Malcolm CoMBE

I’m beginning every panel I chair for the rest of my career with this frontal attack…

Declarator of incompatibility for Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995, s 170 by Lord Lake in the Outer House

Gaelic and Community Relations Officer The successful applicant will work with colleagues from across the University, and with partners in other organisations, to undertake key projects that ensure that Gaelic is a visible language on our…

Tha Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann a' sireadh Oifigear Gàidhlig is Dàimhean Coimhearsnachd

Not that I want to predict the outcome of the forthcoming Holyrood election, but I am mildly amused that Reform might have to develop a policy on Scottish land reform, which in all likelihood is going to jar against the party name.

Mandelson told Epstein JPMorgan should ‘threaten’ UK government over banker tax Then business secretary advised sex offender on how Jamie Dimon should lobby chancellor in 2009

crucial to remember here that Mandelson - who is shown trying to undermine the bank bonus tax in 2009 - went on to work for JP Morgan as a client of his Global Counsel advisory firm

www.ft.com/content/91e8...

BBC Radio 4 - Currently, RAAC and Ruin Karin Goodwin investigates RAAC in Scottish housing.

I was interviewed for this BBC Radio 4 programme, about the RAAC scandal affecting thousands of Scottish homes. My snippet - considering whether a purchaser of an afflicted home should have a remedy against a seller - starts about 15 minutes in. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

🏠 THREAD: Scotland faces a housing emergency. Are social landlords complying with equality & human rights laws?

Strathclyde Law School student Sarah McGoogan audited 169 landlords to find out.

The findings are eye-opening 🧵(1/5)

Our Human Rights Law LLM student Sarah McGoogan has written a blog post about whether social landlords are promoting equality and human rights law when allocating homes. www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/l...

Monument consisting of stone arches and pillars on hilltop

The Walkhighlands faithful tell me that this walk is the one to share with you today.

Full route and details: www.walkhighlands.co.uk/ullapool/fyr...

Are you a law student or recent graduate?

Join us at our inaugural Fossil Free Law student gathering - an opportunity to network, gain campaigning skills, & strategise how to challenge ties between Scotland’s legal sector & the fossil fuel industry.

Further details: www.ercs.scot/fossil-free-...

Supporting domestic abuse victims to stay in their homes Law change will give social landlords greater control to transfer tenancies from abusers to victims.

I initially missed this Scottish Government update (published on Saturday), being a new social tenancy eviction ground (or rather a transfer provision, albeit it lives with the eviction grounds) in a domestic abuse situation. This is to be implemented in August 2026 www.gov.scot/news/support...

From Greenland to Gibraltar: the position of non-sovereign nations in international football - The International Sports Law Journal The International Sports Law Journal -

Our Roddy Cairns has an article in the most recent issue of The International Sports Law Journal, exploring the position of non-sovereign states in international football and how this has evolved over time, using Greenland as a particular case study.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...

New on the Strathclyde Law Blog, a post by our Professor Guido Noto La Diega and his co-authors (highlighting an open access article in the Journal of Consumer Policy), on the regulation of the Internet of Things for consumers in an era of cyborgification
www.strath.ac.uk/humanities/l...

Just out: My short essay in the IJMCL 40th anniversary special issue reflects on three recent climate change advisory opinions and their implications for international fisheries law.

brill.com/view/journal...

My 2025 in Review Another year, meaning it is time for yet another reflective blog post. By which I mean, it is time for me to go back to my “My 2024 in review” post, copy the intro and the structure, and adapt. Yes…

Blog plug: a post about stuff that I was involved with in 2025. basedrones.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/m...

Thanks! Aye, the other two are important generally, but also important for me in terms of deadlines I have committed to. Community land rights stuff might need to wait for a wee while accordingly.

My 2025 in Review Another year, meaning it is time for yet another reflective blog post. By which I mean, it is time for me to go back to my “My 2024 in review” post, copy the intro and the structure, and adapt. Yes…

Blog plug: a post about stuff that I was involved with in 2025.
basedrones.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/m...

Delighted to unveil my MBE this new year. #oldjokesrevisited

My 2025 in Review Another year, meaning it is time for yet another reflective blog post. By which I mean, it is time for me to go back to my “My 2024 in review” post, copy the intro and the structure, and adapt. Yes…

Happy New Year! Bliadhna Mhath Ùr! Have a blog post about what I was up to last year, in blogging terms and more generally. basedrones.wordpress.com/2026/01/01/m...

Stage 1 report on Crofting Bill published. It supports a 3 croft limit for fast track assignations. But once more - a question. A crofter with 10 acres of bog and rock can have up to 3 crofts (or more if consented) but landowners owning thousands of ha face no such limits. Why not? ow.ly/JBie50XMw4t

Block of 6 1930s council houses in Oban

I was a council housing officer in Oban in the late 1980s, the peak of the Right to Buy frenzy at the same time as rising homelessness. Roll forward almost 40 years and there’s a 1930s one bedroom ex-council flat in this block in Oban being marketed as a holiday let at almost £600 for 5 nights.

Scottish residential tenancy reform – the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 2025 brought much in the way of statutory intervention for Scotland’s residential landlords and tenants. The majority of these reforms can be found in the Scottish Parliament’s Housing …

Blog plug - a post about some recent statutory reforms for residential tenancy law in Scotland
basedrones.wordpress.com/2025/12/26/s...

Scottish residential tenancy reform – the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 2025 brought much in the way of statutory intervention for Scotland’s residential landlords and tenants. The majority of these reforms can be found in the Scottish Parliament’s Housing …

It's Boxing Day, so of course I've published a blog post about the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 and the Renters' Rights Act 2025. basedrones.wordpress.com/2025/12/26/s...

Why Britain has a deer problem Deer numbers have rocketed over the last 40 years and particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Interesting to see this issue which is often framed as a Scottish issue getting UK-wide coverage. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Decorated Christmas tree, featuring a needlepoint with "fuck cancer".

Merry Christmas | Nollaig Chridheil

Happy new(est) Land Reform (Scotland) Act day - I see from the Scottish Parliament that what was the Bill became an Act today. www.parliament.scot/bills-and-la...

Bronze plaque saying "A Letter to the Future. Ok is the first Icelandic glacier to lose its status as a glacier. In the next 200 years all our glaciers are expected to follow the same path. This monument is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it. August 2019. 415ppm CO2"

TIL about a memorial ceremony in Iceland in 2019 to mark the end of a glacier, changing the place name from Okjökull to Ok (jökull = glacier). Uncompromising wording on the bronze plaque:
"This is to acknowledge that we know what is happening and what needs to be done. Only you know if we did it".

West Indies digging in v New Zealand. That was proper test cricket. Not this.