Aileen McHarg

Dearie me.

Stage 3 Briefing on the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill - Land Matters I am publishing this blog to provide a link to the Stage 3 Briefing I have prepared for MSPs in advance of consideration of Stage 3 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill. The debate on the 392 Stage 3 am...

In my Stage 3 briefing I invited MSPs 2 reject power 4 Ministers 2 "clarify" definiton of lg landholdings by 2ndary legislation. Meanings should b clear in primary legislation. Noone spoke to this though & for 1st time in SP, we have a <(or clarify)> in legislation andywightman.scot/2025/10/stag...

Quavers and Chipstix too.

Not "a" speech, but I was open with them (in an age appropriate way) when the issue arose. I then gave each of them a book on Growing Up for Boys/Girls when they were about 10. They have both reported being quite traumatised by that :)

I really must stop accidentally buying two copies of the same book and start actually reading them instead.

All Souls?

I am drinking a Cosmopolitan: cranberry juice, lime juice, Absolut Citron and Cointreau, so 4 out of 5 for me.

Is this the third resignation of a chair from a major Scottish public inquiry? Susan O'Brien - Child Abuse; Lady Poole - Covid. Any others?

A man who makes poor jacket choices in light of his party's colours

YouTube video by UCL Laws Bureaucracy and Distrust: The Civil Service in the Constitution

1/9 the video of my UCL current legal problems lecture is now up: "Bureaucracy and Distrust: The Civil Service in the Constitution". It looks at the civil service’s constitutional foundations, and how it might respond to a populist govt. @sirjjkc.bsky.social  chairs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wx3P...

I've never heard of the Glenrothes hippos. Thank you.

This is actually not a great idea. The content of the Cabinet Manual, so far as it's a codification of conventions, is not entirely uncontroversial (eg the rules on govt formation in a hung Parliament). You would essentially be giving authoritative status to a document drawn up by the govt itself.

Updating it is apparently not a priority.

Not really. The Cabinet Manual is out of date - because our constitution constantly changes without any particular formalities.

I am outraged

It is the twenty third day of October in the year of our Lord two thousand and twenty five, and I have just seen a house with Christmas lights up.

Those are just words, Ben.

Excellent topic for a conference, though personally I will not be touching "financial elements of the devolution settlements" with a bargepole.

Scotland in breach of environmental convention, UN body finds Scotland remains in breach of a United Nations environmental convention, a new report has found ...

Scotland remains in breach of a United Nations (UN) environmental convention, a new report has found

Speak for yourself.

(I was in the Cafe Royal yesterday and one of the waiters was wearing a natty tartan waistcoat and trousers.)

No Parliament (good or bad) can tie the hands of its successors. That does not make retrospective legislation good.

The Conservative party needs to go back to Dicey, who emphasised the twin foundations of the UK constitution on parliamentary sovereignty AND the rule of law.

Irrespective of whether the UK or Scottish Govt should pay for this, the idea that "private visits" should cost the taxpayer £24.5 million is extraordinary.

Shocking. Perhaps unsurprisingly though they seem to have forgotten that social security is devolved in Northern Ireland and partially in Scotland. So on this drafting, not all benefit recipients would be liable to deportation.

President Trump is demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him.

Whether he gets paid will ultimately be up to DOJ's second-in-command, who was recently his personal lawyer.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/u...

Shit jobs only.

Clothing items that I would ban:

- open-toed boots
- coats with no sleeves

There are basic values in this country and we should stand up and defend them.

No. It's horrifying.

You clearly don't spend enough time on Facebook

I've been thinking about this cultural coherence thing and I've decided that my absolute red lines are that I will under no circumstances use the terms "holibobs", "crimbo" or "fur baby". I also refuse to watch Naked Attraction.

UCL Laws pays tribute to Professor William L. Twining The Faculty remembers William Twining (1934–2025), who died on 9 October 2025, aged 91.

In case anyone missed the sad news, Bill Twining passed away on 9th October. A great intellect, an inspirational academic, and a kind & generous colleague.

www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/news/20...