from today's guardian ...

Here's a parlour game for you. What's the least popular cause you can imagine? Higher pay for traffic wardens? Estate agents' rights? Or how about this: more taxpayers' money for criminals and lawyers? Few causes could be less likely to rally the masses, unlikely to cough up for the most hated group in the country (and criminals are pretty unpopular too).

So the government is doubtless feeling confident as it marks the end tomorrow of consultation on its planned reforms of the legal-aid system for England and Wales.