Michael ellis mp biography samples

A former holder of the office once said: ‘To be a law officer is to be in hell.’ But here is one who thoroughly enjoys his job and doesn’t mind saying so – Michael Ellis QC MP, Attorney General since March 2021, when he was promoted from Solicitor General to cover his predecessor, Suella Braverman QC MP’s, maternity leave.

‘As Attorney General I enjoy making decisions in the public interest, the extra colour and the diversity of the work, contributing crucial advice to Cabinet. Most ministers tend to focus on their own departments but law officers see the whole gamut of government work. We are invariably at the centre of events but with an essentially quiescent role, ready to step in at short notice and always therefore being kept up to date with briefing on all the latest developments. There’s a mixture of advice and crime; all fascinating and complex. My advice helps government to get good things done within the law. It’s very rewarding.

‘No, I can’t tell you what I am advising on at the moment, but people know that I get drawn into big issues of political importance where the law is crucial to what ministers want to do, including international issues, human rights, devolution and COVID-19. The criminal side includes regular meetin

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Mr Gray - Hansard - - - Excerpts

It takes a big politician to say that they have changed their mind, and my hon. Friend is indeed a big politician. I pay tribute to him for being ready to change his mind.

Three broad arguments are advanced by those who would abolish the use of vellum, each of which can be easily dealt with. The first and main argument is the cost of using vellum to record our Acts of Parliament. It is alleged that the cost of printing Acts on vellum comes to £103,000 per year, whereas doing so on paper would cost £30,000 per year. The House of Lords therefore says that the saving would be in the order of £70,000 per year. However, I have been thorough in my research, and I have been in touch with the Archives and Records Association of the UK and Ireland. Its chief executive, Mr John Chambers, who is the authority on these matters, tells me that the cost of printing on vellum is identical to that of printing on paper. The cost of printing the laws of this land is approximately £56,000 per annum and the cost of vellum is a relatively small amount on top of that. In other words, the saving by changing to paper would be, at best, perhaps £10,000 or £20,000 a year.

William Cowley and sons, the last vellum manufacturers and printers, tell me that the mos