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Reposted by Ben Yong

Avishay BSG (Ben-Sasson-Gordis) @avishaybsg.bsky.social · 3h

🧵 I'm excited to share that my article "Democratic Backsliding and the Limits of Civilian Control of the Military" has been accepted @thejop.bsky.social.

It answers the question "how ought militaries act when civilian leaders turn on democratic institutions?"

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#CivMilSky #PolTheory

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Aoife Nolan @aoifenolan.bsky.social · 5h

Conor Gearty died a month ago yesterday. He was deeply committed to human rights law without idealising it. He recognised its power & value while acknowledging its limitations (& those of the people engaging with it). He was also an exceptional lawyer. This is a fitting final piece in the @lrb.co.uk

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 7h

'A study due to be released this week will say that parliamentary employees who have a range of protected characteristics under equality legislation are more likely to suffer disparities in pay.' 1/3

Parliamentary staff of colour earn £2,000 less than white colleagues, study suggests

Exclusive: Report by GMB union also finds pay disparity for women and disabled, trans, non-binary and gay staffers

www.theguardian.com

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Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 2d

I think a lot is driven by economic considerations and "market factors"... as well as contradictory impulses from successive govts (driving down international student nos while also keeping down funding and tuition fees)

Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 2d

"Universities ... collectively announced more than 12,000 job cuts in the last year"
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thousands more university jobs cut as financial crisis deepens

University workers will vote on national strike action this month over a 1.4% pay offer made in the summer.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Alice Lilly @aliceolilly.bsky.social · 2d

Really interesting- and, I think, welcome- to see MPs sharing this kind of data about casework.

Casework is largely invisible (other than to the constituents it helps!) compared to what MPs do in the Commons chamber but is a huge part of MPs’ workload, and it’s really hard to get robust data on it

Dr Beccy Cooper MP @drbeccycoopermp.bsky.social · 2d

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Andrew Defty @adefty.bsky.social · 2d

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thousands more university jobs cut as financial crisis deepens

University workers will vote on national strike action this month over a 1.4% pay offer made in the summer.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Senedd Wales @senedd.wales · 3d

A Senedd report warns Wales is “at a crossroads” as divisions deepen.

It calls for urgent action to rebuild trust, tackle misinformation and bring communities together. https://senedd.wales/senedd-now/news/wales-at-a-crossroads-urgent-action-needed-to-unite-communities/

Senedd Committee urges action to unite communities across Wales.

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Tim Durrant @timdurrant.bsky.social · 3d

What day is it? That's right, it's Day 2 ("containment") of Exercise Pegasus, the "largest ever simulation of a pandemic in UK history" - right now, teams in the NHS, govt depts and others are testing their approach to dealing with a possible future pandemic...

hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...

A written statement from Ashley Dalton MP, health minister:

Exercise Pegasus will be the largest ever simulation of a pandemic in UK history and will involve participation from every Department, the devolved Governments and representation from arm’s length bodies and local resilience fora.

The exercise is due to take place from September to November 2025, led by the Department of Health and Social Care and delivered with the UK Health Security Agency. Core exercise days have been confirmed for 18 September, 9 October and 30 October, simulating the first phases of a pandemic: emergence, containment, and mitigation. A fourth phase—recovery—is also planned for 2026. The UK Government have committed to communicating the findings and lessons of the exercise as recommended by the covid-19 inquiry and a post-exercise report will be delivered in due course.

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Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 3d

There have likely been 10,000 or more university redundancies in the academic year 2024-25.

@gsoh31.bsky.social, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Oxford Brookes, argues that the Higher Education system as we know it is coming to an end.

Where now for Britain’s Universities?

UK higher education now faces a very bleak future, retreating in the face of little public sympathy and limited political interest.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

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uomlaw.bsky.social @uomlaw.bsky.social · 4d

The ManReg Public Law Seminar Series, now in its third year, resumed for 2025-26 with a brilliant seminar by Professor @robertthomas223.bsky.social on "The Impact of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on Special Educational Needs and Disability in England". @uomsoss.bsky.social

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The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 4d

The U.S. armed forces may soon face the choice of whether to refuse illegal and unconstitutional orders, @radiofreetom.bsky.social writes. What will they do? https://theatln.tc/MnJ75n1c

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Greg Davies @gjdavies.bsky.social · 4d

HMP Berwyn, the UK's largest prison, was once presented as an advance for the Welsh language.

@robdjones.bsky.social and I argue that it’s been a categorical failure by that measure, posing troubling questions for Welsh language rights more widely: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Rights, Pains and Illusions: The Experiences of Welsh‐Speakers at Wales’ ‘Flagship’ Prison

This article challenges claims of ‘inherent’ bilingualism in Wales’ largest prison, HMP Berwyn. Drawing on semi-structured interviews and extensive documentary research, we find that Welsh-speaking p...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 4d

Current mood

A cartoon depicts a man and a woman walking side by side on a street. The woman wears a stylish dress and holds a purse, while the man is in a suit. The caption reads, "My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.”

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Verfassungsblog @verfassungsblog.de · 4d

This article is part of our Spotlight section on "US Democracy Under Threat," featuring contributions from leading law and political science scholars 📚

You can access all blog posts published so far right here (open access):

👉 verfassungsblog.de/us-democracy...

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Verfassungsblog @verfassungsblog.de · 4d

America’s collapse of secular constitutional faith has unleashed a politicized church that turns sacrifice from love into a license for violence.

PAUL KAHN explains why this blurring of church and state marks a critical turning point in America’s political and moral crisis.

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Dr Patrick O'Brien @patrickcobrien.bsky.social · 5d

Obviously, this speech is crassly offensive in multiple ways, and does violence to judicial independence. But I think it's also important to recognise that there was never a 'golden age' when Lord Chancellors just appointed and sacked whoever they wanted as judges. This is an authoritarian fantasy.

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Dr. Samantha Hancox-Li @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com · 5d

"Wank is a speech act directed first and foremost at helping the speaker feel better about themselves, stated as an objective claim about the state of the world, that we are expected in discussion to treat with the epistemic authority of a claim about identity, but the content of the actual claim".

An essay on wank | deadSimpleTech

This captures well the uncomfortable, slightly disorienting feeling that wank creates when you're subjected to it, wherein you're expected to speak about and think about the statement as though it say...

deadsimpletech.com

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POLITICO Europe @politico.eu · 5d

The European Parliament plenary today ratified the legal affairs committee’s decision to maintain the immunity of three MEPs who are being prosecuted by Hungarian authorities.

European Parliament shields left-wing lawmaker from prosecution in Orbán’s Hungary

Ilaria Salis is saved from legal action in Budapest after conservatives split in secret ballot.

ow.ly

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Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 5d

@publiclaw.bsky.social

Dr Patrick O'Brien @patrickcobrien.bsky.social · 5d

Unbound OJLS v unbound Public Law

Images of the old Canadian Supreme Court judicial robes (left; red with white fur trim, strong Santa vibes) and the new (right; black with two red lines, no real vibes at all).

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Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 5d

all time best I would say

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Reposted by Ben Yong

Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 6d

I‘m giving a public talk at UCL on Thurs 16 Oct. The title is “Bureaucracy and distrust: the civil service in the constitution” looking at the civil service’s constitutional foundations, and how it might respond to a populist govt. @sirJJkc.bsky.social will chair!
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/...

Hybrid | CLP - Bureaucracy and Distrust: The Civil Service in the Constitution

This lecture will be delivered by Dr Ben Yong, as part of the Current Legal Problems Lecture Series 2025-26

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 6d

“Deloitte has a human intelligence problem" is a great line

Ian Fraser @ianfraser.bsky.social · 6d

Dr Christopher Rudge, law lecturer at the University of Sydney, says the report that Deloitte prepared for Australia's Department of Employment and Workplace Relations contained “hallucinations” because of an initially undisclosed use of generative AI. Now the government is getting its money back.

Deloitte to pay money back to Albanese government after using AI in $440,000 report

Partial refund to be issued after several errors were found in a report into a department’s compliance framework

www.theguardian.com

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Alex Thomas @alexgathomas.bsky.social · 6d

Am looking forward to this post-party conference palette cleanser ⬇️

Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 6d

I‘m giving a public talk at UCL on Thurs 16 Oct. The title is “Bureaucracy and distrust: the civil service in the constitution” looking at the civil service’s constitutional foundations, and how it might respond to a populist govt. @sirJJkc.bsky.social will chair!
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/...

Hybrid | CLP - Bureaucracy and Distrust: The Civil Service in the Constitution

This lecture will be delivered by Dr Ben Yong, as part of the Current Legal Problems Lecture Series 2025-26

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Ben Yong @bymyong.bsky.social · 6d

congrats!!!

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