Justice Under Pressure: Why I’m Fighting for Your Rights

Justice in Britain is at risk—not because of crime, but because of Government cuts and bad decisions. Behind the headlines lies a system starved of resources and struggling to uphold the rights that have defined our democracy for hundreds of years.

As your MP, I don’t just speak for our community in Parliament—I also serve on the Justice Select Committee, where we hold the Government and other agencies to account, and prepare reports on how to improve the system. Each week, our group takes evidence on everything from court funding and probation services to prisons and family law. It’s detailed work, but the stakes couldn’t be higher; after all justice delayed is justice denied.

We have been challenging the Government’s plan to restrict jury trials. Ministers claim this will speed up justice, but it goes way beyond the recommendations of the independent enquiry.

Trial by jury is a key part of British freedom. It may not be perfect, but removing it from thousands of cases each year is a risky shortcut. Liberal Democrats have always stood for fairness and individual freedoms, and we will fight any attempt to weaken them and when MPs from every major party unite against a policy, it’s clear the Government has lost the argument.

The real problem isn’t juries—it’s a broken system. On a visit to Poole Law Courts, I watched as a judge sat in an empty courtroom, waiting hours for prisoners to arrive. Transport failures, missing witnesses, and plea changes lead to collapsed cases and extra delay. That’s not fixed by reducing our rights—it’s fixed by increasing sitting days and proper investment.

The backlog starts in our jails, which are full and failing. Overcrowding encourages violence and fuels a thriving drug trade: 39% of prisoners say it’s easy to get drugs inside and drones are becoming commonplace, delivering inside what should be secure units. More than half of prisoners cannot access work, and prison education services face cuts. And with 80% of those behind bars reoffenders, the system is clearly failing to reform those it touches.

The Justice system gets less money than the Science and Innovation Department. That choice has led to cuts in legal aid, left courts crumbling, and turned prisons into warehouses instead of places to rebuild lives.  Liberal Democrats have long argued that rehabilitation, education, and mental health support are the keys to reducing crime. We want prisons to rebuild lives, not just lock people away.

Justice matters to victims, families, and everyone in our communities. Whilst it may not come up directly on the doorsteps, a fear of crime does. Alongside properly funded police, we need the courts to work too, prisons to function well and our rights to be maintained – for everyone, and not just those with money or influence.

Safe streets start with a justice system that works—and I won’t let ministers blame those rights while ignoring the evidence.