Niche but interesting alert! The Committee on Standards has made a recommendation about the register of interests of MPs' staff It highlights the difficult balance between transparency, accountability & security interests but also possibly narrows the use of the register in an unsatisfactory way

Went to look up last year's Budget statement in Hansard and was reminded of the Deputy Speaker, Nusrat Ghani, giving the government quite the telling off about pre-announcing/pre-briefing various elements of it

As regards the peerages It seems that the Palace is relying on this provision of the Royal Warrant that establishes the Roll of the Peerage... The BBC are saying that removal from the roll of the peerage means that it cannot be used formally. Hmm... www.college-of-arms.gov.uk/RoyalWarrant...

1/ The Public Accounts Committee has written to the Crown Estate and the Treasury asking questions about Prince Andrew's lease of Royal Lodge. We know the answer to some of them already, the Crown Estate will bat some of them away... committees.parliament.uk/publications...

Yesterday, I chatted to @ruthfox.bsky.social and @darcyxtip.bsky.social of the @hansardsociety.bsky.social about what Parliament could do about Prince Andrew... you can listen to the Podcast at this link... pod.link/1714627828/e...

Thoughts from my @royalholloway.bsky.social colleague @craigprescott.bsky.social on how Andrew might be fully yeeted

. @craigprescott.bsky.social and I discussed Prince William's conversation with Eugene Levy, Princess Anne's visit to Ukraine and other recent royal news in the Royal Fascinator newsletter @cbcradiocanada.bsky.social www.cbc.ca/news/world/p...

Prisoner Voting is Back! And Strasbourg is still in a right old prickle. The Court doesn't want to back down on Hirst, but also doesn't want a fight with the UK. So it concluded that the particular claimant in Hora v UK could legitimately have the vote removed: hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng?i=002-14...

The State Funeral of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was held here at the Abbey three years ago today, on 19 September 2022. 'My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God : when shall I come to appear before the presence of God?'

Five years after the Royal Family ruptured over Megxit, there are tentative signs that the King and Prince Harry are ready to end their rift trib.al/vJ0AJ5a

The Royal Family is in a period of mourning after the death of the Duchess of Kent, who converted to Catholicism, gave up royal duties, and brought joy to generations of children by teaching music at a school in Hull.

This is the key point of Sir Laurie Magnus's conclusions.

The BBC say she has resigned as Deputy Leader as well...

The Duchess of Kent has died.

One issue now... will she resign as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, and trigger a contest? Given the mood of the Labour party you'd imagine at least one candidate would emerge to represent those unhappy with Starmer...

I wholeheartedly agree. It’s one thing to do it to Gary Lineker at FA Cup match, another to do it at Westminster…

The Telegraph says Ms Rayner sought advice from "a conveyancer and two experts in trust law". So how could they all get the law wrong? A 🧵 with some speculation. (Pure speculation, but based on my experience of how clients and advisers behave.)

This says that Rayner has "referred herself" to the "Prime Minister's ethics adviser". That's curious, as the Ministerial Code is clear that it is for the Prime Minister to refer a matter to the Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Conservative & Reform reactions to the Jones acquittal are appalling, but lying behind them is IMV a real issue of concern, even though it’s not the one they’re making. I’ve no idea whether this was a perverse decision, but such decisions are being encouraged, & the law on this is a bit of a mess.

The 4th edition of Public Law, the textbook that I write with John Stanton is now out...

🧠 Did you know in England roughly 1/6 people live with a neurological condition? That is why I'm proud to support The Neurological Society in calling for greater neurological care services across the UK.

On the basis that you should always be open about your priors, I am (foolishly) placing on record that I don't believe the government will be defeated next week - because I assume they will retreat or u-turn instead. Either is better than a defeat.

Reform UK is proposing a "Britannia card" that would let wealthy foreigners pay a £250k fee to move to the UK, and live here exempt from all tax on their foreign assets What they don't say: it would cost the UK £34bn Report here, and thread below: buff.ly/gpe2Dpf

The key part of the King's Speech from the Throne... "Today, Canada faces another critical moment. Democracy, pluralism, the rule of law, self-determination, and freedom are values which Canadians hold dear, and ones which the Government is determined to protect".

“Many Canadians are feeling anxious and worried about the drastically changing world around them.” “Canadians can give themselves far more than any foreign power on any continent can ever take away.” This is one speech from the King that doesn't take much decoding.

We have doctoral funding (via teaching fellowships) advertised at the moment: www.liverpool.ac.uk/courses/grad... This is genuinely a great place to do public law. If you have a proposal in mind, or already up your sleeve, do get in touch. Informal enquiries are very welcome.

This year's Magna Carta lecture "The rule of law in a changing world" is being given by Rt Hon Victoria Prentis KC on the 9th June at 6:15pm in the Windsor Auditorium 👩‍⚖️👩‍⚖️ Get your free ticket now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-rule-o...

With pressure on public finances, there’s increasing scrutiny of the amount of taxpayers’ money spent on the Royal Family. My thoughts and those of others in this piece for the BBC by @seanjcoughlan.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Today Members of both Houses of #Parliament will process to @westminsterabbey.bsky.social for a service marking the 80th anniversary of #VEDay. In the 18th-century such processions were familiar affairs, with the Lords progressing to the Abbey at set moments to hear sermons preached. #HistParl

The British government has launched a public online exhibition showcasing the five shortlisted designs for the site of the Queen Elizabeth II Memorial in St James’s Park, London. Public feedback will help steer the final decision. Have your say. competitions.malcolmreading.com/queenelizabe...

I discussed King Charles III and the monarchy in Canada with CBC News www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

1/ The King will open the Canadian Parliament following the election on 27th May. Speaking to Canadian's in the past few months there's been considerable demand for the King to respond to Trump's overtures, with some disappointment with the UK's approach so far.

Very grateful to @joshuarozenberg.bsky.social for highlighting the important issue of treaty scrutiny, the need for reform, and my proposed Treaties Ratification (Parliamentary Consent) Bill in the Law Society Gazette today. (Short 🧵)

"Number goes down"is all very funny of course, but if i am right, there is no power at all to impose these tariffs, and Trump is causing (literally) trillions of $ of damage by acting beyond his powers. /1

Oh for a PM that understands this about the BBC and British identity.

. @craigprescott.bsky.social and I discussed King Charles III, the Commonwealth and Canada with @johnwlast.bsky.social @foreignpolicy.com foreignpolicy.com/2025/03/31/c...

The King has cancelled a series of engagements after suffering side effects from his cancer treatment that resulted in him staying in hospital for observation earlier today.

V good thread from the estimable @bymyong.bsky.social on the ages of Special Advisers (and other things about them)

For those interested in life behind the scenes in the corridors of power, this a remarkable photographic archive of Trudeau’s time as Prime Minister of Canada from the former PM’s longtime photographer cdnadamscotti.medium.com/2024-25-with...

The King is still meeting Ukraine’s President Zelensky in the saloon at Sandringham House this evening. The president had requested the meeting and the monarch, a supporter of Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression, agreed on UK government advice. Photos from PA.

I wondered if there would be a photo… and there it is…

1/ Some thoughts on Trump’s state visit… As the decades from WWII rolled on, the UK monarch meeting the US president became a distinct ‘thing’. History, shared interests, etc all pointed towards this. It reflected the closeness of the US/UK.

An old fashioned resignation based on collective responsibility. But clearly reflects unhappiness within Labour over cutting international aid. The big question for me, is how much further is Starmer going to travel, and be able to take his party with him.

Absolutely love the use of “having a luncheon” here.

A fabulous new opportunity: we at Glasgow law school are looking for an admin lawyer to join our incredible public law team. If you’re interested, please apply. If you know someone else who would be interested, please spread the word.

🧵Tonight in the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk MPs will pave the way for legislation to remove a legal barrier preventing Roman Catholics from holding the office of Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. 1/

Out in a pub in Weybridge this evening. Nothing sets things up for a raucous night out like playing ‘Never Ever’ by All Saints.

From today, we will no longer be posting regularly on Twitter/X. Instead, we will focus our social media activities here, on Bluesky, where we have been active since last year. Please encourage colleagues and friends to follow us here!

Apparently Meta has spent $78bn on the metaverse, and this is what it looks like. For that he could have built HS2, and still have enough left over for it to reach Crewe.