It’s time to take back control from our judges

The Judicial Review and Courts Bill has its second reading today. Writing for the Guardian yesterday, David Davis MP denounced the government’s plans as ‘an obvious attempt to avoid accountability [and] to consolidate power’ which is ‘profoundly un-conservative’. He could not be more wrong. The Bill is a welcome first step in restoring the balance of our constitution, a balance put in doubt by a decades-long expansion of judicial power. If anything, parliament should go further and amend the Bill to make it a more effective means to restore the traditional constitution.

Judicial review, Mr Davis argues, is ‘a cornerstone of British democracy’, a ‘check on the balance of powers in our democracy’ by which ‘rule makers are held accountable by ordinary people’. He vows to ‘be at the forefront of any battle to protect this important legal tool’. Strong stuff, but this is all a bit confused. Judicial review is a vital part of our constitution, of course.