Conservatives would abolish Sentencing Council

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick will today announce plans to abolish the Sentencing Council to end what he describes as ‘two-tier justice’.

Jenrick, who will address the Conservative Party conference in Manchester this morning, says the measure is the best way to end lenient sentences for serious criminals.

Delegates will be told that current sentencing guidance urges judges to factor in race, sex and religion when deciding sentencing, while new guidelines water down sentences for immigration offences.

After abolishing the Sentencing Council, the Conservatives say they will instead hand sentencing responsibility to the lord chancellor. This will ensure sentencing policy is set by democratically accountable ministers and approved by MPs, not unelected officials, to ensure they are kept in line with public expectations.

A Conservative government would use a statutory instrument to make this change, Jenrick will say.

‘The Sentencing Council is not fit for purpose,’ Jenrick is expected to say. ‘Never again can the British people face the prospect of two-tier justice. We are slipping into a two-tier nightmare under Keir Starmer. All too frequently the law is not applied equally. No more - every single person in this country must be treated exactly the same, regardless of their background.

‘The public are sick of voting for tougher sentences and getting the opposite. So in future the justice secretary, accountable to parliament, will be responsible for setting sentencing policy. No longer will an unaccountable quango be able to subvert the will of the British people for criminals to be properly punished.’