Courts and Tribunals Bill

Part of Solicitor General – in the House of Commons at on 19 March 2026.

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Photo of Ellie Reeves Ellie Reeves Party Chair, Labour Party, The Solicitor-General

I am sure the hon. Gentleman listened to what the Deputy prime minister had to say at Justice questions two days ago. The reality is that the last Conservative Government left the justice system on its knees, with a backlog of 80,000 cases, which, without both investment and reform, will simply go up. That is why we are funding unlimited sitting days, increasing spending on criminal defence lawyers and investing in the crumbling courts that the last Government left behind. But Sir Brian was clear that investment alone would not tackle the backlog sufficiently, and that is why radical reform is also needed.

Deputy Prime Minister

The office of Deputy Prime Minister is one that has only existed occasionally in the history of the United Kingdom. Unlike analogous offices in other nations, the Deputy Prime Minister does not have any of the powers of the Prime Minister in the latter's absence and there is no presumption that the Deputy Prime Minister will succeed the Prime Minister.

The post has existed intermittently and there have been a number of disputed occasions as to whether or not the title has actually been conferred.

More from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom