Overview
- Thirty-nine Labour MPs, led by Karl Turner, have written to the prime minister urging a pause or U-turn and warning more colleagues may rebel.
- The proposals would reserve jury trials for indictable offences and cases likely to attract sentences over three years, expand magistrates’ powers, and create new judge-led 'swift courts'.
- Ministry of Justice data show the Crown Court backlog near 80,000 cases, with projections as high as 125,000 by the end of the Parliament, while the government insists juries remain for the most serious crimes.
- Critics say restricting juries could cut the share of jury trials from about 3% to 1.5% and propose alternatives such as more sitting days, recruiting Recorders, tighter oversight of prisoner transport, and charge reviews by the CPS.
- Resistance is widening beyond Labour, with Conservative MPs also voicing opposition, and legal figures questioning how sentence estimates and appeal routes would work in judge-only trials.