Alexander Horne is a barrister and visiting professor at Durham University. He was previously a senior parliamentary lawyer.
Sir Keir Starmer has been busy talking up his trade deals with the US and India, while also planning ‘reset’ talks with the EU next week. Yet are these agreements all they are cracked up to be? The simple answer is that it is hard to tell because MPs are unlikely to get an opportunity
Yesterday, following the publication of Labour’s immigration white paper, Sir Keir Starmer tried to pull a rabbit out of the hat by announcing what he described as ‘return hubs’ for failed asylum seekers. On a visit to Albania to discuss measures to crack down on organised crime and illegal immigration, Starmer said he was in
In a landmark judgment, after years of controversy, the Supreme Court handed down its decision in the case of For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers today. The issue the court had to determine was enormously significant, namely the meaning of ‘woman’ and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010. In a detailed and compelling ruling, the
Yesterday, it was reported by the Daily Telegraph that British lawyers, acting on behalf of Hamas, were threatening to bring a legal challenge under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) to end the group’s proscription under terrorism legislation. They claim that the ban on supporting or assisting Hamas breaches human rights to freedom of
In a decision that will be welcomed by many in Parliament today, the European Court of Human Rights dismissed a claim by prominent businessman Sir Philip Green. Green had argued that his right to a private life and a fair trial had been infringed when a Labour Peer, Peter Hain, made a statement on the
As the world focused its attention on a possible peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, it might have been easy to forget that the fragile truce between Israel and Hamas did not mark an end to the crisis in the Middle East. This morning, that ceasefire looked near collapse with Israel ramping up pressure on
Almost every day there seem to be new headlines about abuses of the asylum and immigration system. The latest involves the case of a Gazan family who were granted the right to remain in the United Kingdom after they applied to enter the country under the Ukraine Family Scheme visa. Unsurprisingly, the Home Office determined that
This week, the House of Commons is focusing its attention on proposed reforms to the House of Lords. MPs backed plans to get rid of the remaining 92 hereditary peers on Tuesday, while a second bill which will increase the number of female bishops in the Lords had its second reading on Thursday. The contrasting
After a long wait, Kim Leadbeater’s assisted dying legislation – the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – was published overnight, ahead of its second reading in the Commons on 29 November. The bill has already been subject to much debate in advance of its publication. Now its proponents and critics have the chance to engage with the
Last night, during his first debate with Kemi Badenoch, Robert Jenrick was keen to highlight his flagship policy on exiting the ECHR, using it as a dividing line to emphasise his anti-immigration credentials. He pitched the question as ‘leave or remain’. This is an unfortunate move on two fronts. First, leaving the ECHR is unlikely to have
Today marks the 15th anniversary of the UK Supreme Court. When it opened its doors in 2009, it was argued that separating the country’s top judges from their historical home in parliament was a defining moment in the constitutional history of the UK. Fifteen years later, it’s hard to see whether anything significant has really changed.
The European Court of Human Rights has thrown out a challenge by former cabinet minister Owen Paterson. The ex-Tory MP, accused of breaking lobby rules, took the government to court in a bid to have a 2021 parliamentary investigation into his conduct declared unfair. That Paterson went to the Strasbourg Court in the first place
One of the first things Keir Starmer did on entering Downing Street in July was to abandon the previous government’s Rwanda asylum partnership. The Prime Minister said Rishi Sunak’s flagship scheme was a costly gimmick. But it now appears the PM is considering an asylum processing scheme of his own, which could see migrants removed
Apple must pay €13 billion (£11 billion) in unpaid taxes, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled, bringing to an end a long-running dispute involving the tech company and the government of Ireland. The ruling by the EU’s top court is a huge win for the European Commission (and the outgoing Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager)
The government has suspended 30 (out of around 350) arms export licences to Israel. The Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, acknowledged that the ban will affect the sale of ‘important components that go into military aircraft, including fighter aircraft, helicopters and drones, as well as items that facilitate ground targeting.’ The UK restrictions do not seem a productive way
The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has reportedly ‘ordered a review’ of Britain’s counter-extremism strategy. According to the Daily Telegraph, she was minded to treat ‘extreme misogyny’ as terrorism for the first time. It is suggested that the review would be completed later in the autumn, and that a new counter-extremism strategy would be launched early
As the war in Gaza drags on into its eleventh month, and the conflict risks expanding into a regional war involving both Iran and its Lebanese proxies, it is surely time to question what would be a successful outcome for Israel. Militarily, the IDF has inflicted enormous damage on Hamas. Yet around 115 hostages continue
Labour’s plans for Lords reform, announced during the King’s Speech this morning, do not come as a great surprise. It promised measures to ‘modernise the constitution’ and ‘remove the right of hereditary peers’ to sit and vote in the Lords via a House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill. These plans were heralded in the Labour
As Rishi Sunak faces electoral oblivion today, his final gambit before polling day is to threaten voters with the risk of a Labour ‘super-majority’. The term ‘super-majority’ is constitutionally meaningless in the UK: in our system of government a majority of one gives a party the same right to make and unmake laws as a
Labour’s election manifesto has been criticised by many commentators for being too vague; like a ‘choose your own adventure’ book which would allow the party to do almost whatever it likes in government. This was highlighted today by Rachel Reeve’s remarks on Brexit. In an interview with the Financial Times, the shadow chancellor pointed out the need to improve elements of the UK’s trade
