Overview

• Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick used the Manchester conference to declare the council "not fit for purpose" and accused its guidelines of softening penalties, citing burglary and assaults on emergency workers.
• He says a future Conservative government would make the justice secretary accountable to Parliament for setting sentencing policy in England and Wales.
• Jenrick says he has compiled a list of about 30–35 "activist" judges and proposes abolishing the Judicial Appointments Commission, introducing a vetting committee, expanding JCIO powers, creating a judicial register of interests, and enabling removals for political activism.
• Labour, former Conservative ministers and legal figures warn the plans would politicise the judiciary, lengthen sentences and worsen prison overcrowding, with Labour calling the move a cynical gimmick.
• Ministerial approval rules already in force mean new Sentencing Council guidelines require sign‑off by the justice secretary or the lady chief justice following the earlier row over PSR guidance.