Another government reshuffle, another minster of justice; it is unfortunate that David Lidington is moving on so soon after taking up his post. He came with a reputation for good pragmatic decision making. I think he showed this when he closed down the long running dispute with the European Court of Human Rights over prisoners’ rights to vote. His proposal allowed a very limited number of short term prisoners to retain voting rights and that was sufficient to allow the Council of Europe to agree that the UK was now compliant with Human Rights law. Elkan Abrahamson of our practice took the "Hirst vs United Kingdom" case to Strasbourg in 2005 and won on the basis that the UK government could not impose a blanket ban on voting without any rationale. Instead of taking a pragmatic line as Lidington has now done, David Cameron stoked up the rhetoric to give sustenance to those in his party that Europe was our enemy, telling us what to do. We know where that ended up.

It remains to be seen what David Gauke will achieve now he has taken over this role.  However competent he is, the omens are not good. This government department is sliding down the priority list and its budget has been slashed. In fact the budgets of all those responsible for the administration of justice seem to be running on a shoestring. The police do not have resources to bring offenders through the justice system. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) do not have adequate resources to take timely decisions on whether cases should be prosecuted even when a file is presented to them by the Police. The courts are under strain and the Legal Aid budget for lawyers has been slashed yet again.

The result of all this is a serious threat to social cohesion and public safety as criminals, many of whom are violent, walk our streets and online fraud increases with impunity. It is still the threat of punishment which deters criminal behaviour and we are in danger of falling back into lawlessness.

The consequences of inadequate funding of justice can be very serious for individuals and society in other ways. The case of Ged Fitzgerald is one in point. The Liverpool City Council Chief Executive was arrested in May last year in relation to an investigation of fraud, which he denies, whilst working for another authority. He is now suspended from duty and unable to carry out his duties on behalf of the city. There is no sign of the closure of the investigation nor of any decision about whether he and his other co-accused will be charged at the end of the day. In the meantime, the personal cost to these involved is substantial in terms of worry and reputation and the cost to the city administration is considerable. It is very unsatisfactory situation and one that is caused by the lack of resources in the Justice system. How long will government continue to take a short term view? The knock on costs of underfunding are huge but what do they care as long as those costs fall elsewhere.

Fans of cricket have just witnessed a drubbing in the Ashes series in Australia. Of course England's best player was unavailable for selection as he was on police bail for alleged offices relating to an altercation outside a Bristol nightclub in September. And what a co-incidence. No sooner do I publish my blog than Ben Stokes is charged. At least he and his defence team know what they are facing and what the charge is. For most people, the waiting is worse than the certain knowledge one way or the other.

Let’s hope that the government see the importance of proper resourcing of our justice system before it’s too late. Believe me, Ben Stokes is luckier than many who might wait years before the period of limbo finally ends. That in itself is a travesty of justice in a democratic society.