathan Bartley, who is a Christian, has said his ancestors’ Quakerism is now ‘what I find most affinity with’.
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