The Law for Lawmakers Podcast

The Law for Lawmakers podcast is for anyone who cares about how laws are made, how rights are protected, and how our democratic institutions function.

Together with leading voices from law and politics, it explores the key legal principles that shape our society, and demystifies the role that Parliament plays in upholding them.

This podcast is based on JUSTICE’s Law for Lawmakers guide, which is designed to help repair the cracks in the UK’s political foundations by giving every MP the tools they need to act as custodians of our democracy. But this podcast isn’t just for politicians – it invites a wider audience to the conversation of how our laws are made.
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Introductory episode

In this introductory episode, host and JUSTICE Chief Executive Fiona Rutherford is joined by JUSTICE’s Legal Director Stephanie Needleman and Interim Director of Strategy Tyrone Steele to set the scene for the series by introducing Law for Lawmakers and the constitutional principles that underpin it.

They explore why understanding public law isn’t just an academic exercise, but a practical tool for holding power to account and safeguarding democratic life in the UK.

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Episode 1: Dominic Grieve KC

In episode one, Dominic Grieve KC, former Attorney General for England and Wales and chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee from 2015 to 2019, explains what Parliamentary sovereignty – the principle that Parliament is the UK’s supreme legal authority - means today.  

Grieve warns that MPs and peers are losing control of lawmaking by continually passing laws which hand the Government “vastly excessive” powers to change legislation without a vote in Parliament.  

He tells JUSTICE’s Chief Executive and host of the podcast, Fiona Rutherford, that the growing use of these ‘Henry VIII’ powers – now used to create most laws – “subverts Parliament’s role” and risks undermining the constitution. “It's the Achilles heel of our government system,” he says.  

Just last year, the Court of Appeal upheld a ruling that the previous Conservative government unlawfully used Henry VIII powers to crack down on peaceful protest, by redefining legislation to expand police powers - despite Parliament having already rejected the change in a vote.  

To guard against similar overreach, Grieve calls for Henry VIII powers and other statutory instruments to be granted “very sparingly”, with Parliament reserving the right to change them.

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Future episodes 

In episode two, Baroness Shami Chakrabarti will share her experiences of holding power to account as a member of the House of Lords and in her previous role as director of Liberty.

Later in the series:

• Sir Robert Buckland KC MP, former Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, offers his expertise on the rule of law, another cornerstone of the constitution.
• Expanding on this theme, Lord Strathclyde, Chair of the House of Lords Constitution Committee, discusses the committee’s recent report on threats to the rule of law in this country.  
• Andrew Denney, partner at global firm A&O Shearman, joins to discuss the relationship between law and finance.

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How to subscribe

The podcast launched on Wednesday 25 March 2026 and new episodes are released fortnightly.

To get notified when new episodes are released, you can subscribe to the podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, PodBean or JUSTICE's YouTube channel.