William Jones

“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself” - F Roosevelt

[William Jones @William02102005]

@KarlTurnerMP Thoughts!?

[The Bar Council @thebarcouncil]

"Leave juries alone."

The Times reports today that the government is considering a different approach to the previous government on changes to criminal justice.

However, the proposals would still restrict the right to jury trial by giving judges the power to decide which cases go to a jury trial.

The government should move away from wasting further parliamentary time and resources on other jury restricting experiments, and focus on the actual issues that are causing delays in the system.

Our Chair @Kirsty_Brimelow KC explains on Times Radio this morning. ⬇️

#JusticeNeedsJuries

[Jay @JibbaJabb]

Quite an opening to tonight's #c4news

#reformuk

[Paul Johnson @paul__johnson]

Hook, line and sinker

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

“Manchesterism” is working.

Good to get proof of that today from the @CentreforCities.

[William Jones @William02102005]

👏👏

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

Politics isn’t working for places like ours.

I will change that.

#AndyBurnham #ForUs

[Channel 4 News @Channel4News]

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has set out his views on Labour's path forward and the policy challenges facing the country.

Speaking to Channel 4 News' Andrew Misra, Burnham said he wanted Labour to become “a party that they can believe in again, a party solidly on the side of working class people.”

[Andy Burnham @andyburnham]

I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election.

I grew up in this area and have lived here for 25 years. I care deeply about it and its people. I know they have been let down by national politics.

Ten years ago, I decided to leave Westminster. Why? Because, after 16 years, I came to the conclusion that our national political system does not work for areas like ours. I learnt this fighting its failure to invest in the Wigan borough, for justice for the Hillsborough families and against its treatment of Greater Manchester during the pandemic.

Over the last decade, I have been challenging this failure from the outside and building a new and better way of doing politics. We have built Greater Manchester into the fastest-growing city-region in the UK and put buses back under public control, introducing a £2 fare cap to help people with cost-of-living pressures.

However, there is only so much that can be done from Greater Manchester. Much bigger change is needed at a national level if everyday life is to be made more affordable again. This is why I now seek people’s support to return to Parliament: to bring the change we have brought to Greater Manchester to the whole of the UK and make politics work properly for people.

Millions are struggling and they need the Labour Government to succeed. It has already made changes to make life better for them in its first two years. After this week, we owe it to people to come back together as a Labour movement, giving the Prime Minister and the Government the space and stability they need as the by-election takes place.

I want to recognise the difficult decision taken by Josh Simons and the sacrifice he and his family are making. I have worked closely with him as Mayor on issues like flooding and illegal waste dumping and have seen first-hand how effective he has been. He has put the communities of Makerfield first, made a real difference for them and should take great pride in that.

Finally, I truly do not take a single vote for granted and will work hard to regain the trust of people in the Makerfield constituency, many of whom have long supported our party but lost faith in recent times. We will change Labour for the better and make it a party you can believe in again.

ENDS

[ALASTAIR CAMPBELL @campbellclaret]

Whatever complaints MPs have about Keir Starmer, they are now descending into the kind of headless chickenry that - whatever and whoever the outcome - will make the situation even worse for Labour. If there is a grand plan starring Catherine West and a few PPSs, then it doesn’t feel terribly thought through. A period of calm would do none of them any harm. The general election is a fair way off. The next legislative programme is about to be unveiled. There are better ways to reach such an important decision and better times too. You are MPs not commentators who exist to feed a frenzy.

[Calgie @christiancalgie]

Zack Polanski: "The Green Party are an anti-racist party"
Nick Robinson: "You can't just say the words 'we're an anti-racist party' when I've just read you out five of the most revolting comments"

[Labour Press @labourpress]

Peep Show reboot looks rubbish

[Jon Sopel @jonsopel]

The supreme irony in the whole Mandelson mess will be if Number 10 appoints Karen Pierce to become the new head of the Foreign Office. It was her removal by Starmer as our ambassador in Washington to pave the way for Mandelson that is the source of this all engulfing shitstorm. If only he’d just kept her in place……

[William Dalrymple @DalrympleWill]

Wonderful news! And what a relief that our judiciary is still fiercely independent of the government
"UK ban on Palestine Action unlawful, high court judges rule.
Protest group wins legal challenge against decision to proscribe it under anti-terror laws"
https://t.co/1PG5hS8pxy

[Pedro Sánchez @sanchezcastejon]

They care for aging parents, work in small and large companies, and harvest the food on our tables. On weekends, they walk in our parks and play on the local amateur soccer team.

For me, the choice is clear.

Here is my article for @nytimes:
https://t.co/a0Mjxm8SSl

[Auschwitz Memorial @AuschwitzMuseum]

Auschwitz was at the end of a long process. We must remember that it did not start from gas chambers.

This hatred was gradually developed by humans. From ideas, words, stereotypes & prejudice through legal exclusion, dehumanization & escalating violence... to systematic and industrial murder.

Auschwitz took time.

[Chris Daw KC @crimlawuk]

NATIONAL EMERGENCY - SAVE JURY TRIALS

Once Lammy / Starmer get away with reducing jury trial by 50% it will be a short and greasy slope to the 95% cut he originally wanted, before the backlash, and before long our sacred, ancient and trusted system of jury trial will be a distant memory.

4119 signatures are just not enough. Tens if not hundreds of thousands of people have viewed and liked and supported X, LinkedIn and other social posts opposing jury trial abolition.

But still not enough signatures to force even a response, let alone a debate!!!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE sign this petition and share it In every platform, by text, whatsapp, email and every other way you can.

This is an existential battle to save the criminal justice system as we know it - make your voice heard - sign and circulate now!

https://t.co/CilS8VD3IP

[Chris Daw KC @crimlawuk]

If you sign only one petition this year, please sign this one.

Don't let them remove the right to trial by jury.

It is the last part of the system we can completely trust.

#SaveJuryTrial
#NoToLammy

https://t.co/xono34jd6F

[The Bar Council @thebarcouncil]

We have continuously opposed proposals to curtail jury trials because there is no evidence that their removal would reduce the backlog nor has it been set out how an alternative system would be resourced.

We urge the government to reconsider pursuing radical changes under the mistaken belief that radical equals effective.

There’s much to be embraced in the government's announcement that recognises the desperately needed investment in the criminal justice system. However, this risks being undermined by jury trial proposals that compromise public trust and confidence in our system.

Read our full initial response to the government's announcement⤵️
https://t.co/WSIWtkd1jw

[David Wolfson @DXW_KC]

We were told that the right to trial by jury for many cases must be abolished because of the criminal cases backlog.
But @DavidLammy just confirmed in Parliament that even without any backlog, "it's not my expectation that these rules will change".
So this isn't about backlog. This lawyer-heavy Gov't wants to limit jury trial as a matter of principle.
And - as a matter of principle - that's wrong.

[Antonello Guerrera @antoguerrera]

"Leave Nato". God help us.

[John Spencer @SpencerGuard]

The silence is deafening. Civilian men, women, and children are being slaughtered in Sudan.

Estimates of over 150,000 killed & 14 million displaced since April 2023. Considered the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.

No mass protests. No daily political statements/demands. No college campus encampments.