The Empty City - a law and polity blog

Perhaps the greatest problem with our prisons policy is that of addiction: the addiction of those in politics and the media to demanding lengthy sentences of imprisonment. Those in politics and the media cannot help themselves: every relevant news event means they have to shout louder for “tougher” punishments and shout down those who say or act otherwise. But there are at least two further problems which flow from this problem.

There is enough time left, just about, to fix parts of our constitutional arrangements before the next general election. This is important, as there is a non-trivial possibility of a radical illiberal majority at that general election. Of course, given our (largely Victorian) doctrine of parliamentary supremacy, and given the general deference our courts give to the executive, there is little which could be ultimately done to prevent the damage which a radical illiberal majority could do.

The Empty City - a law and polity blog is a reader-supported publication. To support the independent legal and constituional commentary on this blog, please become a paid subscriber. From time to time, and from cabinet reshuffle to cabinet reshuffle, some politician is appointed to the combined role of Justice Secretary and Lord Chancellor who is not a lawyer. It happened again yesterday.

Regular readers of this blog will recall that there is nothing unusual and indeed nothing wrong with our political system’s capacity to eject Prime Ministers from office. As set out in a previous post, it is that we keep appointing poor Prime Ministers that is the problem, not that we are deft at getting rid of them: an input issue not an output issue. In essence - our body politic retains an admirably efficient discharge system for getting rid of poor PMs, it is the diet which is at fault.

Yesterday this blog published a post, but it had a borked link to the judgment mentioned. Although this was quickly corrected online, it meant those who only read emails would not have the link. That judgment of the ages is here - and you really should read it in full. And my Weekly Constitutional article at Prospect on the case is here. I should be publishing a fuller post on here on the case soon.

There has never been a case like this one. That is not just the view of some passing legal blogger, but of the judge herself. As Judge Kathleen M. Williams said in her latest, highly significant order: “But perhaps the most startling misstatement advanced by Plaintiffs is their characterization of this case as “ordinary.” […] There is nothing “ordinary” about this case; it is the very definition of sui generis.” “Sui generis” is a legal phrase, meaning a thing is unique.

* “Suppose They Gave a War and Nobody Came” - a 1960s slogan and a title of a 1970 film * The current leader of the Reform Party has resigned his parliamentary seat so as to force a by-election in his Clacton constituency, in which he will stand for re-election. This is, of course, a stunt. * For a few wonderful hours yesterday it seemed we might have had the constitutional excitement of this by-election either being delayed or denied.

Given the constitutional stuff which is still ongoing in the United Kingdom, the United States, and elsewhere, it would be good for this blog to resume on a daily basis. But: to do so, given the time and opportunity costs involved, requires a higher proportion of the over 10k subscribers to convert their free subscriptions into paying subscriptions. As it stands only a few hundred of you do so. It would be great if you could make this a daily blog again.

* Scene: the legal department at FIFA headquarters. A room with two desks. At the desk nearest the door is the CLEVER LAWYER. At the desk by the window is the WISE LAWYER drinking her tea. Suddenly a FIFA FIXER comes in. * FIFA FIXER: Guys, we have a problem. We need to overturn the Balogun suspension. Orders from upstairs. You need to find us a solution. CLEVER LAWYER: Tough one. It was a direct red card? One match automatic suspension. Look here, see what it says. And see that word “automatically”?

The United Kingdom is about to have a new Prime Minister. As this blog has pointed out many times, changing Prime Minister mid-term is the norm in British politics. Since 1974 every Prime Minister has either entered office or left office between general elections, sometimes both. And there is nothing wrong or unusual with this, for we have a parliamentary and not a presidential system.