Well, and Tony Blair has abolished the office of the Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor, and this will seem very odd to those of us in the US, was, first of all, appointed by the Prime Minister, and sat in the House of Lords; in fact he was the Speaker of the House of Lords. His actual task, among other things, is to be the head of the Law Lords; the House of Lords hears appeals from the appellate courts, and acts as a sort of Supreme Court. And, of course, he sits in the Cabinet where he has a role more or less similar to the Attorney General, at least administratively (the AG heads the Justice Department and is thus the head of law enforcement, but is not the legal representative of the administration; I don't really follow the ins and outs of the Ministries, but I understand the Lord Chancellor is not involved in Law Enforcement (Home Office?) but does act as the legal representative of the Crown and the Government). He is, therefore, a senior figure simultaneously in the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the government. Imagine, if you will, Ashcroft simultaneously on the Supreme Court, in his current role, and with a vote in the Senate. Or, if you'd prefer, imagine Thurgood Marshall in that job. Either way, that's a lot of power, even if you do serve at the Prime Minister's pleasure (or before that, the Crown's).
Anyway, that's another job Your Humble Blogger will never have.
Redintegro Iraq,
-Vardibidian.