A quick update from me regarding my earlier post.
Alex Chalk has been appointed as the new Secretary of State for Justice as part of a mini reshuffle of the cabinet.
I had speculated that the position might be offered to someone on the right of the party or a Boris Johnson ally. That has proven not to be true as Chalk is very much a backer of Rishi Sunak and supported the prime minister throughout his leadership campaign. The decision seems to indicate that Sunak is fairly comfortable in his political positioning and no longer feels the need to reach out to other groupings in quite the same way as he did after first getting the keys to Number 10 Downing Street.
Chalk himself is potentially a solid appointment from a legal perspective as well. This is his first major ministerial position but he has spent time in the Ministry of Justice before. Most notably he was the minister for Prisons and Probation for a period of several months and so must be keenly aware of the challenges in that area as well as the difficulties that face the department in general.
The new Secretary of State comes into the role with a number of immediate decisions that need making around both policy and legislation. It will be interesting to see if he steps up to the challenge.
Yes , looking forward to your follow up.👍