Ben Stanford

New research briefing on electoral registers and access
to them published by the House of Commons Library yesterday.

researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN...

Palestine Action's bid for judicial review granted after MPs banned group The High Court has granted Palestine Action's application for a judicial review after MPs voted to ban it as a terrorist group.

The High Court has granted permission for a judicial review to be brought against the Home Secretary's decision to proscribe Palestine Action.

news.sky.com/story/palest...

Pubs and venues to be protected from noise complaints It will also be easier to open new pubs in disused shops under licensing reforms planned by the government.

Good! Pretty audacious to choose to move next door to long established cultural premises and attempt to close them down.
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Jeremy Corbyn and Zarah Sultana agree to launch leftwing party Former Labour MPs condemn ‘rigged’ system and promise ‘a mass redistribution of wealth and power’

Okay fine. Why on earth are they using X?

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Your regular reminder that over a lifetime, people born in 1956 will each receive on average £291,000 more from the welfare state than they paid in, compared to £132,000 for people born in 1996 (h/t Resolution Foundation)

Just something to consider next time you hear “I’ve paid in all my life…”

University failure now a ‘top tier’ risk for education department - Research Professional News Risk of higher education financial failure rated as “critical—very likely” in DfE annual report

Risk of "higher education financial failure" rated by DfE in annual report as "critical—very likely". A failure would impact "students, sector and economy".

Might raise questions about whether there should be greater policy response to this threat?

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

Once you swat away the "You can't do X/Y/Z at 16" arguments, the opposition to votes at 16 really boils down to one thing - The same people who repeatedly make generationally selfish or awful decisions on behalf of everyone deciding that younger voters can't be trusted to make their own decisions.

Restoring trust in our democracy: Our strategy for modern and secure elections

Some very interesting (and necessary) stuff here:

- Voting age reduced to 16.
- Expanding voter ID forms including digital.
- Increasingly automated voter registration.
- Closing foreign donation loopholes.

Press release - www.gov.uk/government/n...

Policy paper - www.gov.uk/government/p....

Action taken to stop ticketless Oasis fans from watching this week's shows in Manchester While tens of thousands bought tickets for Oasis's first two shows at Heaton Park last weekend, crowds gathered to glimpse the large screens above the stage in the distance - in an area dubbed "Gallag...

news.sky.com/story/huge-s...

"The erection of the fencing has a dual purpose - both to protect the environment from further damage and to dissuade people from gathering there."

Hmmm.

Good grief. "Suspended Tory MP Patrick Spencer won’t go on trial for allegations of assaults on two women until July 13 2026...

"It comes after former Tory MP Craig Williams was told his trial re. betting on the 2024 election date won’t happen until at least the start of 2028" Politics reports (!!)

If a wealth tax is implemented, the stinking rich are still going to be stinking rich. Get a grip.

That is one monster judgment in Ukraine and the Netherlands v Russia.
hudoc.echr.coe.int?i=001-244292

Jury-free trials proposed to save criminal justice system from collapse Senior judge Sir Brian Leveson unveils radical proposals to clear huge backlog in crown courts in England and Wales

Criminal justice system finally getting some more attention now. Some predictably shameless interventions from former (Conservative) Government Ministers. Years of court closures, budget cuts and managed decline led to this. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

This is the freight train almost no one has noticed coming down the tracks.

Wage stagnation, expensive housing, smaller private pensions are going to be a terrible combination.

My week in a magistrates’ court: no lawyers, missing translators, huge delays While the government has vowed to fix crippling delays in the Crown Courts, the bottom tier of British justice also appears to be in crisis, as Emily Dugan discovered in Swindon

A great read reflecting the increasingly shambolic criminal justice system.
www.thetimes.com/article/6dca...

Doing anything involving expenditure at a University is enough to seriously consider a career change. The sheer waste of time and resources is staggering.

Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood on human rights reform in the UK and in Europe The UK’s Justice Secretary has promised domestic legislation and called for wider ECHR reform because, she says, the application of human rights is now ‘out of step with common sense’. What does th…

Not the first time we've heard this kind of rhetoric and probably not the last!
publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/06/18/j...

Secretary of State announces Chair of the Patrick Finucane Inquiry The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Hilary Benn MP, has appointed The Rt Hon Sir Gary Hickinbottom as Chair of the Patrick Finucane Inquiry.

This is so overdue. But better late than never. www.gov.uk/government/n...

Revealed: Thousands of UK university students caught cheating using AI Guardian investigation finds almost 7,000 proven cases of cheating – and experts says these are tip of the iceberg

Are complex problem based scenarios for coursework even safe these days?
www.theguardian.com/education/20...

It's not the biggest problem education is facing but at some point the preference of parents and students for coursework and fewer exams is going to collide with the fact that AI probably necessitates a big return to in-person exams

"Court system in crisis as ‘jaw-dropping’ delays mean first trials listed for 2029"

2029! A vital part of Art. 6 ECHR is that "Everyone is entitled to a fair and public hearing within a reasonable time". We're going to see more and more trials falling foul of that.

www.msn.com/en-gb/news/u...

The Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law welcomes papers for an online symposium to be held on Friday 28 Nov 2025.

Abstracts due 15 Sep 2025.

Selected papers considered for Vol. 10 of the Yearbook in 2026.

Theme: ‘‘Human Rights and the Green Transition: Ensuring Justice for All".

The Constitution Unit Conference 2025. Labour's constitutional agenda in office. 18 and 19 June 2025. 18 June 2025: 10:00am: Opening keynote from Nick Thomas-Symonds MP, 1:00pm: Standards in public life, 3:00pm: The electoral system in a multiparty era. 19 June 2025: 11:00am: The rule of law, 1:00pm: Reforming the House of Commons, 3:00pm: Reflections on Labour's constitutional agenda.

Join us on 18 and 19 June for our free, online conference!

Politicians and experts will explore constitutional paths taken and not (yet) taken one year since the general election, with the Minister for the Constitution giving the keynote.

Find out more and sign up 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....

Alas, I only attended virtually, so a very limited insight on this occasion!

@ljmu-ris.bsky.social

Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee | Scottish Parliament TV

Gave oral evidence today to the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee on the Scottish Parliament (Recall and Removal of Members) Bill.

Agenda and recording of the meeting here - www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/stan....

@ljmuresearch.bsky.social @ljmuimpact.bsky.social

Ouch. Major ouch.

Three new prisons to be built starting this year, UK justice secretary announces Shabana Mahmood says jails will be part of a ‘record prison expansion’ amid overcrowding crisis in England and Wales

The criminal justice system is quite obviously on its arse. This goes some way to dealing with prison overcrowding but it's going to take a lot more to deal with the backlogs, safety concerns and general morale in the sector. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...