Don't shoot

Should the Gazette confine itself to publishing content that is ideologically congenial to ‘centrist dads’ and other assorted metropolitan liberals? That is a question I am bemused to be confronted by, following our scoop on what Reform UK has planned for justice. 

A party with only four MPs certainly draws deeply on the ‘oxygen of publicity’ supplied not only by the usual suspects in the right-wing press, but other media too. For politicians, ‘there is only one thing worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about’ (with apologies to Oscar Wilde).

So why is this journal also ‘platforming’ Reform? Some solicitors are not happy.

It’s a peculiar question. Nigel Farage’s party is polling higher than any other. At the time of writing, it stands a reasonable chance of being in government after the next general election. As I’ve written before, don’t rule out a coalition with the Conservatives. Especially now that Labour is threatened on its other flank by a combination of the embryonic Your Party and newly energised Greens.

Is Reform a threat to lawyers and the rule of law? It depends on who you ask. For example, some traditionalists argue that a return to self-regulation – and the consequent abolition of the Solicitors Regulation Authority – would actually bolster their professional independence.

Regulation is supposed to be insulated from government as it is, but the optics are not always great. Look how high the SRA jumps when ministers react to high-profile instances of alleged solicitor wrongdoing. (Consider the Mail’s immigration sting; and the regulator’s collaboration with the Ministry of Defence in connection with the failed prosecution of Leigh Day over claims brought by Iraqi civilians.)

I’m not convinced getting rid of the SRA is a good idea, but I can’t apologise for telling you that this is what Reform would do. Don’t shoot the messenger.

At the other end of the spectrum, we look forward to revealing what Your Party has planned for justice and the law – if and when it materialises. In the meantime, here’s a prediction from an armchair politics addict. Jeremy Corbyn’s new vehicle will tear itself apart over the Supreme Court ruling on the legal definition of a woman and what to do about trans rights. And its many adversaries will gleefully weaponise this.