Oral Answers to Questions

Gregory Stafford Excerpts

Tuesday 19th May 2026 Commons Chamber

[Catherine Atkinson]

I thank the hon. Member for raising this important issue. Alongside the roll-out of child-focused courts, more work needs to be done to look at coercive control. I know it is an issue of real interest to many across the House, and it is something that the Government take very seriously.

[Gregory Stafford (Farnham and Bordon) (Con)]

6. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of proposed changes to jury trials on the criminal justice system.

[Sarah Pochin (Runcorn and Helsby) (Reform)]

20. What assessment he has made of the potential impact of restricting the right to trial by jury in some circumstances on levels of public confidence in the criminal justice system.

[The Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice (Mr David Lammy)]

We inherited a justice system in crisis, with a backlog of over 80,000 cases—double what it was in the pre-covid era—and with victims, witnesses and defendants waiting years for justice. That is what truly undermines confidence in our justice system. Justice delayed is justice denied. Only by pulling every lever—investment, efficiency and reform—can we turn the tide.

[Gregory Stafford]

On the Secretary of State’s watch, the courts backlog has reached record levels, yet his answer is to weaken one of the oldest rights in our justice system: trial by jury. The backlog was not caused by juries and it will not be solved by scrapping juries. The Bar Council says there is very little evidence for the Government’s approach, while the Institute for Government estimates that it would save at most about 2% of court time, and even that may be generous. Why will the Government not drop this ill-judged proposal and focus instead on the serious reforms needed to cut the backlog and speed up justice for victims?

[Mr Lammy]

If the hon. Gentleman were serious, he would get on top of the detail. We are not scrapping juries; juries remain a cornerstone of our system. Just as Margaret Thatcher made changes to the jury system, and just as the Blair Government made changes to the jury system, we are making changes to bring down the backlog.