The rule of law will serve as the government’s lodestar, the attorney general Lord Hermer KC told peers in his maiden speech yesterday. “The prime minister and the lord chancellor have both made it clear,” he added, “that the promotion and protection of the rule of law will underpin our approach to legislation and policy.”
Hermer had made similar pledges on the rule of law when he was sworn in as attorney general last week. I reported his speech in full at the time and won’t repeat it now.
But, as part of the debate on the King’s Speech, he then outlined some of the government’s constitutional reforms:
Our democracy is something to cherish and protect in an increasingly uncertain world. This government will, by clamping down on improper donations to political parties, robustly defend our electoral system against interference from bad actors who seek to undermine it.
The prime minister has made clear his expectations for high ministerial standards and integrity. This government wants to restore the public’s faith and confidence in government through establishing a new independent ethics and integrity commission, with its own independent chair. This extends to members of the House of Commons, who are rightly expected to abide by the highest standards.
The government have committed to establishing a new modernisation committee, which will work to drive up standards, and reform procedures and working practices.
The rules prohibiting the provision of paid parliamentary advice will also be strengthened in the guide to the rules, setting out in more detail what is required of members in order to abide by the code.
The new peer had the unenviable task of telling his 92 hereditary colleagues that they were about to be evicted from the Lords. As Hermer acknowledged, they had “worked so hard to scrutinise the governments of the day and support the improvement in quality of legislation”. But they had to go because the government was committed to maintain the vitality of our democratic institutions.
That failed to convince the Conservative front-bencher Lord Keen of Elie KC. As the former law officer and minister pointed out, hereditaries are the only peers who are elected. Their heirs do not inherit a seat on the red benches. Keen contrasted that with the most senior Church of England bishops who are guaranteed a seat in the Lords on appointment.
Earlier in his speech, Hermer told peers that although he had been a passionate supporter of the Labour party since he was a young teenager, his late father had been a Conservative councillor in south Wales.
He continued:
Not only did we never fall out over politics, and not only did our difference of opinion never lessen one iota how [ever] much I loved and admired him, but our political discussions around the family table were conducted always with respect and often with humour.
What is more, as I matured I developed an inkling that, if I talked a little less and listened a little more, I might actually learn something. So it is with that life experience that I come to your lordships’ house: of course to represent this government and assist in the delivery of their agenda but also to embrace the guiding principle that this forum is for not only mature and respectful debate but active listening.
Law for Lawmakers
Hermer also provided a written endorsement for Law for Lawmakers, a newly revised guide for MPs and peers published by the law reform and human rights charity Justice.
The attorney general said:
This guide is an incredibly useful resource in introducing some of the key legal and constitutional principles which lawmakers will encounter. I sincerely hope it will encourage debate and conversation on how law and politics can work together in harmony
Alex Chalk, the former lord chancellor and justice secretary, said
The world of the law, of bewigged judges and judicial review, can feel like a secret garden to MPs — to new ones in particular. This excellent guide gives them the key.
Fiona Rutherford, chief executive of Justice, said
The rule of law means we all benefit from, and answer to, the same rules. But where the rule of law is badly eroded, the results — rushed, poorly scrutinised new laws, and threats to judicial independence, for example — hurt us all. This guide serves to repair the cracks in the UK’s political foundations by giving every MP the tools they need to act as custodians of our democracy.
Andrew Denny, head of UK public law at A&O Shearman, which sponsored the publication, said that “51% of MPs are sitting in parliament for the first time so this guide couldn’t be more relevant”.
My own view of Law for Lawmakers is that it is a useful introduction to the legal process — and not just for parliamentarians. Pedants will enjoy spotting various minor errors, solecisms and oversimplifications. My own concern is that the guide may be somewhat overwhelming for someone with little or no knowledge of the law. There’s a great deal in it — but no index.
Still, anything that helps lawmakers to understand the rule of law must be a good thing.
https://dburrows.substack.com/p/united-kingdom-who-makes-our-laws