A stark new report from the House of Lords has issued a grave warning, stating that the fundamental principle of the rule of law in the United Kingdom is being dangerously weakened and requires immediate protection from further erosion.
The damning study, titled 'Rule of law: holding the line between anarchy and tyranny' and published on Thursday 20 November 2025, pinpoints three critical areas driving this decline: cultural and social erosion, institutional failings within the justice system, and damaging political behaviour.
Political Attacks on Judicial Independence
The report delivers a forceful condemnation of the political attacks targeting judges, urging politicians to cease personal criticisms. It calls on the government to take a stronger stand in defending the judiciary against misinformation and assaults on judges' integrity.
The Lords directly link this rising hostility to a tangible impact on the safety of judges. This finding follows a controversial speech by Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick at the Tory Conference in October. During his address, Mr Jenrick held up a judge's wig and vowed to remove what he termed "activist" judges, announcing a crackdown on alleged "pro-migration bias" within the judiciary.
This rhetoric prompted immediate backlash, with legal bodies representing over 250,000 lawyers labelling his comments as "dangerous". The Lords report notes a troubling trend where judges are accused of "interfering in politics" whenever their legal rulings conflict with a political agenda. This, the report argues, wrongly suggests judges are overstepping their role, when in reality they are merely enforcing laws as decided by Parliament.
A Broken Justice System and Record Backlogs
Beyond political rhetoric, the 95-page report identifies a crippled justice system as a core reason for slipping public trust. It highlights severe delays and massive backlogs in the courts as significant barriers to accessing justice, which in turn erodes confidence in the rule of law.
The report recommends urgent measures to tackle these delays, including the adoption of new technologies and an expansion of alternative dispute resolution. According to government statistics cited in the report, the situation is critical. By the end of June 2025, the Crown Court backlog in England and Wales had reached a record high of over 78,000 cases, while the Magistrates' Court backlog stood at a staggering 310,304 cases.
In a recent Spending Review in June, the Treasury allocated £7 billion to support the justice system, with Chancellor Rachel Reeves pointing out that the Conservatives had left the prison system on the "brink of collapse".
A Crucial Moment for Decisive Action
Lord Strathclyde, the chair of the Constitution Committee, emphasised the government's pivotal role in this crisis. "The government should be at the forefront of restoring our belief in the rule of law," he stated.
He called for "strong and visible action" to promote this core constitutional value, underpinned by a commitment to address the profound weaknesses identified in the justice system. Describing the current moment as "crucial", Lord Strathclyde added that "decisive action must be taken" to prevent further damage to one of the UK's most vital democratic foundations.
