Dr Will Jones: Judges Need Fewer Powers, Not More

The Hillsborough Law is well-intentioned, but its effect will be to transfer yet more power from elected members of Parliament to judges – the opposite of what is needed to restore public trust and democratic accountability, says Toby in the Spectator. Here’s an excerpt.

The purpose of the bill, as set out in clause one, is “to ensure that public authorities and officials perform their functions in the public interest…”. That goes far beyond what’s necessary to prevent another Hillsborough. As my colleague Lord Goodman has pointed out, it could lead to civil servants refusing to carry out the orders of a Reform government – or, indeed, any government – on the grounds that doing so wouldn’t be in the public interest. The ultimate arbiter of such a stand-off would be the courts, meaning the bill will transfer even more power from Parliament to judges. The sclerosis of the British state, unable to tackle any of the country’s long-term problems because of the erosion of Parliamentary sovereignty, is about to get worse.

Then there’s clause 11, which creates a new criminal offence of misleading the public: “A public authority or public official commits an offence if, in their capacity as such an authority or official, (a) they act with the intention of misleading the public or are reckless as to whether their act will do so, and (b) they know, or ought to know, that their act is seriously improper.” If you’re wondering whether MPs and peers will be exempt, the answer is no. They’ll still have Parliamentary privilege, but if they say anything “misleading” on television or radio, even if they don’t intend it to be and don’t know that their behaviour is “seriously improper”, they could go to prison.

Does this mean Rachel Reeves would be liable for prosecution if she raises taxes in the Budget, given that she promised not to? Could Ed Miliband be clapped in irons for saying average household energy bills would fall by £300 a year? Even if the police decided not to investigate these malefactors, there would be nothing to stop a political activist bringing a private prosecution. The thought of Jolyon Maugham being armed with this new weapon under a Reform government is terrifying. For a politician to be found guilty of this offence, even if they were spared a custodial sentence, would be career ending. The casting director of I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! will be spoilt for choice.

Advocates of the bill claim it will help restore public trust in elected officials, but I’m not so sure. The main reason the public is disillusioned with politicians isn’t because they’re corrupt. Transparency International’s 2024 Corruption Perceptions Index ranks the UK 20th out of 180 countries. No, it’s because they keep promising to fix problems like illegal immigration, only to do sod all about them. Why? Because when they move into their swanky ministerial offices they quickly discover they lack any real power. By further restricting their room for manoeuvre and placing them even more firmly under the thumb of judges, this bill will increase the public’s contempt for politicians.

Worth reading in full.

Dr. Will Jones is Editor of the Daily Sceptic. He has a PhD in political philosophy, an MA in ethics, a BSc in mathematics and a diploma in theology. This article was first published HERE