Published:  15th December 2025

In May, PLP’s CEO Shameem Ahmad gave evidence to the House of Lords Constitution Committee as part of its inquiry into the rule of law. Last month, the committee released the report: Rule of Law: holding the line between anarchy and tyranny. As we come to the end of 2025, we reflect on how we can take steps to protect against the erosion of the rule of law in the context of the rising tides of authoritarianism. 

As the Constitution Committee report says, ‘the future of our democracy relies on us protecting the rule of law against challenge’. To defend the rule of law effectively, we must tell a positive story about its value for our society and culture, and about democracy, fairness, and empowerment. 

Hostility on the horizon

Many in the UK feel that our legal and constitutional systems no longer work as they should. Attacks on the judiciary and human rights are often in the headlines, and the Government’s recent announcements on asylum policy would weaken the prohibition of torture and the right to a private and family life provisions in the UK. 

A crucial part of the rule of law is that justice must be seen to be done. The report highlights how the state of our policing—evidence of bias and discrimination within police forces, and their inability to deal with some of the most visible crime—undermines that belief as well as trust in the existence and value of the rule of law.  

PLP has also seen disillusionment with the rule of law resulting from growing economic inequality, failing access to justice, underinvestment in public services, and the increasing and unregulated use of AI by public bodies. Polling has also highlighted a strong correlation between economic deprivation and anti-immigration extremism. 

A positive story 

Public law defines what the government can and can’t do, and what it must do. These legal rights bring us closer to a society founded on fairness, equality and justice. For many of these rights, we rely on international frameworks, built after the atrocities of the Second World War. 

Domestically, judicial review is one of our most important legal rights when it comes to government accountability. If you are affected by a government or public body decision which is unfair or unlawful, you have the right to challenge that decision and have your voice heard in court, and you don’t have to be able to afford legal fees. 

Indeed, as the Constitution Committee asserts: ‘the power to hold the Government to account for breaches of the law is a vital part of the rule of law’. We are glad the Committee has supported our call for Government to ‘refrain from presenting the judicial review process as a blocker to government action’, and we hope the Prime Minister will reconsider this damaging characterisation of judicial review. 

Keeping a focus on communities 

Speaking at the Constitution Committee’s Evidence Session, Shameem highlighted fairness as her favourite component of the rule of law, as it ‘brings to life the law for marginalised individuals and makes sure that the law is not only accurate but just’. Shameem spoke about how empowering it can be, as an individual, to bring a case against a government and hold it to account, and how this can help prevent cynicism. If people understand their legal rights and how to enforce them, they can resolve their problems, often much faster and more easily too. 

The rule of law isn’t only about big political issues— it can make our day-to-day lives easier too. If politicians want to halt disengagement and deprivation, helping people to better understand and enforce their rights is a good starting point. 

What next? 

As we look ahead to the policy and legislative agenda for 2026, PLP would like to see urgent and sustained attention on: 

  • Improving access to justice: an essential condition of the rule of law is that people in need must have access to legal aid and a lawyer. Investment in the legal aid system will be worthwhile in combatting disenfranchisement. As the Constitution Committee says, we are at risk of a society where ‘justice is available to only those who can afford it’. Costs in judicial review should be reformed so that this crucial element of the rule of law is affordable for all.  
  • Upholding and protecting key international rule of law frameworks: recent immigration announcements have shown the Government is considering weakening,  rather than strengthening, our human rights. As the tides of authoritarianism rise across Europe and the world, we EUSSmust protect the international bedrock of the rule of law. 
  • Better AI safeguards: what does the principle of accountability mean when governments use automation to make decisions? It is disappointing that the Constitution Committee didn’t highlight this point from our evidence.  Paying heed to digital rights is an essential component of rule of law in today’s world, as are the provision of practical mechanisms to challenge automated decisions.