A recall mechanism soon coming to the Senedd. Alongside the Scottish equivalent, this would bring the Welsh and Scottish parliaments somewhat in line with the House of Commons since the Recall of MPs Act 2015. research.senedd.wales/research-art...

Here we go again, sigh. Reform UK calls, the broadcasters flock.

Completely fair comments from Cat Smith MP here. So much more is needed and could be done to safeguard electoral law. There's also nothing stopping future Governments from manipulating the Electoral Commission for its own gain. bylinetimes.com/2025/10/31/k...

House of Lords continuing to push back on the Employment Rights Bill. Salisbury Convention anyone..? news.sky.com/story/worker...

When the depressing state of UK political journalism and the wonderful film that is Dead Man's Shoes merge to create the perfect meme.

Usual caveats but what an absurd situation with First Past the Post.

A regular reminder that the right to free speech is not the right to demand to be heard. Yet so many of the UK's most powerful still clearly merge the two and pander to extremist views.

When both things can be true at the same time... news.sky.com/story/politi...

New Brighton 10km race this morning. Tough slog that.

I say this with the bluntness it requires: they will get people murdered if this continues. This is not just populism anymore either: it’s completely unhinged and a deliberate choice that does endanger lives. I am not saying this lightly at all.

Interesting and timely conference for UK constitutional law folk - ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/10/03/e...

Of all the failures and disasters of privatisation of basic state infrastructure and essential services over the decades, this has to be right up there with the railways. www.theguardian.com/money/2025/o...

Merseyrail claiming a "Good Service" on the Chester and Ellesmere Port lines. That's an absolute fib. An afternoon of chaos. @merseytravel.bsky.social

This so obviously had a stink to it from the very start, all those years ago... news.sky.com/story/firm-l...

This should really be a given, especially for a Government pledging to clean up politics and remedy some of the worst behaviour of the past Governments. It's also one of those things that isn't necessarily a problem today, but it certainly could be under a future authoritarian Government.

Morning madness. Sisters reunited.

Big hat tip to @drjohnnymac.bsky.social for organising the conference that led to this as well as for putting this edited collection together! I contributed a chapter on culture wars and constitutional identity. www.routledge.com/Constitution...

I think I'm going for a new record for how many times in a single day I need to complete multifactor authentication to open the same damn apps. No option to "remember me" or save an access. Such an incredible waste of time.

Good. Withdrawing from Erasmus was one of the most backward, self-sabotaging and counterproductive decisions made post-2016, apart from Brexit in general of course. inews.co.uk/news/politic...

💯 @bylinetimes.bsky.social

A new UK prisoner voting case and the first since some have been allowed to vote post-Hirst. A convicted rapist having his right to vote restricted in the 2019 election was not disproportionate. Judgment - hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre?i=001-24... Press Release - hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press?i=....

Missed this last week. The Public Office (Accountability) Bill now laid before Parliament - otherwise dubbed the "Hillsborough Law". Introducing a legal duty of candour on public officials and bodies, making misleading the public a criminal offence. bills.parliament.uk/bills/4019

With the usual media obsession and fawning over Reform you would barely be aware that the third biggest party with 72 MPs was currently having their annual conference.

Reform are now coming after people with permanent residency. It'll be citizens next. No one is safe from authoritarian governments.

Conor Gearty obituary - The Guardian www.theguardian.com/law/2025/sep...

The free speech patriots once again confirming that the only free speech that matters is their own. Yawn. news.sky.com/story/kimmel...

Eat this, Elon: 2024 London Mayoral Election Count Binface: 24,260 Britain First: 20,519

First day of the semester. First train cancellation of the semester. Business as usual for Merseyrail.

We probably have three/three and a half years until the next general election so any defections now are clearly not about MPs saving their own skin.

This is moving in exactly the wrong direction! Education & meaningful activity in prison is crucial to reducing violence and improving outcomes

As much as the collapse of the Tory Party brings some joy, Reform are looking increasingly unstoppable. news.sky.com/story/politi...

If momentum picks up and more defections take place, I bet we'll see more calls for defections to lead to automatic recall. news.sky.com/story/politi...

Genoa 🇮🇹 An indulgent few days. 25,000 steps. 25,000 calories.

Is the Ministerial Code now worth something again?

Sanctioned six times by the Kremlin, banned from both Reform and Conservative Party Conferences… what better time to support @bylinetimes.bsky.social by subscribing to our monthly newspaper 👉 subscribe.bylinetimes.com/editions/

Staggering levels of hypocrisy from the free speech warriors on the right wing these days. bylinetimes.com/2025/09/04/k...

I don't really get the need for this level of intervention which will only fuel the anti-votes at 16 lobby. What is the purpose of the national curriculum Citizenship subject, taught in secondary schools for many years already, if not to teach about UK democracy? www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

25% of councils where Reform are the largest party have now seen their leader or deputy leader resign

That chart showing the average student loan debt on 'entry into repayment' is outrageous and utterly unsustainable. news.sky.com/story/going-...

Contributed a short piece for @iwa-wales.bsky.social on recalling politicians. Specifically, plans to enable voters in Wales to recall Members of the Senedd. This already exists for MPs. Similar proposals in Scotland too. @ljmuimpact.bsky.social @ljmu-ris.bsky.social www.iwa.wales/agenda/2025/...

New research briefing on electoral registers and access to them published by the House of Commons Library yesterday. researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN...

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...

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...

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…”

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.

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....

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.