Sarah Davies

No man is an island John Donne, 'Meditation XVII' (1624) Quoted in The Shipping Forecast by Meg Clothier (BBC Books).

Except Barry.

😂

Inevitable! 😂

No brother Giles though

Destroyed in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 …

The fundamental problem:

58% of voters want public spending maintained or increased.

67% want taxes to stay at their current level or be cut.

In reality, it’s a binary choice. Taxes go up, or spending is cut. That’s it.

Obviously I make no real predictions about the 2029 election because it’s 4 years away and I am not insane, which is why all those “ooooh look at the MRP, there will be a Reform majority of 276” posts were nonsense. Come back to me 14 months from polling day and we’ll talk.

😄

It would be possible to delineate - exemptions for partnerships whose members are registered with specific regulatory / professional bodies - but deciding which professions should benefit would, I think, become fraught very quickly.

Doctors v dentists v physios etc etc

Would buy this if they'd let Brooklyn do the photos

10 pages of badgers in the dark

Heaven forfend!

😂

Feels a bit arbitrary - wouldn’t an exemption for one group involved in medical care lead to complaints from physiotherapists, pharmacists etc.

H. 52. CROWDFUNDING Mr Henry has sought to use crowdfunding in order to support the Appeal. For that purpose, Mr Henry established a crowdfunding website (the "Website") which is to be found at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/support-legal-fees-for-a-scottish-tv-channel#start. At the time of the hearing, some 24 donors had contributed the sum of £778 in order to help to defray Mr Henry's legal costs associated with this Appeal. As at the date of this ruling, 13 further donors have come forward, and the sum of €1,376 has been raised. 53. 54. Crowdfunding - involving the raising of finance for a specific litigation matter via an online platform - is a legitimate and potentially very useful source of funding. As a concept, crowdfunding has been recognised for several centuries indeed, Mozart crowdfunded a tour of 1783 by offering concerto manuscripts to those who agreed to finance the tour), while the crowdfunding of litigation emerged in England in the early 2000s.' In its recent report, Review of Litigation Funding, published 2 June 2025, the Civil Justice Council recognised the utility of crowdfunding, albeit that it recommended regulation of such funding, regardless of whether or not the donors had provided the funds on the basis that they would receive a financial reward if the funded litigation was successful. 1º Presently, however, crowdfunding in England remains unregulated, except for a system of voluntary self-regulation by the UK Crowdfunding Association and by judicial scrutiny and comment ex post facto. Certain aspects of Mr Henry's crowdfunding campaign on the Website were of concern to the Tribunal and merit some cautionary comment. At the time of the hearing, it was stated on the Website that, "Ofcom the UK broadcast regulator has been in breach of its statutory duties by allowing a company called That's TV to operate 20 local TV licences including 5 in Scotland that do not deliver a

minimum statutory requirement of local news" (per the "Overview" tab). This statement was incorrect. Ofcom had not committed any statutory infringements in transferring the Scottish L-DTPS licences to That's TV in June 2018. This inaccuracy was pointed out to Mr Henry at the hearing, whereupon the Website was subsequently amended so as to state that, "Ofcom the UK broadcast regulator has failed to prevent a company called That's TV who operates 20+ local TV licences including 5 in Scotland that do not deliver a minimum statutory requirement of local news." Hence, the assertion of a breach of statutory duty by Ofcom was removed from the Website by Mr Henry (or at his direction) following the hearing. 55. However, there are other statements which persist on the Website and which remain of concern to the Tribunal. For example, it is stated that "Ofcom is fighting against the case even though the evidence is very clear", and that if Mr Henry is successful in this Appeal, "then That's TV will see all of their local broadcast licences end on the 25th of November this year" (per the "Updates" tab). In respect of the former statement, it is for the Tribunal, and not for the crowdfunded litigant, to consider the cogency of the evidence being adduced in support of any application which is made before it. In respect of the latter statement, there is no question of That's TV's L-DTPS licences ending on 25 November 2025, for, as set out earlier in this ruling, Ofcom has exercised its power, legitimately, to extend the period for which those L-DTPS licences continue in force by 12 months under section 19ZA(1) of the 1996 Act. The subject matter of the Appeal is not whether Ofcom had power to extend those licences (as it clearly does), but whether Ofcom should be prevented from renewing That's TV licences, pursuant to section 19ZB of the 1996 Act, from 26 November 2026 onwards. The inaccuracies referred to in the previous two paragraphs are directed toward the "pitch" of the Websi…

ramifications for the proper administration of justice." While the Tribunal does not consider that the inaccuracies on the Website match the level of seriousness which has been identified by the courts in other cases, it is important to emphasise that a crowdfunding page should never be used as a "weapon" in a dispute as part of some sort of "lawfare", to adopt a phrase used by the Court of Appeal in Re A (a child) [2022] 4 WLR 25, [2021] EWCA Civ 1749, at [41]. The proprieties which the litigious process demands must be observed by both the crowdfunding host and by the litigant who is the beneficiary of the funding, in the interests of fair and proper justice. 57. 58. It is also important that donors to crowdfunding sites do not conduct themselves in any way that could be viewed as "improperly stirring up [another's] litigation", as it was described in In Re Trepca Mines Ltd (No 2) [1962] 3 All ER 351, [1963] Ch 199 (CA) at 219, for any such conduct could potentially be regarded as constituting maintenance. Although conduct amounting to maintenance or champerty has not constituted either a tort or a crime since the enactment of the Criminal Law Act 1967, sections 13(1) and 14(1), it remains the case that a funding contract which is so tainted may be "treated as contrary to public policy or otherwise illegal" (per section 14(2)). To that end, it is inadvisable for donors to publicly express views about the merits of a case on a crowdfunding website, or to make statements which could be perceived as having the aim of helping a crowdfunded litigation to secure more funding. It is plain from the Website that Mr Henry's stated purpose in bringing this application is to establish a Scottish TV channel himself. The Website states that, "[e]veryone who donates will be invited to the launch of the new Scottish TV channel that I am planning to launch using the 5 Scottish Local TV licenses. I have a detailed business plan for the TV channel and have attracted interest from po…

"independent, truthful, TV service [which] is vital for Scotland's cause. I hope the tribunal decision is favourable"; further, "[let's bring these licenses into Scottish ownership and give people the service they deserve", and that "[w]e really need an independent news channel to get us over the line". While the Tribunal does not consider that these or any other of the statements made by the donors on the Website reach the level of "improperly stirring up" Mr Henry's litigation, it is nevertheless inadvisable for donors to express views on matters which go beyond the scope of the application in question which is being funded. Mr Henry's application in the instant case was for interim relief in order to prevent Ofcom from renewing any That's TV L-DTPS licences, and whatever the ultimate aims of Mr Henry's application might be, any comments from donors which go beyond the application in question must be cautioned against.

Some important guidance yesterday from the Competition Appeal Tribunal for crowdfunded litigation and - many BlueSky users will want to note - for those who donate to such litigation. www.catribunal.org.uk/sites/cat/fi...

Frightened and desperate: EHRC anti-trans campaign loses its momentum A week of absolute scenes leaves the organisation in limbo.

EHRC anti-trans campaign loses its momentum - a week of absolute scenes has left the organisation in limbo. Here's what happened, why it happened, and what it all means iandunt.substack.com/p/frightened...

Knoll's Law catching up with AI use.

TLDR; 'the adage that “everything you read in the newspapers is absolutely true, except for the rare story of which you happen to have firsthand knowledge”.'

effectiviology.com/knolls-law/

Are those tips ...
1. Stay indoors
2. No, really, stay indoors
3. Don't go out
4. Don't be such an idiot
5. Which bit of "stay indoors" didn't you understand?

An old military maxim often attributed to Napoleon is “an army marches on its stomach” and I feel the same way that a university thinks via its library. The slow and steady financial diminution of research libraries and the librarians who staff them is, to me, a slow-rolling higher Ed catastrophe.

this is how it feels to wear high rise pants

Well that didn’t take long.

No new inquiry into Labour Together, says elections watchdog www.bbc.com/news/article...

First thought, was I know I'm tired but I didn't realise I'd slept for 3 years. This is an absolutely crazy way to use and report polling. It should not be getting this kind of priority at this stage in an electoral cycle.

Mickey Mouse economics.

👇

Good idea - my two penn’orth for insightful legal commentary:

@georgeperetzkc.bsky.social
@barbararich.bsky.social
@bricksilk.bsky.social

Since the beginning of the year/of time, I have been boring people by going on about rules of origin. In particular, why large country-by-country tariff means the US will start to pay more attention to where a product is from.

From Feb: open.substack.com/pub/mostfavo...

IYKYK!

Awful news about the death of the great Conor Gearty.

Perhaps the kindest and most encouraging law professor imaginable.

A dreadful loss to the study of civil liberties and constitutional law.

Follow Miranda - she's wise and writes great stuff.

There's a case the Lucy Connolly sentence was excessive. But Reform's rapturous reception for her suggests a party not *very* appalled by "set fire to all the fucking hotels full of all the bastards".
thecritic.co.uk/reforms-uncu...

Reform’s uncut fringe | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine It was the very late morning after the night before. One of the many ways in which Reform’s conference differs from those of other political parties is that it doesn’t schedule 9 am events in the…

Reform's Uncut Fringe: my SKETCH of Today at conference, as the nuts get loose.

Posted in the hope that there must be more than 6 of us here 😂

And, yes, I do recognise it’s Saturday, the sun is shining, & we’re spoilt for choice on sporting events today …