Coffee House Shots: is the government right to restrict jury trials?
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The Spectator
4.3 • 826 Ratings
🗓️ 16 March 2026
⏱️ 23 minutes
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Summary
The government's plan to restrict jury trials passed its first parliamentary hurdle this week. It is one measure, amongst many, in a Bill designed to reduce the huge backlog currently facing the Courts. Labour MP Karl Turner and Danny Shaw, a former adviser, join Isabel Hardman to discuss why they have each come to their own, different conclusion about the merits of the Bill.
For Danny, it is a pragmatic yet principled measure that will help mitigate an extreme situation. Karl, for his part, is – as you will hear – ferocious in his opposition, and argues that the evidence simply doesn't back it up. Amongst the debate though, there are moments of agreement – from the state of the justice system, to the government's handling of such a controversial measure.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On Tuesday the 24th of March, our speakers will debate the motion, |
| 0:04.0 | this House believes we should abolish the licence fee. |
| 0:07.2 | Spectator Chairman Charles Moore and the telegraphs Alison Pearson |
| 0:10.2 | will propose the motion with Spectator editor Michael Gove |
| 0:13.4 | and former BBC America editor John Sopel opposing. |
| 0:16.8 | I'm Isabel Hardman and I'll be in the chair to maintain decorum and take your pressing questions. |
| 0:22.2 | Join us on Tuesday the 24th of March at 7pm and book your tickets at spectator.com forward slash debate. |
| 0:35.6 | Hello and welcome to a special Saturday edition of Coffee House Shots, the Spectator's Daily Politics Podcast. |
| 0:42.2 | I'm Isabel Hardman and I'm joined today by Carl Turner, Labour MP, and Home Affairs commentator and former advisor to Yvette Cooper, Danny Shaw. |
| 0:51.4 | We're going to be discussing the government's proposals to cut the number of jury |
| 0:55.8 | trials in England and Wales, which passed their first hurdle in the House of Commons this |
| 1:00.4 | week at second reading, although there were a notable number of Labour MPs who did not vote |
| 1:07.1 | on the bill. Danny, you're in favour of these changes. Could you also just explain the |
| 1:13.1 | extent of them and the planned impact? How much of a difference are they actually going to make? |
| 1:18.8 | Well, the changes that the government has put forward to reform the court system have to be seen, |
| 1:24.8 | not in isolation. They have to be seen as part of a package of measures |
| 1:27.7 | to reduce the backlog in Crown Courts in England or Wales. Currently around 80,000, projected |
| 1:33.4 | to go up to 130,000 within the next four years and 200,000 by 2035 if no action is taken at all. |
| 1:44.0 | So the government is promising extra investment. It's going to |
| 1:47.9 | allow the courts to sit for as many days as they can for the next financial year. They're providing |
| 1:54.1 | investment for that. They're providing some additional investment for lawyers for legal aid and so on. |
| 1:59.7 | And they're also making or hope to make some efficiencies |
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