We have rely on conventions and unwritten rules every day and a variety of situations.
But our over-reliance on them in the Legal and Political space has left us weak when facing-off against those whose whole drive is to ignore and upend them.
We must be bolder in protecting our liberal democracies from those who threaten them. Continue reading 2025.3 – A New Norm-al
…or why reading the interpretation section is always important.
I haven’t blogged (yet) about the Scottish Labour Leadership Race. I probably won’t (until it’s over anyway) – though I did go on a short twitter rant last week about how dreadful the race had been up to that point. It ended with a call for both candidates to improve themselves and their campaigns, and noted that Anas Sarwar had, just that day, released his tax plan, which is the substance that the campaign had long been lacking. Continue reading “On Taxes and Turmoil…”
…or what may or may not happen and what happens when and if it does. Antonin Scalia, the most senior Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), died this week aged 79. This means two important things: There is now a seat on the most important Judicial Bench in the world; and The Judiciary is now a live issue in the US … Continue reading A Scot on SCOTUS…
…or a post where I really want you to read the footnotes. My brother has put a poster up on my wall. I don’t like it, but if I take it down he’s just going to moan. So I probably won’t take it down. But you see, he doesn’t trust me – it’s against his very nature to trust me, so he wants to make sure that I can’t take it … Continue reading A Permanent Parliament…
…or “Constitutions on ketamine”. So, The Smith Commission. Remember that? One of the recommendations in its Final Report was that: “UK legislation will state that the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government are permanent institutions. ” [para 21] This was, in turn, translated into the Draft Scotland Clauses 2015 (what would become the Scotland Bill 2015) in s.1, which would insert the following into the Scotland Act 1998: (1A) … Continue reading ‘Higher’ Law…
…or a dissent more important than the decision. This is one of two pieces written on UKSC Judgements handed down on 17th December 2014. The other, on Greater Glasgow Health Board v Doogan (and Another) [2014] UKSC 68 can be found here. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom (UKSC) handed down two judgements this morning that had been heard in the last few months. One was the latest instalment … Continue reading A Vote of Confidence?…
…or why I feel kinda sorry for Nicola Sturgeon. It has become generally accepted that while Yes lost the #IndyRef, in the end the SNP won. They’ve had a Massive boost in membership, a new leader to replace an increasingly divisive one and a promise of a stronger Scottish Parliament. On top of that, Labour are in turmoil and in the middle of a long drawn-out Leadership … Continue reading If You Play With Fire…
Paul Cruikshank 