New article: Mark Elliott and Nicholas Kilford, "The Relational Principle of Parliamentary Sovereignty" SSRN draft available to download; forthcoming in Public Law publiclawforeveryone.com/2026/07/21/t... @nearlydoctornick.bsky.social

The relational principle of parliamentary sovereignty

In a forthcoming article in Public Law, Nicholas Kilford and I examine three leading UK Supreme Court decisions that have subjected the principle of parliamentary sovereignty to notably unorthodox …

publiclawforeveryone.com

"The big question now is not just how to win power, but how to wield it in a way that restores trust, dignity, and agency to communities long left behind." First published in 2025, @andyburnham.bsky.social reflects on place-based governing. www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

Reclaiming power together: a politics of community to renew Labour’s purpose by Andy Burnham

First published in our 2025 collection, Britain Renewed: Labour and the Communitarian Tradition, Andy Burnham reflects on place-based governing.

ucl.ac.uk

Examined a good PhD this week which made extensive use of the BWA (@ukandeu.bsky.social's Brexit Witness Archive). If you know any researchers (or even ug students doing disso's) who are working on British politics, do let them know about it. It's an absolute treasure trove. This one's esp. fab.

Brexit Witness Archive - Philip Hammond

Lord Hammond on why he wanted Britain to remain in the EU as a Eurosceptic, how Theresa May’s Brexit plan developed, and trying to prevent ‘No Deal’ from the backbenches.

ukandeu.ac.uk

Some thoughtful person provided a link to a non-paywalled version of this article: gcaptain.com/drowning/

Drowning Doesn't Look Like Drowning

Drowning is not the violent, splashing, call for help that most people expect. In this article, Mario explains what drowning really looks like and how to recognize it when its happening.

gcaptain.com

Join the Constitution Unit! We are welcoming British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme applications for September 2027 entry. If you are interested, contact your proposed mentor by 25 May. Applicants must have had their PhD viva between 1 April 2024 and 1 April 2027. Find out more 👇

Constitution Unit welcomes British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship applications 2026/27

The Constitution Unit is welcoming applicants to the British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship scheme for September 2027 entry, with an internal deadline of 25 May 2026.

ucl.ac.uk

Oxford museum sees 47% decline in swift numbers www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Oxford Natural History museum sees 47% decline in swift numbers

For 80 years swifts have returned to the tower of Oxford Museum of Natural History.

bbc.co.uk

Thought this was a model response from @celiarichardson.bsky.social to a pretty harsh article in the Spectator about the National Trust

My paper “Bureaucracy and Distrust: the Civil Service in the Constitution” has been published in Current Legal Problems. It looks at the UK civil service’s constitutional foundations, and how it might respond to a populist govt. It's open access. currentlegalproblems.org/article/bure...

Build-a-voter is back! @fransham.bsky.social's creation is now updated for 2026 with data from More in Common. www.economist.com/interactive/... My profile is predictably Labour-leaning...

How do we govern the moon? Our topical discussion paper www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/documents/60...

Absolute cinema watching that jar of Nutella escape contain behind the backs of the astronauts after packing other things away

angela ✨@astoldbyangela.bsky.social · 4mo ago

THE NUTELLA omg

When ads came to ChatGPT, users were mad — those who had been using it as an editor or therapist suddenly saw ChatGPT as vulnerable to manipulation by brands and marketers. The reality is that it was happening the whole time. I wrote about the new SEO gold rush: www.theverge.com/tech/900302/...

Can AI responses be influenced? The SEO industry is trying

Marketing firms are going all in on AI search.

theverge.com

🚨 NEW REPORT! 🚨 What is the state of the UK academic job market in politics, and what does this mean for the field and #highered? In a new @psaecn.bsky.social report, @lawrencemckay.bsky.social @williamlallen.bsky.social and I find worrying trends in job adverts and HESA data from 2012-25 #PSA26

Academic Job Market Trends in Politics and International Relations - Political Studies Association

Academic Job Market Trends in Politics and International Relations: Evidence from the UK, 2012-25 Authored by: Dr Ralph Scott, Dr Lawrence McKay, and Dr William Allen Read the full report here   Execu...

psa.ac.uk

Errors present in 45% of AI generated reports of news stories 🧪 www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/...

Largest study of its kind shows AI assistants misrepresent news content 45% of the time – regardless of language or territory

An intensive international study was coordinated by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and led by the BBC

bbc.co.uk

right now the astronauts are calling houston because the computer on the spaceship is running two instances of microsoft outlook and they can't figure out why. nasa is about to remote into the computer

"I’m pretty sure technological progress is a law of nature, like gravity or death. The power loom, as we know, is inevitable, preordained by God, who works His miracles through the hands of rich and wise inventors. It’s foolish to resist it."

Being a Luddite Is Cool and All, but Have You Seen the Hilarious Tapestries These New Looms Are Making?

“Am I worried about losing my job? Sure. It seems almost assured that eventually, my skilled craftsmanship and decades of experience will be replaced by a hu...

buff.ly

We're hiring! We're looking for a freelance magazine designer to join our small and dedicated team as an Art Director. This is an exciting opportunity to join an award-winning magazine with a growing readership and an exceptional reputation for its design. Apply now:

We're hiring! Apply to be our Art Director

We're looking for a freelance Art Director to work on the print edition of the magazine for five days each quarter

newhumanist.org.uk

The danger to my job from AI isn't that AI can do my job, it's that my job is made even more precarious by the way AI is shaping ideas of the value of work. It can't do my job, but it can be part of convincing people (incorrectly) that my job isn't necessary.

Good words of warning here. AI models are generally designed to read and incorporate (and, in a sense, believe) virtually everything they find online, with very few guardrails. The information can get divorced from its original source, context, & rebuttals or retractions. That's a really big problem

Nick Tsergas@nicktsergas.ca · 5mo ago

MAHA-aligned research is entering the training data of AI models that millions of people (and increasingly governments) rely on.

"Free Time isn’t just a new product—it’s a total wellness optimization platform. It’s not an app but rather a mind-blowing vessel of unstructured time where you can do anything your heart desires, or nothing at all." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/int...

Introducing: Free Time

From the innovators who brought you Taking a Nap and Just Chilling, Free Time is a luxury experience beyond your wildest dreams. Free Time isn’t ju...

mcsweeneys.net

www.gov.scot/publications... - published today

Report on the Roles and Functions of the Scottish Law Officers

This is a Report on research into the roles and functions of the Scottish Law Officers.

gov.scot

it can't tell if the output is true because *it has no concept of truth*. The only thing it "knows" is "this output is correlated" It is structurally indifferent to truth

Anthony Moser@anthonymoser.com · 8mo ago

while i am not an academic i did see this coming and post about it on bluesky, which is why i am quoted in this article

❗New date for greyhound rally: Wednesday 18th March❗ 👉 We're sorry for the inconvenience, but unfortunately this is the nature of parliamentary business so close to the dissolution of the Scottish Parliament ahead of the May elections. 🙌We really hope you can still make it. Please share, thank you

And another bites the dust? The BBC World Service will run out of funding in just seven weeks. Its funding arrangement with the Foreign Office finishes at the end of March. There is no plan for what happens next. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The Guardian view on the BBC World Service: this is London calling | Editorial

Editorial: With just seven weeks before its funding runs out, the UK’s greatest cultural asset and most trusted international news organisation must be supported

theguardian.com

New report out today on the impact of the Supreme Court's s.28(7) jurisprudence, with @profnicolamcewen.bsky.social, @chrismccork.bsky.social and Jo Hunt. www.gla.ac.uk/research/az/...

1/2 Here’s a 1 min trailer for Advanced Issues in Public Law, a 2nd yr module I’m teaching late 2026 at @durham.ac.uk with @aileenmcharg.bsky.social and @rogermasterman.bsky.social. I just used iMovie. No AI. I&S = individual and the state; UK Con = UK constitutional law—both 1st yr modules.

(Nervously) excited to say that I'll be leaving legal practice after almost 12 years to join the NI Assembly as a research officer in European Affairs. Out with briefing counsel and in with briefing committees + legislators.