Lord Mackay of Clashfern is best known as having been Lord Chancellor for 10 years from 198797, in the governments of both Margaret Thatcher and John Major. An outsider to the English legal profession, he brought in some of its most farreaching reforms, ending the Bar’s monopoly of advocacy in the higher courts and the solicitors’ monopoly of conveyancing. Lord Mackay has had a distinguished career as an advocate, judge and politician.

In this episode, Lord Mackay speaks about some of the judicial appointments he made, having made some of the most influential judicial appointments of the last 50 years, including that of Lord Bingham as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales. At the time it caused a stir because of his lack of a criminal law background but he is widely acknowledged to have been the most outstanding judge of his generation.

The interview is conducted by Frances Gibb, journalist and former legal editor of The Times, for a landmark podcast series, The Judges: Power, Politics and the People, hosted by The University of Law. The series features the most senior former judges in England and Wales of the last three decades – those who have reached the apex of the justice system. It asks: who are the men and occasionally women who have reached the pivotal positions at the top of the judiciary? What do they feel about their time in office their key decisions and dealing with ministers?

00:00:00 Intro
00:02:01 Entry into the law
00:05:56 Entry into government
00:09:15 Legal career House of Lords
00:11:50 Notable rulings
00:13:05 Appointment as Lord Chancellor by Margaret Thatcher
00:16:51 Reform of the legal profession
00:23:04 Faith
00:25:41 Legacy of reforms
00:27:04 Notable judicial appointments
00:32:08 Judicial appointments process committee vs individual
00:34:03 Rules on judges speaking to media
00:34:58 Role of Lord Chancellor then vs now
00:37:10 Margaret Thatcher's resignation
00:40:50 Current Lord Chancellor and role in cabinet
00:43:22 Ministers' attitude to the rule of law
00:45:19 European Court of and Convention on human rights
00:46:21 Rwanda asylum policy
00:49:19 "Enemies of the People" headline
00:51:37 Balance of power judiciary, executive, Parliament
00:55:44 Funding and court delays