Gove is new Justice Secretary

The only good thing about this is that he's not been put back in education.

Hummmmm Tough call that!

Well, the Justice system is in a complete mess at the moment so Gove might as well get in there and create even more chaos - as he has with the education system.

www.theguardian.com/law/2014/may/14/judges-legal-aid-cuts

The above link refers to senior judges criticising the substantial cuts in Legal Aid - which they fear, far from saving money, will actually end up costing more money.

This is a common theme with Tory policies - short term savings/long term costs. And in the case of the withholding of Legal Aid in family matters in particular, the cost isn't just about money but also about protecting the rights, wellbeing and safety of children and parents.

Well said (again) Eloethan in pointing out that many tory policies provide short term savings at long term costs. I still do some work in children's centres and despair at what is happening there.

The cuts to legal aid, in family matters especially, are causing real problems for children and their parents. Cases in which parents are representing themselves are taking up huge amounts of court time because the judges don't want to disadvantage parents already under huge emotional pressure. It's heart breaking to see the disintegration of our legal aid system.

Currently, legal aid is available for complex housing matters but I expect this will be an area Gove sees as fair game.

God help us!

Indeed Nellie - that Cameron can take this man seriously is very worrying.

OMG no. He do to the justice system exactly what he's done to education.

"Hey David, I've got a great money saving idea! Lets privatise the Courts. Of course we won't call it privatisation. Let's call it 'a fairer form of justice'. The companies will want to make profits so we'll let them decide on the costs. If we let several companies buy in then the competition will force prices down. The people can have a choice of which court they go to. They can shop around for the best barristers and find a judge who suits their needs. Of course some judges will cost more than others but if you want to win your case it will be worth it. The judges will have to have more leeway when it comes to sentencing but I'm sure the Daily Mail will make sure the public understand it's for their own good. We'll have some
underpaid/overworked judges in the lower courts for those on benefits who can't afford to pay. They'll offer justice that is swift and effective. In fact it could be beneficial to the economy. Say a banker is accused of fraud because somehow by mistake he's made £1 million bonus but lost his bank £72 million. Well he has that bonus to spend and that will add to the economy. Of course the bank is short of cash but we can blame the Eurozone for that. We need to keep him earning so I'm sure he'll find a sympathetic judge and he'll get a small fine. After all he's a income earner and his spending will trickle down. On the other hand a wicked evil woman on benefits who gets a job cleaning and earns £10 more than she declares will be dealt with by a judge who understands the need to rid the country of such scum. He can sentence her to penal servitude in a privately run prison where she can work 70 hours a week to earn her keep and make the prison a profit. We can announce that we're hard on benefit scroungers and say she's learning to pay her way in society. The tax the prison pays on their profits will help reduce the deficit.

What do you say, Dave? A hoot or what. And all those plebs will fall for it"

And then he can have Defence

Another one with no legal experience, who will have no idea what's going on. At least Grayling's not there any more; one crumb of comfort.

Dj - oh dear, it's barrel scraping time isn't it?

Well it has already started. The probation service is being privatised. I spoke to someone who had worked for the service for over 20 years, he was losing his job and being replaced with someone cheaper. Gove will just continue this- education-ruined, justice system-on its way there. When will it dawn on them that you need to pay for quality and excellence?

Thank the little fishes I've less than 2 years to go. The tribunals are in enough mess as it is. At the moment the words in, up,brewery, piss, a come to mind ( in a different order) with regard to our local regional organisational centre.

It will become the Department of No Justice at all, ever

Oh don't be such a drama queen!

It's ridiculous to say that the Justice Department will immediately cease to work just because Gove's been given the job - but if it makes you all happy to predict doom and gloom, go ahead...

I would have liked to see someone with a more subtle and thoughtful approach in this post. I do not think he is the right man for the job.

Gove caused so much trouble in Education with his often bizarre ideas about what should be taught or not taught etc that he teachers lost all confidence in him.

There was a man with no experience of teaching or managing in the education system making pronouncements about how subjects should be taught on the basis of his own likes and dislikes of particular books. That to me is scary.
The outcry from the teaching profession was so bad that even even his own party eventually decided he ought to go.

I can not remember seeing quite such a thorougly disliked education secretary before.

This man is now in charge of justice. I would not trust him to handle that either. Too many of his ideas seemed to be just made on his own whims.

Ana I do not think anybody is being a drama queen! I have worked through Gove's dictats in the public education world and seen the difficulties his policies created at the 'chalk face (actually now Interactive whiteboard face but you get the picture). Good and outstanding schools are struggling to make their budgets cover the cost of teachers pay(who are not top salaried folk) and to purchase basic equipment such as books and paper. This is a poor situation for a relatively rich country striving to get to the top of international league tables. Gove's policies have reduced budgets in real terms and government increased pension contributions (met by schools) . On a day to day reality it represents a large cut and it is our grandchildren that bear the brunt of these decisions.

Justice in the UK is admired across the world because impartiality and equal access to a fair trial has been the norm. I am very fearful that this man who is not a lawyer but a journalist is a headline grabber. He appears to enjoy making controversial decisions for the attention it brings him. Reducing access to legal aid eats at the heart of justice and the equal ability of individuals to legal representation. If this now depends on personal wealth then justice will be the poorer for it. I am seriously worried about my grandchildren's future under the 'care' of the policies that are likely to be put in place.
p.s. We are a 'hardworking' family in Surrey!

The post I was replying to was IMO over-dramatic.

Obviously if Gove's appointment is seen to have been a mistake he will be replaced. I think it is a mistake, but I'm not going to start worrying about my GC's futures just yet, I'll wait to see what happens when the dust has settled a bit.

PS we are also a 'hardworking family'

My daughter is struggling to get back into teaching because the schools can't afford experienced teachers and there is no supply work because that is done by teaching assistants. She thought it would be a good career to have as a working mother. Some of his ideas will be implemented soon so, even though he's gone, his legacy will remain.

As far as education is concerned it sounds as though Nicola Morris is going to press ahead with Gove's ideas.

Ana his policies are impacting now... start worrying!

p.s. My 'hardwroking family' comment was simply to highlight the irony of the Conservative soundbite that if you are 'hardworking' their policies benefit you!

Free schools were Gove's pet in the education department.
Tory voters voted for 500 new free schools and academy status for 3000 schools found by Ofsted to require improvement, whatever that means.
Not much state education left after that. And schools will be able to employ just about anybody to be a teacher, with no qualifications to teach.
Sorry about that, Tegan.

No, I will not start worrying now, Penstemmon.

I refuse to be persuaded into panic-mode by the views of those whose preferred party/parties didn't win the election.