Westminster update: new select committee chairs elected

One thing you need to do

With all major political parties holding their annual party conferences soon, we are hosting various events with prominent political stakeholders to promote solicitors and the wider profession:

• justice on the rocks drinks reception at Liberal Democrat Party conference on 15 September 6pm to 8pm in Brighton
• a critical moment for our justice system: an agenda for change panel event with the Society of Labour Lawyers and the Bar Council at Labour Party conference on 22 September 5pm to 6.30pm in Liverpool
• the justice hustings drinks reception with the Bar Council at Conservative Party conference on 29 September 8.30pm to 10.30pm in Birmingham

If you’re planning to attend party conference, or will be nearby, get in touch and join us!

What you need to know

1. New select committee chairs elected

Wednesday 11 September saw the election of the new chairs of the Commons’ select committees.

These committees mirror government departments and run inquiries and evidence sessions to explore topical issues and hold ministers to account.

With so many new MPs, there was a battle between longserving members and fresh faces keen to make their mark.

In the end, it was the experienced MPs who came out on top.

• barrister and long-time campaigner for legal aid Andy Slaughter (Labour) will lead the Justice Committee
• former chief secretary to the Treasury Liam Byrne (Labour) will continue his role heading up the Business and Trade Committee
• the Conservatives’ Karen Bradley is the new chair of the Home Affairs Committee
• Emily Thornberry – once tipped to become Starmer’s attorney general – is back in a powerful position after winning the contest for the Foreign Affairs Committee

While we now have all the chairs confirmed, it won’t be until October that the remaining spaces on all select committees are filled and inquiries can begin.

The Justice Committee is likely to begin looking at prisons and court backlogs, while business and trade will focus on industrial strategy and the Post Office Horizon scandal.

2. Tory leadership: another candidate bites the dust

On Tuesday 10 September, Conservative MPs gathered once again to vote on the five remaining candidates in the leadership election.

All eyes were on where the votes initially cast for the eliminated Dame Priti Patel MP would now land:

• 119 Conservative MPs voted
• shadow secretary of state for work and pensions Mel Stride was eliminated after receiving the fewest votes
• Robert Jenrick MP picked up 33 (+5) votes
• Kemi Badenoch MP got 28 (+6) votes
• James Cleverley maintained 21 votes
• Tom Tugendhat absorbed an extra four votes to tie Cleverley at 21

The majority of Patel's vote shifted to the two other candidates from the right of the party, but with Mel Stride's supporters likely to hail from the more moderate wing, it will be interesting to see whether Tugendhat or Cleverley can pick up votes and close the gap on Jenrick and Badenoch.

The four remaining candidates will now give their pitch to members at the Conservative Party Conference from 29 September to 2 October.

Two final ballots of Conservative MPs on 9 and 10 of October will whittle the shortlist down to the final two.

The final two will then go to a ballot of the party membership to decide who will be the next leader of the Conservative Party and the new leader of the opposition.

3. Lord chancellor questioned on early release scheme

On Tuesday 10 September, MPs used justice questions in the House of Commons to raise the crisis in prisons, backlogs in the courts and crisis in legal aid.

Shadow lord chancellor Ed Argar questioned the lord chancellor on how many domestic abusers could be released under the government’s early release scheme.

The lord chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, responded that every step was being taken to exclude domestic abusers from release.

She also criticised Argar for being part of the government that had overseen the start of the prisons crisis.

Turning to the courts backlog, Liberal Democrat MP Steffan Aquarone asked about plans by the government to cap judicial sitting days, which will lead to a loss of 2,000 sitting days across the year.

Justice minister Heidi Alexander said justice is not “immune from the state of public finances.”

Labour MPs Steve Darling and Jonathan Brash both asked for courts in their constituencies to be reopened to help address the backlog, with the minister saying she would meet with both to discuss this.

Labour MP Henry Tufnell highlighted that his constituency is a legal aid desert and asked what is being done by the government to address this.

Alexander praised the role of technology in facilitating access to justice but agreed more needed to be done.

4. Arbitration Bill completes committee stage

On Wednesday 11 September, the Arbitration Bill completed its committee stage in the Lords.

It will now move to report stage before heading to the Commons.

Only four amendments were tabled to the bill, two being technical drafting corrections from the minister Lord Ponsonby and two on combatting corruption from Lord Hacking (Labour).

During the passage of the previous version of the bill, the then-justice minister Lord Bellamy (Conservative) asked the Law Society and other sector stakeholders a set of questions regarding corruption in the arbitration process.

Our response was mentioned in the debate and was used by the new minister when explaining why he believed Lord Hacking’s amendments were unnecessary.

Lord Ponsonby set out the government’s position in relation to corruption in arbitration, noting that “our framework already provides a robust regime and that no law reform is necessary. A tribunal, like a court, must always guard against fraud and corruption.”

We will continue to brief and monitor the progression of this bill when parliament returns in October.

Coming up

We are working closely with MPs and peers to influence a number of bills before Parliament:

• Arbitration Bill: report stage in the Lords, date to be announced
• Product Regulation and Metrology Bill: second reading in the Lords on 8 October
• Renters' Rights Bill: second reading in the Commons on 9 October