Alexander Horne is a barrister and visiting professor at Durham University. He was previously a senior parliamentary lawyer.
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
Yesterday, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered an interim ruling on South Africa’s genocide case against Israel. Its decision is likely to please neither side of the debate, but seems broadly balanced: it criticised Israel, but failed to demand a suspension of the conflict. The court, which sits in The Hague, was formed in
Rishi Sunak will have been delighted last night to see his Rwanda Bill pass in the Commons, by 320 votes to 276. An expected Conservative rebellion was quelled, with only 11 Conservative MPs voting against the measure and no amendments accepted. The vote exposed the posturing of the Conservative rebels. Fifty nine Conservative MPs were prepared
The Irish government has controversially announced that it will bring an inter-state claim against the UK in the European Court of Human Rights over the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar rather piously claimed that he had ‘no option’ but to bring the case, since the Act breaches the European Convention
On Wednesday, the government finally published its promised ‘emergency legislation’, after the Supreme Court ruled in November that the Rwanda scheme was unlawful. The new legislation follows the agreement of a new treaty with Rwanda on Tuesday which aimed to ‘strengthen the UK-Rwanda Migration Partnership’ and deal with the serious problems identified by the Supreme
When the Supreme Court found against the government on the Home Office’s Rwanda policy in November, the plan appeared to be dead in the water. The court made clear that there were substantial grounds to think that asylum claims would not be properly determined by the Rwandan authorities. As a result, it concluded that asylum
In its simple and comprehensible judgment, the Supreme Court has dealt a crushing blow to the Home Office’s Rwanda policy this morning. The court upheld the decision of the Court of Appeal that the policy was unlawful. It reached that view because it believed there were substantial grounds to think that asylum claims would not
As an international lawyer, splitting my time between London and Brussels, I dare say I might be considered one of Theresa May’s ‘citizens of nowhere’. Nonetheless, as the protests about the Israeli response to the atrocities committed by Hamas on 7 October have become more strident and legally problematic, I have also had cause to reflect on my
As Labour travels to Liverpool this weekend, one issue which will attract attention is the extent to which Sir Keir Starmer spells out his vision on constitutional reform, if the party wins a majority at the next election. The Blair administration introduced a variety of ambitious constitutional innovations in its first term, including devolution, Lords
