Hopes for stronger action against SLAPPs – Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation – are now on hold because of the general election.
A private member’s bill extending protections to cover all types of litigation, including sexual harassment and professional incompetence, is a casualty of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s surprise decision to call an early election.
The Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation Bill, proposed by Wayne David, then Labour MP for Caerphilly, won the backing of the government and MPs of all parties at its second reading debate in February. It had completed its committee stage but was waiting for its third reading on 7 June before being sent to the House of Lords when the prime minister stepped out into the rain in front of Downing Street to announce the general election. The Bill did not survive the brutal culling of Parliamentary business that ensued.
David is not standing in the election but said he hoped the Bill could be revived after the election: “The Bill had cross-party support and would be likely, in my view, to have support from Labour and the Conservative if it were re-introduced. But I am not able to say if the Bill would be a priority for an incoming Labour government.”
His proposals followed a limited move by the government against SLAPPs in the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act last year which only covered economic crime.
SLAPPS slapped in widely supported parliamentary bill
Wayne David’s private member’s bill
AEJ joins Campaign Against SLAPPs in Europe (CASE) to welcome CoE recommendation on SLAPPs
