Speeches by Paul.

“At the very least, Ministers should have been required to present Parliament with a more realistic counterfactual, incorporating live reforms already in train, including uncapped sitting days and new sentencing powers, before setting out to make permanent constitutional change. If the choice is set up as do nothing ver…”

“The Government’s figures tell us that the package reduces Crown court sitting days by 27,000 and increases magistrates court sitting days by 8,500, but where exactly in that modelling is the court time for the new allocation architecture itself? Clause 3 requires judges to assess likely sentence, hear representations, …”

“The Sentencing Act 2026 now allows custodial sentences of up to three years to be suspended, and introduced presumption to suspend short custodial sentences. Those are changes that may well affect plea behaviour, sentencing outcomes and, in due course, trial volumes. They are, however, not obviously incorporated into t…”

“The Bar Council says the proposal introduces an extra layer of hearings and complication. JUSTICE says that the allocation of cases will lengthen the PTPH, and that the process of reallocation will lengthen it further. If Ministers have accounted for that, they should show their workings. If they have not, the headline…”

“It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Ms Jardine. As the Committee has likely anticipated, I will argue that clause 3 should not stand part of the Bill. Clause 3 is the heart of the Government’s constitutional gamble. It creates a wholly new general rule for trial on indictment without a jury in a substant…”

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“The Opposition support amendment 51. If the Government insist on retaining clause 4 and schedule 1, then there is a compelling case for removing the power of the Secretary of State to add further offences to the list by regulation. I am particularly concerned by that unconstrained power. If the Government have currentl…”

“Since the cap on judicial sitting days was lifted in October 2025, the backlog has reduced in key regions, including London, and fell materially in places such as Maidstone. The Bar Council and the Law Society both argue that there are further practical changes that can be implemented now without curtailing jury trials…”

“Something I have said before that bears repeating is that the case against clause 3 and indeed the Bill is not that backlogs are tolerable; it is that the real causes of delay lie elsewhere and should be addressed directly. Many of Leveson’s recommendations, including prison transport, case management, listing, sitting…”

“Colleagues will also recall the circulated letter from leaders in the violence against women and girls space, which makes the same point from another direction. It states that juries”

““are an important constitutional safeguard which help to ensure fairness, legitimacy and public confidence”,”

““You don’t fix the backlog with trials that are widely perceived as unfair.””

“On 27 November 2025, an hon. and learned Member for whom I have a great deal of time and respect said in the Commons:”

“I will not belabour this point, but I hope that, if the Minister is not persuaded by what the Opposition have to say today, she might at least take our points as advanced by her boss not that long ago.”

“and the one part of the criminal justice system where minorities were treated without racial bias. He is also repeatedly quoted as having said:”

““Criminal trials without juries are a bad idea”,”

““jury trials will always be a cornerstone of British justice.””

“and:”

“Clause 3 has serious implications for the space where law, speech and conscience intersect. There was an abundance of written evidence that emphasised slightly different versions of the same point. The kinds of either-way offence likely to fall into judge-only trial include exactly the sorts of offences used in protest…”

“I agree with my hon. Friend. Frankly, I am shocked that a Labour Government would do that. It is the last thing I expected of a Labour Government.”