Amendment 104

Part of Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill - Report (5th Day) – in the House of Lords at 5:00 pm on 12 January 2022.

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Photo of Lord Davies of Stamford Lord Davies of Stamford Labour 5:00, 12 January 2022

My Lords, I have listened to the debate this afternoon with great pleasure, and I must say with growing agreement with what was said—until I heard the contribution of the noble Lord, Lord Faulks, who said that sentencing should be a matter for the Government of the day. That is a very dangerous approach, because it means that sentencing becomes a reflection of the political pressures on the Government of the day. Somebody used the term “auction”. You would get competition between people who were seeking votes from the public in projecting themselves as being tough on crime, and the resulting sentencing guidelines—