Alexander Horne is a barrister and visiting professor at Durham University. He was previously a senior parliamentary lawyer.
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
One of the major themes of the current election campaign is the attempt by Rishi Sunak to draw a dividing line between the Tories and Labour on the issue of immigration, particularly when it comes to the Rwanda scheme. Today, the Conservative party sought to highlight the issue in its manifesto. The manifesto claims a Conservative
Yesterday afternoon, in a striking move, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the UN’s top court, ordered Israel to stop military operations in Rafah and to immediately reopen the Rafah border crossing with Egypt for the unhindered provision of humanitarian aid. The ICJ also ordered Israel to allow the UN to investigate allegations of genocide. This dramatic step is the culmination of
Yesterday, the High Court in Belfast dealt a blow to the government when it struck down several provisions in the Illegal Migration Act 2023, and declared that parts of the legislation were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights. The Illegal Migration Act is a key piece of legislation for the government’s Rwanda scheme.
A woman who shouted and waved at a cyclist, causing her to fall in front of a car, has had her manslaughter conviction overturned. Auriol Grey, who has cerebral palsy and is partially blind, was jailed for three years in 2023, following the incident in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire. But yesterday, the court of appeal overturned the
After significant wrangling in parliament, the government has finally passed its Rwanda Bill – while managing to resist any significant new amendments from the Lords. It is reported that the Bill is likely to gain royal assent this week and that the government has already identified individuals for removal. Given the scheme appeared dead in the water last year, Rishi
Today, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on an unprecedented trio of cases which claimed that European states have taken insufficient action to combat climate change. The outcome of the claims were mixed. But the judgments of the Strasbourg Court are likely to prove exceedingly contentious. The three cases involved claims against Switzerland, France
Yesterday, a letter from 600 legal experts, including four former Supreme Court judges, was published, arguing that the UK government should impose an arms embargo on Israel, impose sanctions on individuals and entities who had ‘made statements inciting genocide against Palestinians’, and suspend negotiations on a new bilateral trade agreement with Israel. It also demanded the UK
Yesterday, the Lady Chief Justice, Lady Carr, delivered a judgment on protest law which may close a remarkable loophole which had been exploited by climate change protestors who engage in direct action to promote their cause. Protestors who have damaged property with paint or smashed windows have been cleared in recent years after telling juries
Parliamentary procedures and conventions are often dismissed as ‘arcane’ or ‘byzantine’ by commentators. Still, on occasion, they can have a significant impact on politics – as demonstrated by the recent furore over a Labour amendment to the Gaza ceasefire motion in February. Last week, a new paper in the House of Lords was published which has the potential
On Monday evening, more than 60 activists gathered outside the home of Tobias Ellwood, a Conservative backbencher and former junior defence minister and chair of the Defence Select Committee. The protestors had assembled to call for a ceasefire in Gaza, although several were also heard supporting the Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have recently been
