Michael Gove once waxed lyrical about Labour's last elected Prime Minister Tony Blair, "I can't hold it back any more; I love Tony!". Well, it's about time for a paid-up member of the liberal left to repay the compliment, because I can't hold it back any more; I love Govey.

Gove is now a secret liberal sleeper cell in the heart of the British establishment and remains our last hope of a nicer, more progressive society under the Tories. He's begun to make his mark as the new Justice Minister by putting a clear divide between him and the sheer ghastliness of the former incumbent Chris Grayling. Gove has the potential to be the most liberal Justice Secretary since Roy Jenkins, a true reformer who could take Britain away from its Victorian attitudes towards prison and justice, save the European Convention on Human Rights, while pushing back against autocrats like the Saudis. There's so much potential, but will the Tories let Gove be Gove?

One of Michael Gove's first acts went largely unnoticed but was hugely symbolic.The former Justice Secretary Chris Grayling placed restrictions on families and friends sending books, yes books, to people in prison, in what was billed to the press as a clampdown on prisoners' "perks and privileges". Some of the world's most famous authors, from Salmon Rushdie to Martin Amis and Elif Shafak, led by writers charity English PEN and the Howard League for Penal Reform, petitioned Grayling to back down, but he refused to meet with them or even engage on the issue. Britain's refusal to let families send their loved ones books struck a chord internationally, PEN prisoner of conscience Cameroonian poet Enoh Meyomesse wrote from his prison cell that books in prison "are like oxygen, they cannot be replaced". But Grayling refused to move. Books were "perks" and prison was for punishment. Within weeks of becoming the new Justice Secretary Gove reversed the ban, to little fanfare. And he didn't stop there.

At the last Conservative party conference, Gove made one of the most significant speeches on prison in a generation. Gove told the Tory party he wanted to place "unremitting emphasis" in jails on "reform, rehabilitation and redemption". What is crucial, he said, "is recognising that we should not treat prisoners as society's liabilities who we keep out of sight and out of mind while they do their time. We should see them as potential assets – people who can contribute to society and put something back."

Ramming home the point on reform, he emphasised that prison should be a place where inmates are offered a "second chance" by educating them: "When so many come into custody illiterate and innumerate it would be a crime if we didn't get them reading and writing when they are in our care." Compare Gove's speech with his predecessor Chris Grayling who said "I want to be the tough Justice Secretary", or Labour's Jack Straw, who attacked prison reformers as the "criminal justice lobby" and said he didn't lose sleep over prisoner numbers.

Shape Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures Show all 50 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures 1/50 30 September 2018 Protestors set off on an anti-Brexit march, organised by the 'Best For Britain' campaign group, in central Birmingham AFP/Getty 2/50 29 September 2018 Royal Navy Commander, Nathan Gray lands his F-35B onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time. Two F-35B Lightning II fighter jets have successfully landed onboard HMS Queen Elizabeth for the first time, laying the foundations for the next 50 years of fixed wing aviation in support of the UK's Carrier Strike Capability. Royal Navy Commander, Nathan Gray, 41, made history by being the first to land on, carefully manoeuvring his stealth jet onto the thermal coated deck. He was followed by Squadron Leader Andy Edgell, RAF, both of whom are test pilots, operating with the Integrated Test Force (ITF) based at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Shortly afterwards, once a deck inspection has been conducted and the all-clear given, Cdr Gray became the first pilot to take off using the ship's ski-ramp. © Crown copyright 2013 3/50 28 September 2018 Headteachers from across England and Wales hold signs in Parliament Square, London, as they prepare to march on Downing Street to demand extra money for schools PA 4/50 27 September 2018 Former leader of the English Defence League Tommy Robinson (C) arrives at the Old Bailey Courthouse in London, Britain, 27 September 2018. The far right figurehead whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon faces a rehearing after winning an appeal against a contempt of court finding last month. EPA 5/50 26 September 2018 Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn delivers a keynote speech at the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool