Reforming Managerialism

In 2016, several ‘reform prisons’ were commissioned to operate with autonomy and ultimately become separate legal entities, similar to academy schools. This chapter is based on ethnographic research conducted in a medium-security ‘reform prison’ in 2017. The ‘reform prison’ re-imagined the role of managers, prison staff, prisoners and the local community. This was in part a re-invigoration of liberal-humanitarian values, seeking to improve conditions and rehabilitation. The approach was also, however, an attempt to harness the subjective capacities, or habitus, of various players to increase productivity and ensure they acted in alignment with organisational objectives. Soon after the launch of the ‘reform prisons’, the political momentum shifted due to ministerial changes and political disruption. The plan to form separate legal entities was dropped and autonomy was curtailed, with centralised control re-asserted. Ultimately, the ‘reform prisons’ became a testing ground for tighter line management arrangements for prisons. This process is described as ‘managerial clawback’. The ‘reform prison’ offered a distinct approach, with greater emphasis on governance through the identity and habitus of actors. The reforms, however, were never fully realised and ultimately reversed, with clawback towards centralised managerial control.