At the Labour party conference, delegates received minimal discussion on enhancing the justice system, despite its long-standing underfunding. Prime Minister Andy Burnham outlined plans to reform social care, prepared to jeopardize his political career by abandoning the triple lock pension guarantee to fund it. For 14 years, legal wing party campaigners highlighted the shortcomings of the underfunded system. With their team now in power, some perceived justice as perpetually the bridesmaid.
Money remains the primary constraint
Justice minister Sarah Sackman admitted there is no more to go around. She stressed the extra money Labour has committed to criminal and housing legal aid, but added that she would be lying if she said there was a whole lot more money to spend. “You heard the [chancellor of the exchequer] John Healey speech earlier and we are not awash with money,” she told delegates. “The fiscal situation is tight.”
Sackman voiced her backing for a national justice system based on the NHS principle that early treatment saves on high spending further down the line. She argued that law centres are a fraction of what is spent on legal aid and questioned why legal support and legal aid is not part of a national legal service. Sackman endorsed the controversial Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts Scheme, which is intended to top up the coffers, and the Ministry of Justice recently advertised for two people to lead it.
Uncertainty over jury reforms
Justice secretary Alex Norris’s 12-minute address failed to set out any new policies, leaving lawyers uncertain whether the government intends to go ahead with jury trial reforms introduced by his predecessor David Lammy. Norris paid tribute to Lammy for having “set in motion the major reforms we needed,” but in various media engagements he appeared to be distancing himself from the jury proposals. The Politico website reported that Norris confirmed in a yet-to-be-aired podcast that he would scrap the plans and bring in a new bill.
Read Also: Regulator probes solicitor links in Man City financial scandal
Justice minister Jake Richards was careful with his words regarding the European Convention on Human Rights. He chose to draw dividing lines with the Conservatives and Reform UK—both committed to leaving—while trying not to alienate Labour voters unhappy with the convention and its implications for immigration. Richards said Labour was “absolutely committed” to the ECHR but not necessarily to its current incarnation.
Richards argued that leaving the ECHR would not help tackle the small boats crisis one jot and that anyone who said otherwise would be lying. “It is important we make this argument,” he stated.
A rare moment of clarity
That was a rare moment of clarity at a conference where delegates heard little about how Labour will improve the justice system. While officials spoke of early intervention and structural reform, the only certainty was that there is scant money to do it. The focus on the small boats crisis and the ECHR overshadowed the broader question of domestic legal aid, leaving lawyers with more questions than answers about the future of the justice system under the new administration.
