Bereaved families forced law changes – why did it take so long?

Also in the King’s Speech was the Renters’ Rights Bill, which will extend a series of building safety rules for social tenants to private renters. This is known as Awaab’s Law after two-year-old Awaab Ishak, who died after he was exposed to mould at his family’s home in Rochdale. It is another piece of legislation introduced after public pressure following a tragedy with national implications.

Recent frequent changes of government haven’t helped speed up the passage of any of these proposals. Each time the Whitehall revolving door spun again, the campaign teams found themselves having to brief different ministers, some of whom were more supportive than others.

That isn’t the only reason why things have taken time. Martyn’s Law went through two public consultation exercises, the second of which was prompted by criticism of the proposed legislation from the Home Affairs Select Committee last spring.

The committee had warned that it had “serious concerns” about the financial burden that could be placed on smaller venues. It also said the aims of the bill as it stood were “unclear”.

The extra consultation delayed the timetable, though it gave those who stood to be impacted by the law a further opportunity to feed into the process.

Meanwhile, the Hillsborough Law campaigners have seen their proposals appear in a variety of different iterations.

They were first introduced in 2017 as part of the Public Authority (Accountability) Bill, and got as far as its first reading, but fell after the 2017 general election was announced.

Last year campaigners voiced their anger when the government signed a Hillsborough Charter, which fell short of their demand for a legally enforceable duty of candour. Instead only voluntary measures were offered.

One campaigner, Louise Brookes, whose brother Andrew was killed in the disaster, called it an “insult.”

So to get to this point is a big moment for those behind both laws.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham should know – he’s at the centre of the Venn diagram of both campaigns. He tabled the first Hillsborough Law bill when he was still an MP and has also supported the Martyn’s Law campaign.

As Burnham waved Figen Murray off on her walk to Downing Street I asked him why he thought she was having to fight so hard.

He answered: “It’s hard to change the law in this country, and perhaps rightly so. Because, you know – this legislation would have a big impact on everybody. But then, that’s why we need it.”

However Brendan Cox, the widower of murdered MP Jo Cox who has supported the Martyn’s Law campaign since its launch, sees things differently.

While he says he agrees that legislation needs to meet a high threshold and that no-one wants bad laws, Cox says: “The years of promises and delays reflect a lack of delivery that frustrates the public and stops common-sense laws being delivered quickly.

“This government must do better than the last one in delivering its promises and listening to good ideas, no matter who they come from.”