What does the pledge mean?

In its manifesto Labour said it would raise confidence in the criminal justice system “to its highest levels”.

The pledge is part of the party’s plan to “take back our streets”, one of the government’s five “missions to rebuild Britain”.

It seems likely this pledge relates only to England and Wales, as the criminal justice system in both is under the control of the UK government. The criminal justice systems of Scotland and Northern Ireland are largely devolved.

It’s not clear from the manifesto what measure the government intends to use to judge whether this pledge has been met—and that means it’s hard for us to know how far there is to go for confidence to reach the “highest levels”. It also isn’t clear when the pledge is intended to be delivered by.

The Ministry of Justice told us in March 2025 that it had yet to finalise how progress on this pledge will be measured. It then told us in June 2026 this was a matter for the Labour party rather than the government. We’ve contacted Labour about this and will update this page if we receive a response.

What progress has been made?

We’re currently rating this pledge as ‘Unclear or disputed’, because the government simply hasn’t told us what measure the it intends to use to monitor progress on this pledge.

However, there are at least three surveys which provide information about public confidence in the criminal justice system.

An annual survey carried out by the Victims’ Commissioner asks victims of crime about their individual experiences. The Sentencing Council also conducts an occasional survey in this area as part of its statutory duty to promote public confidence in the judicial system. The Office for National Statistics’ Crime Survey for England and Wales (CSEW) also reports on public confidence in the effectiveness of the criminal justice system.

We don’t yet have enough data from these sources to assess how confidence in the criminal justice system has changed under Labour, because the latest figures for all of them include the previous government’s last months in office.

Since Labour came to power the criminal justice system has faced intense scrutiny, with both the Conservatives and Reform UK making claims about “two-tier justice” and Labour strongly rejecting the claims.

There have been a number of initiatives which have the potential to affect levels of public confidence in the criminal justice system since Labour came to power.

In August 2024, in the aftermath of riots following the Southport stabbings, the Prime Minister announced the launch of a National Violent Disorder Programme, which the government said would “form part of the government’s mission to take back our streets by halving serious violent crime and raising confidence in the police and criminal justice system”.

On 5 November 2024, then-justice minister Heidi Alexander MP told the House of Commons the government had funded an additional 500 Crown Court sitting days in England and Wales and was extending magistrates’ sentencing powers to up to 12 months. Both measures were intended to “ensure swift justice for victims and to restore faith in the entire system”.

In response to a written question in January 2025, justice minister Sarah Sackman MP said of the government’s plans to measure progress on this commitment: “We are still developing this pillar of the mission and will say more in due course.”

Measures designed to boost public confidence in policing and the “wider criminal justice system” feature as part of the Crime and Policing Act, which passed into law on 29 April 2026.