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[Suedehead2]

As a means of providing a counter to the Tory lies thread, I thought it might be fun to have a thread highlighting things they have got right, or have said something sensible

To my utter amazement, the first nomination is for Michael Gove. I absolutely despised him when he was Education Secretary. I expected him to be equally awful as Justice Secretary. I suspect Cameron appointed him expecting him to carry on down the populist route pursued by Grayling, but didn't bother asking him any questions. So far, Gove is showing signs of being one of the better holders of the office whereas most of his predecessors (Labour as well as Tory) have tried to outdo each other for awfulness.

First, he has lifted the idiotic restrictions on books imposed by Grayling. In a further move towards allowing and encouraging prisoners to better themselves in prison, he has floated the idea of making early release conditional on some sort of educational achievement. There are no details yet (it may turn out to be a terrible idea), but the general principle is worth considering. It is already difficult for ex-prisoners to get a job when they are released for the simple reason that they have a criminal record. Many of them have the additional handicap of being functionally illiterate. Once they have been convicted, there is nothing they can do about the criminal record part (unless they have good grounds for an appeal). They can do something to address the literacy problem.

He has also canned Grayling's mad idea of a super-prison for young offenders. This would have left many young offenders languishing in a cell a very long way from home, making visits from family very difficult. That would have been a major obstacle in their rehabilitation.

Finally, in a recent speech, he talked about prisoners potentially being useful members of society when they are released. Finally, we may have a Justice Secretary who recognises that the overwhelming majority of prisoners will be released one day. A sensible prison policy would be aimed at developing prisoners' potential for doing something useful with the rest of their lives.

Of course, Gove may yet give me reason to want to withdraw this nomination. However, he has made an unexpectedly encouraging start.