Starmer expected to U-turn on jury trial plansas MP warns rebels will defeat it
Labor MPs believe Keir Starmer’s next U-turn will be on his plan to cancel jury trials; for one rebel warned he was “absolutely sure” it would be defeated.
Kingston upon Hull MP Karl Turner said MPs would “go crazy” if the Conservative Party proposed the much-criticised plans and called for a meeting with the prime minister.
“We are absolutely furious with the government, with the prime minister and with David Lammy, and I have told the prime minister that I want to meet him face to face about this one issue and I expect him to instruct Lammy to stop and think again,” he said. Times Radio.
“People are getting angry. That’s not in the manifesto. If it was a Tory government doing this, Labor MPs, including Keir Starmer and David Lammy, would be absolutely furious.”
“If they’re stupid enough to put this legislation forward in the form of a court bill, which will probably be in the second half of this year, I’m absolutely confident we’ll defeat it.”
Some Labor MPs said privately Independent They believe the plan to limit jury trials to the most serious crimes will be “quietly scrapped.”
It follows revelations first reported by The Independent earlier this week that Rachel Reeves was planning to abandon plans to end business rates reductions in pubs.
The plans, announced by deputy prime minister David Lammy last year, were intended to help end a backlog in the courts since the coronavirus lockdown.
It was based on recommendations by retired judge Sir Brian Leveson and would include temporary “fast-track courts” and greater use of magistrates’ courts, with decisions made by judges.
Mandatory jury trials will continue only for the most serious crimes, such as murder and rape.
Cases that are likely to result in a prison sentence of less than three years will be moved to hearings attended by judges only, and it is anticipated that this will be faster. Long-running fraud and financial cases will also be handed over solely to judges and jurors will be released.
But the plans have sparked backlash, including from Labor MPs.
The government has now postponed any vote on the plans until October at the earliest, after the King’s next speech in May.
One MP said: “It looks like everything will be quietly put aside.”
Another senior MP said: “I would be surprised if they actually continued the attacks on the jury trial. My understanding is that any legislation on this issue is earmarked for October and that is too far away politically. I would imagine they will drop it quietly or otherwise.”
The issue is reminiscent of last summer’s welfare revolt, when angry Labor supporters abandoned plans to cut the bill by £5bn to avoid defeat in the House of Commons.
Ministers were defending the proposals in an opposition day debate called by the Conservative Party last week, but opposition was again voiced by Labor MPs, including Mr Turner, who said he had never rebelled before.
Justice secretary Sarah Sackman told the House of Commons: “Victims have been waiting for years for justice; a backlog of more than 20,000 open cases in the Crown court has been pending for a year or more. Justice delayed is justice denied.”
“No one is defending the status quo, but no government has ever been brave enough to take the necessary steps to find solutions. I firmly believe that politics is the agent of change, which is why I left my legal career and entered politics. When we face a crisis, we see the opportunity, we come up with the plan and we fix it; we make it better.”
But he acknowledged an impact assessment would be carried out before legislation is proposed and MPs would have the opportunity to review the plans.
