In 1997 Jack Straw, the then shadow Home Secretary, had this to say about the Conservative proposal to end jury trials:

“Let me now refer to the proposal to end the right of many defendants to elect for trial by jury, even though they may face charges of dishonesty and their whole future may be at stake. Surely cutting down the right to jury trial, making the system less fair, is not only wrong but short-sighted and likely to prove ineffective.”