Mansion House Speech – 18 July 2023

Introduction

1. My Lord Mayor, Lady Mayoress, my Lord Chief Justice, members of His

2. Thank you, Lord Chief Justice for your kind words. It is of course a special
honour to be speaking to you as Lord Chancellor. But can we all please spare a
thought for at least three of your number here who led me at the Bar and are now
feeling really, really old…

3. So much has happened for all of us in the last decade. In 2013, I was at the Bar
at 6KBW College Hill. It was a different time entirely; as a busy practitioner I
confess I didn’t always pore over every dissenting Court of Appeal judgment;
unaccountably, I find them absolutely compelling today.

4. And it was in 2013 that I was selected as the Conservative candidate for
Cheltenham. It wasn’t going terribly well. Door after door was opened by people
who said they knew who I was, but added that although I was better than my
brother, they weren’t going to vote for David Miliband either. When I fed that back
to HQ they came up with what they assured me was a brilliant plan. They would
send down the then-Mayor of London to boost my profile. Even then, I was aware
that this could be a high-risk strategy.

LCJ

5. I thank Lord Burnett for his speech.

6. The Lord Chief Justice has shown himself ready to serve in so many ways. He
attended a Commonwealth conference in 2022. On the second night the hosts
announced that the judges would be called to dance by rank, starting with Chief
Justices, and starting with England & Wales.

7. My source tells me that Lord Burnett did not hesitate to get to his feet, to the
delight of the hundreds watching on. His Private Secretary still has the footage
available in, I am told, clear contravention of a judicial order. There will be an
auction at the end of the evening.

8. Few in peacetime have been tested as Lord Burnett was. He showed leadership
to help keep the courts open during Covid, in a judgement that was vindicated.
He has promoted transparency, in particular broadcasting of sentencing remarks
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 in the Crown Court. He has increased engagement with the public and students.
And he has championed modernisation, digitisation, diversity and recruitment.

9. MPs and peers of all parties hold him in the highest regard. Parliament, his
profession and indeed the nation owe him a debt of gratitude and wish him well
for whatever comes next. 

Gratitude to the Judges

10. I want also to thank those of you who sat during the pandemic.

11. You did so despite the fact that many of you, I’m sure, will have come under
pressure from concerned friends and family not to come into court, not to put
yourselves at risk. ‘Why you?’ they will have said; to which the only answer was
that fate put you there, at that unique moment of jeopardy for our justice system
and yours was the task to do.

12. Thank you for all you did. Covid has a long tail when it comes to the courts, and
plainly there are still significant pressures as the system heals – from family law
(public and private) to the employment tribunal. But let us remember that those
pressures would have been immeasurably greater without your efforts.

Key Points
13. I want to turn to some other points, and I’m pleased to say that No.10 were so
delighted that I was attending this event that they even helped me draft this part
of speech. So, turning to our five priorities…

Rule of Law - international

14. I recently visited Japan for the G7 Justice Ministers Conference. It was
immediately clear just how strong the relationship is between the UK and Japan,
and the importance that is attached by that country and indeed the ASEAN
countries (from Malaysia to Singapore) to our playing our part in the Indo-Pacific.

15. Now, that importance isn’t wholly or even mainly underpinned by the strong and
growing military and industrial alliance through our collaboration with Japan on
the Global Combat Air Programme – important though that is. Instead, absolutely
at the heart of our offer to the Indo-Pacific and indeed to the world is our strong
legal capabilities and tradition of upholding the rule of law – as demonstrated by
Japan’s enthusiasm to single out the UK to sign a memorandum of cooperation
on law and justice, including on our legal sectors.

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16. Because it is well understood internationally that our country has historically
contributed a great deal, perhaps more than any other, to the development of
private international law through the Hague Conventions, with their network of
jurisdiction and mutual enforcement arrangements. It is also acknowledged that
the UK has the biggest legal sector in Europe, second only worldwide to the
United States, a sector that continues to thrive.

17. And our international counterparts recognise that our common law system enjoys
an endless potential for modernisation to respond to the latest trends,
technologies and dispute flashpoints. The common law is ancient, yes, and yet
relentlessly contemporary.

18. Against that backdrop, we will of course assert this advantage, we will press for
strengthened cooperation and exchange in legal services. That will help grow our
economy and generate extraordinary opportunities for young people from this
jurisdiction to go as far as their talents will take them – promoting the social
mobility agenda which brought me into politics. Thank you to the judiciary, the
Bar Council and the Law Society for what you are doing to support this
endeavour.

19. But in truth it’s about more than that. Despite the undoubted commercial
opportunities, we will prioritise this agenda because every time we advance a PIL
agreement, every time we improve access to a foreign legal market, every time
we secure that exchange event between lawyers we strengthen the international
rules-based order. In the Indo-Pacific and in the wider world, we must recognise
that the argument for the rule of law is far from settled. That part of the world, as
well as being the crucible of global economic growth over the coming decades, is
also the crucible of competing visions. It is in some ways the epicentre of a global
contest. And in that contest, free societies have to demonstrate that the rule of
law matters – and ultimately it makes societies safer, and citizens freer and
better off.

20. So we will continue to speak up for the rule of law. We will make clear in the
context of Russia’s unlawful full-scale invasion of Ukraine that might is not
always right, that the international rules-based order counts for something, and
that there are consequences for those who violate recognised borders.

21. And we are putting resources behind our words. Quite apart from being the
second largest provider of military support to Ukraine after the US, we have
delivered war crimes investigation training to Ukrainian police on behalf of the
ICC, we have provided training for Ukrainian judges led, by Sir Howard Morrison
KC, and allocated additional funding to support ICC investigations.

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Rule of law - domestic

22. But as well as advocating the rule of law abroad, we must show focus and
vigilance to maintain it here at home. Although deep-rooted in our society, it must
never be taken for granted. It requires care and effort to keep it in good health –
particularly in an era of social media and disinformation which throws up new,
dystopian misinformed challenges.

23. So, the starting-point is to make the case for why it matters – to bring it to life in
terms that are accessible to all. In my swearing-in speech I stated that the rule of
law, independence of the judiciary and access to justice aren’t quaint, obscure
notions to pay lip-service to – but the essential building blocks of a safe, fair and
prosperous society – as relevant today as in any year of the modern era.

24. And what access to justice and independence of the judiciary mean in practice is
walking out of court as an advocate or litigant having lost, and knowing deep
down that despite your disappointment you have been heard by judges of
formidable intellect and unimpeachable integrity. And you have had a full and fair
hearing. That is inestimably precious.

25. So what must we do to nurture it?

26. Well, in the first place, show respect to its key custodians. The Government is
pleased to have been able to accept in full the PRB pay recommendations,
including the Senior Salaries Review Body recommendation. In doing so, the
Government is sending I hope a clear message about its deep regard for the
judiciary, and the value attached to the essential work that you do.

27. Second, I believe very strongly that we must invest in the infrastructure of the
courts estate. The physical condition of the buildings that discharge justice
matters. It is difficult to uphold the dignity and authority of the law, important by
the way to promote the small matter of compliance with court orders, when there
is a bucket catching drips in the corner of the room.

28. It is equally difficult as a practitioner to feel proud of the profession you have
worked hard to join as you open your case to the jury in Isleworth (as I did in the
past) and know that all anyone is thinking about is the overwhelming smell of
damp in the carpets. (Those have been replaced by the way).

29. Poor maintenance impacts capacity of course – but it also corrodes morale. And
we need that morale, not least to unwind the pressures Covid created. It is only
by sustaining and growing pride in the justice system and pride in the legal
profession that we will continue to retain the practitioners we need and attract the
brightest and the best to join. Every improvement in infrastructure sends out a
ripple of confidence, through robing rooms, chambers and into university lecture
theatres; and it enhances the overall attractiveness of the profession.

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 Notwithstanding the £185m spent on court maintenance in the last two years,
and the extra £38m in the last financial year for redecorations and deep cleans,
we can go further. It’s a point I raised on my first day in office. I have prioritised it
since, and I look forward to being able to say a little more in due course.

30. Third, we must be vigilant in clamping down on those who would misuse our
courts, absorbing capacity with bogus lawsuits cynically designed to intimidate
journalists and campaigners, and stifle freedom of speech. So I am pleased that
we have acted through amendments to the Economic Crime and Corporate
Transparency Bill to create an early dismissal process in respect of spurious
SLAPPS which are connected to financial fraud and corruption – the
overwhelming majority of actions.

31. Fourth, we should take every opportunity to promote access to justice. And let
me say that legal aid plays an important role in delivering that. So I am pleased
that we have published our response to the Legal Aid Means Test Review, which
when fully implemented will lead to over six million more people falling within the
scope of legal aid.

32. All this we do and more. As a junior minister in the department, I devised ELSA
(Early Legal Support and Advice) as the umbrella term for a suite of proposals to
improve access to justice. Politics is the art of the possible, and we won’t get
everything done overnight. But I will give it my all.

33. Fifth, we must abandon for good the outdated complacency that assumes all
those who rise to positions of responsibility in our country are experts (or at least
experienced) in the inner workings of our constitution. We should dismiss what
has come to feel like a conspiracy of romantic hopes that through their education
and wider upbringing people somehow acquire osmotically an understanding of
the balance of our constitution, the conventions that secure it and – yes – the
boundaries.

34. And yet, this is something that as a society we devote little or no effort to. Despite
the fact that new legal practitioners receive ethics training as part of their
preparation for practice, for those entering public life there is no such guidance or
investment at all. There should be.

35. And so, with a general election due in the next 18 months, preparations should
be made to ensure that Members of the next Parliament and the people they
work alongside, are given the assistance and information they require. As the
President of the Supreme Court noted earlier this month, and I agree,
maintaining the rule of law is a joint responsibility of Parliament and the courts.
Far from being a contest for power between the two, we have a shared
commitment and we should support each other in delivering it.

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 36. And in that spirit we must work together to support the parliamentarians of the
future. Precisely how that support is framed will be a matter for discussion and
careful thought. But it shouldn’t be put off.

Jury Trials and Backlogs

37. Finally this. I know there are real pressures in the system. I have referred to them
already. I know that despite the Magistrates’ Court snapping back fast, the
caseload in the Crown Court is high.

38. That is in part a function of the fact that we didn’t abandon jury trials, even when
some suggested we should. That was manifestly the right decision. Because jury
trials remain the lamp of our liberties, and the ultimate guarantors of fair trials
which enjoy the public’s confidence. But we have to recognise that this had a
consequence, and the sheer volume now is at least in part the price we pay for
principle.

39. We will do all we can to help. We have removed the cap on sitting days for two
years in a row, ensuring the Crown Court can sit at maximum capacity. We have
passed the PCSC Act so that remote hearings can continue, where appropriate.
24 Nightingale courtrooms have been extended beyond March 2023 to provide
additional capacity. We expect criminal legal aid spending will increase by
approximately £141m per year in a steady state.

40. We are recruiting up to 1,000 judges across jurisdictions. And we have raised the
statutory mandatory retirement age to 75 for judicial office holders, estimated to
retain an additional 400 judges and tribunal members.

41. But I am acutely conscious that it is you and the practitioners that you see in your
courts and tribunals that will do more than anyone else to bear down on these
volumes, and do so in a way that delivers justice.

42. So I want to thank you for what you have done, but all that you will do. It is not
easy I realise.

43. We use the adjective ‘world-beating’ sparingly these days. But excessive
diffidence is to be avoided too. It is entirely reasonable to point out that we have
a judiciary that rightly enjoys enormous respect globally – and not just for the
quality of its dance moves. In terms of sheer intellectual horsepower and
fundamental fairness it stands out.

44. And it is underpinned by unswerving professionalism. To serve in our courts, as

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 united by a common desire to serve, and leave the system of justice in our
country stronger for our having been here. That is what you might call, my
‘overriding objective’.
Toast

45. Thank you for your attention. Let me close by offering a toast to our hosts – to
the Lord Mayor and Lady Mayoress.

46. Thank you.

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