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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 16m

Or just get rid of them entirely.

Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 28m

Another drawback of the common law approach is that it leaves a lot to the discretion of judges, & many of these campaigners don't have much faith in the ability of judges to make the right calls. Hence maybe hand-picking them; but would there be enough non-woke lawyers to fill the vacancies?

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1h

Is this case, for example, in the absence of the ECnHR, would there have been a common law principle that the courts would have applied to interpret the legislation accordingly? Can such principles be relied on across the board? If not, are UK rights needed?

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 2h

Anti-ECnHR campaigners who backed this appeal may have a reasonable argument: you have to use whatever legal tools exist at any given time.

But it does suggest downsides to having no broad-based rights at all. Is the answer UK rights, or reliance on the courts?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Man who burned Quran outside Turkish consulate wins appeal

Hamit Coskun's freedom of expression includes the right to express views that offend, a judge rules.

www.bbc.co.uk

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 4h

Some slides from an imaginary talk I might have given to those new to Government.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 7h

I appreciate there’s overlap, but I do think the difference between Parliament & Govt matters, both in theory & even quite often in practice.

(And your point about democratic accountability is a fair one, & it may not be the case that such bodies are properly scrutinized.)

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 7h

In case of interest.

bsky.app/profile/publ...

Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

Picking up on this point: why does something so abstruse as internal guidance for government lawyers matter?

Similarly, why does it matter if little-noticed legislative amendments allow governments increased control of the Electoral Commission & the Sentencing Council?

bsky.app/profile/davi...

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Reposted by Public Sector Lawyer

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 23h

🧵🚨

The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.

Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

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UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation

Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.

www.ucl.ac.uk

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 7h

I think the report is actually arguing in favour of parliamentary accountability, not against it, but also seeking to limit inappropriate ministerial interference.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 7h

Not sure that quite works, because why do people say ‘legendary’ instead of ‘old’?

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

Raising such issues no doubt sounds unduly alarmist to many. But as seen in the US, at what point do you raise the alarm? Often, it seems, too late.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

There aren't that many steps from that to the Government overseeing sentencing decisions themselves, and then taking more control over the CPS, & (as indeed the Conservative Party has recently suggested) removing politically inconvenient judges.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

Similarly with the Sentencing Council: desperate to avoid the charge by the extreme right that there's "two-tier justice", the Government is now pushing through legislation to give it a veto on Sentencing Guidelines, hitherto the preserve of the judiciary.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

A future government may exploit this weakness, relying on public acceptance that such bodies aren't truly independent, & keep pushing harder, & by the time anybody notices or is able to react, it'll be the government that's the arbiter of whether elections are "free and fair" or not.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

This Government has decided not to remove the stranglehold on the Electoral Commission's independence imposed under Boris Johnson. No doubt it considers its own actions benign. But even if correct, that may not be how a future government uses the power.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

So while something like the quasi-independence of the Attorney General may seem a relatively esoteric, unimportant issue when the country is stable, it may end up mattering rather more if things change. And there is a real prospect of a populist government here (whether right or left) before long.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

The pardons sent a message: those using violence & other criminal means to serve the president can do so with impunity; political opponents, beware. But this sort of thing can also trigger a chain reaction: if not stopped early on, countries drift towards tyranny, as each step gets harder to resist.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

In the US, for example, that's partly to do with the politicisation of law: prosecutors much more politically aligned, & the Supreme Court ending up packed with partisans. Plus one of the first things Trump did in office was grant pardons to those convicted of assisting the attempted coup.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

And I think it's worth looking the US here, to see how subtle constitutional weaknesses - that may not appear important on their own - can facilitate a drift towards authoritarianism, to the point where a government considers it can murder, kidnap & persecute whomever it chooses.

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

Picking up on this point: why does something so abstruse as internal guidance for government lawyers matter?

Similarly, why does it matter if little-noticed legislative amendments allow governments increased control of the Electoral Commission & the Sentencing Council?

bsky.app/profile/davi...

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Reposted by Public Sector Lawyer

UK Constitutional Law Association @ukcla.bsky.social · 1d

Alan Greene: Bringing facts to a vibes fight: Kayfabe and debates on the UK and the ECHR ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/10/09/a...

Alan Greene: Bringing facts to a vibes fight: Kayfabe and debates on the UK and the ECHR

It is now 25 years since the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) entered into force and far from this endurance cementing its legitimacy, the judicial protection of human rights in the UK finds itself in t…

ukconstitutionallaw.org

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 1d

Now you’ve got me thinking…

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 2d

Law, along with engineering, appears to be among the "rip-off" degrees that will be shut down.

www.conservatives.com/news/kemi-ba...

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Public Sector Lawyer @publicsectorlawyer.bsky.social · 2d

On this issue, see this excellent post by @profmarkelliott.bsky.social (excellent partly because it seems to justify my scepticism).
publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/10/08/o...

bsky.app/profile/publ...

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Reposted by Public Sector Lawyer

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 3d

New post just out:

"Staying alive vs taking control"

Labour's big choice at the budget is whether they just want to try and survive it or whether they're willing to take some bigger risks that would have future payoffs.

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/s...

Staying alive vs taking control

Labour's budget choices

open.substack.com

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