Jon Robins considers the new Lord Chancellor’s credentials
As to what kind of justice secretary Liz Truss might be, the first signs perhaps don’t augur too well. Not much is known about the first female lord chancellor’s thinking on the many justice issues that are presently crowding her in-tray, but we do know that the MP for south west Norfolk repeatedly voted in support of the LASPO cuts and, in a 2011 publication, co-authored a provocative case for reversing “the tide of soft justice” arguing that prisons should be “tough, unpleasant and uncomfortable places”.
Faulks off
Lord Faulks clearly felt that Truss’s lack of qualifications for this ancient office was beyond the pale. “I have nothing against Ms Truss personally,” the justice minister told The Times as he announced his resignation. “But is she going to have the clout able to stand up to the prime minister when necessary on behalf of the judges? Is she going to be able to stand up, come the moment, to the prime minister, for the rule of law and for the judiciary...without fear of damaging her career?”
An admirable
