Top recent posts by UK Constitutional Lawyers on Bluesky

A fifth of Leave voters have died.

Anti-semitism is absolutely a real thing and as a Jew I am deeply nervous about the worst faith people in public life working relentlessly to rob the concept of all gravity by making it synonymous with "anyone not fully supportive of Benjamin Netanyahu and everything he does."

French Resistance fighter and historian Marc Bloch, murdered by the Gestapo in 1944, is inducted into Panthéon in Paris.

Ukrainian drones hit the Orenburg Gas Processing Plant which produces about a quarter of Russia’s gas capacity. #explodey

Tsunami alert issued for Venezuela, Curacao and surrounding islands after a 7.1 magnitude earthquake west of Caracas.

All the Reform nutters opposed expanding the ULEZ because they don’t like change. It’s helped cut deaths from air pollution by 40%.

The Pentagon lied about injuries inflicted on US soldiers in Iran.

The propaganda is starting to fail.

One of the more bizarre aspects of American politics for a European or Canadian observer is how what in Ottawa, Brussels or Rome comes across as boring milquetoast Social Democracy will be inevitably portrayed in the United States as harbingers of the next Leninist Red Terror

The Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani says regional states are negotiating a new security arrangement with Iran, shifting away from US-only protection, the FT reports. Trump really has remade the Middle East, by pushing America to the fringes.

Trump deciding to punish anyone who wants to buy a home unless they let him fix elections.

I don't have anything profound to say about the 10-year anniversary of the Brexit vote. Brexit was always going to be shit, was shit, and now continues to be shit. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Starmer leaps to the defence of Bridget Phillipson after Badenoch calls her a "spiteful class warrior". "The Education Secretary grew up in poverty... It's an incredible story of social mobility and success... I am so proud... It drives every single priority and value that she has."

Big Ukrainian drone raid on occupied Crimea now underway. #explodey

From @trishgreenhalgh.bsky.social “Every summer I repost this article on how to spot drowning. Please read it and pass on. In the last few years I’ve had SIX messages from people who saved a kid’s life after clicking on the link from my feed. “ slate.com/technology/2...

swear to god the "aircon is bad, actually" Bluesky scolds are the most annoying Bluesky scolds

Big wins for Mamdani and his political capital in New York.

$88 billion Surrender fee.

Private Eye points out that former Ukip leader Paul Nuttall is heading up candidate vetting for Reform ahead of the next general election. Readers might remember when items on his CV were revealed as false during the 2017 Stoke-on-Trent by-election." #IronyIsStillDead

Pa Senator John Fetterman to Fox: “If you have contempt for Israel, you are also anti-American, you are anti-Western civilisation, and you are anti-capitalism and the American way of life.”

'About 150 academic roles are set to go at the south-west institution, which said it was targeting areas that are “no longer sustainable” or have seen changes in student demand.' History and English are name-checked. 1/3

turned the fan on. Instantly acquired a Tortie.

Higher education policy under the last few UK governments seems to be shaping up into an experiment in how you sustain a knowledge economy without knowledge

Use a new one lads. Jesus Christ. FIFA is rolling in money they can afford it.

Now the UK’s hottest June day on record, climate crisis fans.

On this topic and immigration, the current Labour government has been steering in the rear view mirror. When immigration plummets and hits OBR estimates and they have to bail out Russell Group universities it might finally dawn on them.

Trump at the Senate Steering Committee lunch: “The war is going very well. As you know, we are winning by a lot. “Iran is making very big concessions. We will see what happens, but it's been very powerful. It's going very, very well.”

Hard not to regard this as a classic example of a pre-emptive campaign by certain sectors, along with their media sympathisers, to discourage a new prime minister from appointing someone who might damage their interests in the long and short term. And it will almost certainly work.

Demand details and specifics – always the way to break Farage and his people.

Just an fyi, if you are using climate refugees as a "threat" against wealthier countries, i.e "if you don't combat climate change you will have more people seeking asylum", you are feeding a hard/far right narrative that people seeking safety are "something to fear". Stop it you utter ghouls. 1/

'It's not climate change; it's just weather.' The planet replies...

Some interesting thoughts, much of which might be as applicable to the UK and other European countries as the US.

Broke: keep the capital in London Woke: move the capital to Manchester Bespoke: move the capital back to Winchester

Somewhat unsurprisingly, solar is generating almost 38% of power being consumed in the UK right now.

"Fine. Just derp quietly down there, please. it's too hot to argue with you."

Maybe those rumours of Tucker Carlson starting a Far Far Right third party might be a thing.

On days like this my thoughts are with Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and other members of the non-sweating community.

Darren Jones goes all-in for a Burnham coronation. Labour will end up regretting it if there’s no contest.

Morning Bluesky.

One of the things I learned in an emergency medical technician course many years ago was that not every gunshot or stab wound has profuse visible external bleeding, Hollywood style

No, Americans. I can just switch my heating to air conditioning. Literally can’t

Me, in my comfortable air-conditioned 22-degrees flat, having slept well in my comfortable air-conditioned 18 degrees bedroom: yes we fucking can.

Brits, Our Friends In The North, one of the finest drama series of the past 35 years, is starting a run of repeats on BBC Four this evening from 10.20pm. (I feel old; I watched this when it was new.) www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

A community’s strength is measured by how it unites and rebuilds. Following the tragic 2024 floods in Valencia, the EU is delivering €846 million to Spain. This historic funding helps restoring critical infrastructure, while building robust flood defences. link.europa.eu/YMhcD7

The Houthis have built a sophisticated crypto financing network to move money, evade sanctions, and fund weapons, drones and military operations, YNET reports.

Ah. It's "we contractually obligated ourselves to do X by Y date as a Faculty in order to win a bid, but didn't bother checking in advance that this was actually possible with anyone in IT" day. Came round late this month.

I don’t know the details but they may well targeting modules with lower registration, where a world expert gets to teach their research to a relatively small number of the keenest students. You know. Those modules that stick in the students’ minds for the rest of their lives.

There’s me thinking I’d seen the back of Andy Burnham 😂 Am v pro this No 10 idea though as you might expect. Could have a lot of consequences if done right, incl for media ecosystem Also not a ££££ thing but it sends a message. (Helpfully could also allow him to be near Makerfield on a Fri)

So 'limited' it reputedly entails making 25% of the History Department (which took how many additional students last autumn...?) redundant.... Is the targeting specifically directed toward top-performing departments, in a 'specific' effort to degrade the UK research base? Asking for some friends.

Labour trying to force through the most hostile and draconian anti-asylum, anti-immigration, anti-rights policy agenda in decades knowing it is exactly this level of inhumane and cruel policies which have led them to the current cluster they find themselves in. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

If you see Pride and the LGBTQIA+ community as a "political act" then it is on you for making our lives political. LGBTQIA+ rights should not be seen as political decisions, anymore than anyone else's are. Living our lives should not have to be a "political act". www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Past political traumas blinded UK governments to how declining birthrates across the world are shrinking the global labour pool of potential skilled and unskilled migrants. Belief that everyone the UK needs will always want to migrate to the UK without encouragement is the next strategic blunder

The ‘too long, didn’t read’ here is: Andy Burnham isn’t going to blow up the gilts market. www.ft.com/content/8aa0...

🏺 🧪 Thoughts on new Naledi info: - if results are correct it doesn't mean all individuals there are female, just sampled teeth - if there is strong female bias it's interesting but cultural burial is not the first thing I'd be thinking about - nobody comments on weirdness when 💀 samples are all ♂️

DO NOT GO OUT TODAY WITHOUT YOUR STILSUIT ON. basic heat safety, people

Not mine, but I’ve mentioned before my grandfather didn’t believe anyone wins the premium bonds, it’s how MI5 pays agents in the field was his thesis

Morning. #OTD

There was a remarkably large contingent of freaks like Christopher Booker telling us this wasn’t a thing to sweat when I was growing up. Don’t seem to hear so many of them now

It’s been quite the ride. Me on Burnham, the Manchester years as.ft.com/r/2d95cb4b-8...

Hydration is necessary and many people don’t drink enough water. However, my experience in hot environments in the army is that fully hydrated people can still overheat. It’s not a panacea

ded

Of a long list of hideous anti-asylum policies Labour has implemented, it's one in one out policy is one of the worst, with tough competition. It's dramatically undermined trafficking and modern slavery protections in a way the previous government only dreamed of. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Think the word you're groping for, @theguardian.com, is "grisly".

Asda was completely out of quiche, potato salad and coleslaw earlier. just in case you're wondering what everyone in London has decided is for dinner tonight.

Not sure I agree; but it's maybe worth making two points. 1: What you can't do as a takeover PM is rule out an early election and then call one (Theresa May's mistake). 2: What you can't do as a takeover PM is allow people to believe that you might and then not do it (Gordon Brown's mistake).

Once again for the slow class, the rise of populism including in the UK is not primarily an economic but a social one because it is happening across Europe regardless of different national circumstances. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

The climate scientists are telling us. We need to listen, and join the fight. Or we may literally be cooked. (Alt text is in the replies)

If Iran had a sense of humor they'd name it the "Liberation Day Tariff".

New "fuck, marry, kill" just dropped.

But noooo, regulation holds back growth!

Compiling a list of place names designed to confuse and upset visitors trying to guess the pronunciation. So far: 1. Loughborough 2. Marylebone 3. Chiswick 4. Leominster 5. Worcester

can't imagine why a mainstream media environment obsessed with 24hr news, opinion pieces and constant polling would want an early General Election. Real mystery.

"And THAT is how i lost my job as a school careers advisor..."

A Dem victory in the mid-terms alongside successes for as diverse a range of characters as Mamdani, Magyar or Albanese also indicate how social media power that obsesses Musk does not guarantee hegemony. Outcomes that demonstrate limits of tech power fundamentally contradict Musk's worldview

SCOTUS is closing courthouse doors. Two under-the-radar 6-3 decisions yesterday make it even harder for plaintiffs to vindicate their rights. With thanks to @stevevladeck.bsky.social for guidance & insights www.economist.com/united-state...

How the hell is anyone still claiming climate change is a hoax? Can we stop with the "other countries are hotter". Yes, yes they are. I've lived and worked in far hotter countries. They have infrastructure designed to cope with it and people are used to it. UK very much doesn't and people aren't.

There is also an argument for how European integration has now potentially opened a pathway for Europe's NATO armies to be willing to accept a European general as SACEUR

My reflection is the nasty guy in my local pub who told me “you have to lea e the country! We won be vote so f/ck off back to America”. Closest I ever came to perpetrating violence in a pub

I return to small businesses I interviewed before Brexit to see how it's gone - "a total utter nightmare"... farmer in Kent, cheesemaker in Chesire, wine importer, Logistics UK (Dante's fifth circle? no worse), wire maker. All exported to EU. Here's their stories. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Terrific piece from @jenwilliamsft.bsky.social about Andy Burnham, who she’s been covering for a decade. www.ft.com/content/9949...

From organised crime and drug trafficking to cybercrime, human trafficking and terrorism, criminals increasingly operate across borders. We presented the Criminal Justice Package to strengthen cooperation across 🇪🇺 and help authorities tackle these threats more effectively → link.europa.eu/MCkg7X

It’s official - 2nd class mail is to be scrapped and replaced with 3rd class that may arrive when there isn’t a ‘y’ in the day. All at the old 2nd class price of 91p

So has anyone attributed the heat wave to immigration yet?

It's progress like this that should remind us that making the world better isn't all reliant on having l loads of money to spend, thankfully

Fascinating episode - includes bit at the top of the show where it totally debunks Jeremy Hunt banging on about people being better off on benefits than working.

i have napped it was good all hail the nap

absolutely fuck the BMA www.thejc.com/news/uk/bma-...

'University leaders have been urged to lobby firms to release environmental data connected to the use of artificial intelligence to help institutions get a handle on how increased reliance on the technology is impacting on climate goals.' 1/1

I was happy to sign this

The V remake looks lit

If you have #LongCovid how can you tell if you've fully recovered? 6 yrs of evidence & collective lived experience show us this is not an easy question to answer, yet reaching consensus on the definition of recovery is essential for research & care. Our piece @bmj.com www.bmj.com/content/393/...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to journalists: “We will most likely have a one-on-one meeting with Trump in Turkey.”

One of the worst trends in HR of the past decade or so was "bring your whole self to work". Please, I am begging you, leave your "whole self" at home. Bring your professional work self to work, please. Save your energy for your political campaigning for your time off.

"... even AI models marketed as having conservative views, including Elon Musk’s Grok, offered by his company SpaceX, cited left-leaning arguments more often, on average." www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...

This, I feel, is the very definition of a partial statement, isn’t it? It’s not *untrue*, but it’s really not the whole story at all.

this is very cool! www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Repeat of an old point but if you are a fan of place based economic policy, allowing uni's in towns and cities to export education services by getting foreign students here to pay fees ££££ is a really good one.

Vaguely similar to the Uber story a few weeks ago. This sort of stuff is surely a challenge to the AI business model. We’ve gone from big corporates encouraging adoption and having staff league tables of usage to corporates shouting at their staff “you’ve spent how much?”

“Racist against MMT” is, I feel, a magnificent take.