Theresa May slaps down Robert Jenrick for turning judges into ‘villains’
Theresa May has issued a veiled rebuke to Robert Jenrick after he launched an attack on British judges.
In a wide-ranging criticism of his party’s direction, the former Conservative prime minister warned against the use of “populism” for “short-term political purpose”.
He opposed the Conservatives’ approach to net zero, the judiciary and human rights, and called on the party to show leadership instead.
And he appeared to take aim at Mr Jenrick, the Tory shadow justice secretary, who criticized what he called “activist judges” in immigration courts in a speech to the Tory conference earlier this month.
While Baroness May did not name Mr Jenrick, she told the Lords that judges were “too often attacked by peddling populist narratives”.
He said politicians should not “question the integrity of our judges” or accuse them of “political bias.”
He added: “By undermining the judiciary, we are further eroding public confidence in the institutions of our democracy and therefore in democracy itself.
“That is why I say it is time to show responsible leadership to those who seek to disparage a judiciary that cannot easily respond, to those who deliberately discredit our legal system for their own benefit.”
It’s less than a month since the shadow justice secretary told a Conservative Party conference that “activist” judges with links to pro-immigrant charities were undermining public confidence in the courts.
Using the judge’s wig as a prop, he said a future Tory government would take action against judges who “blur the lines between judging and activism”.
Baroness May said she knew it was “frustrating” to “go against the courts” as a minister and that she had seen examples of “judicial overreach”, but warned her party to “tread carefully”.
He said: “This is not just about short-term decisions to make it easier to deal with public concerns about immigration.
“Our support for human rights has its origins in Magna Carta. How we address human rights issues is fundamental to our ability to deal with autocracies and dictatorships.
“Every step we take to reduce our support for human rights only emboldens our opponents and weakens our position in the world.”
Baroness May, whose government has pledged to take the UK to net zero by 2050, also said she was “disappointed” by the Conservatives’ promise to repeal the Climate Change Act.
He said it was an “excessive and unnecessary measure” and warned it would “fatally undermine” Britain’s global leadership on climate issues, as well as the investment and jobs created by the net zero transition.
The former Prime Minister continued: “This announcement reinforces climate policy as a dividing line in our politics, rather than the unifying issue it once was.
“And for the Conservative Party, this risks grabbing votes from Reform to the detriment of the wider electorate.”
Last month, Baroness May warned that repealing the Cimate Amendment Act would be a “catastrophic mistake”.
He described the plans as a “retrogressive” step that puts an end to the 17-year consensus on climate change between mainstream political parties and the scientific community.
Reform The UK has also pledged to scrap net zero policies, while Baroness May argued that polls showed the public still broadly supported eliminating carbon emissions.
This year’s Tory conference conference also saw Ms Badenoch pledge to leave the European Convention on Human Rights, partly to make it easier to deport people from the UK.
