The main news in UK politics yesterday was the cabinet reshuffle and from a legal perspective that means all eyes were on the Ministry of Justice.

In the end it was the former Work and Pensions Minister, David Gauke, who becomes the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor. Interestingly he is the first solicitor to ever hold the position of Lord Chancellor and it will be interesting to see how he represents the interests of his former colleagues in the legal profession in his new job.

Before the MP for South West Hertfordshire can even begin to think about that there are a number of other high profile issues that will be waiting for him on his desk including the huge amount of wasted resources that have gone into the ‘digital courts’ consultation, allegations of discrimination and, most recently, serious questions over the actions of the Parole Board concerning the early release of John Worboys otherwise known as the ‘black-cab rapist’.

With a smaller budget than other secretaries have had to work with in the past there will also be greater scrutiny of some of the financial aspects of the department as things like legal aid and judges salaries continue to be squeezed.

As the reshuffle concluded it is clear that the moves by the prime minister, Theresa May, were not as wide-ranging as many political commentators were expecting. With her performance in the latter half of 2017 giving rise to speculation that her premiership might be in trouble this reshuffle was seen as a way of steadying the ship and it may well do that for a short period before attention turns once again to the Brexit negotiations. In the meantime Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has also attacked the reshuffle as a “pointless and lacklustre PR stunt”.

For Gauke though this is a big step up. It will certainly raise the MP’s profile and put a remain voter in an important cabinet position.