Ben Yong
@bymyong.bsky.social
2.2K followers 1.4K following 870 posts
"Estimable" Sir Jonathan Jones KC Associate Prof in Public Law, Durham Law School. Looks at how legislatures and govt works. https://www.durham.ac.uk/staff/benjamin-y-yong/ Mastodon: @[email protected]
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Reposted by Ben Yong
claremcglynn.bsky.social
🔊New Book Announcement *Exposed: The Rise of Extreme Porn and How We Fight Back* pre-order now 🙂
Aims to spark debate about the misogynistic, racist & sexually violent nature of mainstream porn.
Pre-order discount 14-17 Oct: 25% off with OCTOBER25 at Waterstones
www.waterstones.com/book/exposed...
Reposted by Ben Yong
aliromah.bsky.social
"Vilifying lawyers puts them at risk" @thebarcouncil.bsky.social Faculty of Advocates & the law societies. "Lawyers should never suffer adverse consequences because they are identified with their clients or their clients’ causes. Lawyers are not their clients" www.barcouncil.org.uk/resource/vil...
Vilifying lawyers puts them at risk
The Bars, Faculty and Law Societies in the UK have come together and accused politicians of "irresponsible and dangerous" language that is putting lawyers at risk.
www.barcouncil.org.uk
Reposted by Ben Yong
sarahgailey.bsky.social
books should have an anti-acknowledgements section where the author talks shit about all the people who fucked them over while they were trying to write the thing. not bc I personally want to write one but bc I love gossip
rachelfeder.bsky.social
Tell me your most unhinged literary opinion, as a little treat
Reposted by Ben Yong
publiclaw.bsky.social
In memory of Conor Gearty, Public Law's 2007 symposium on his Hamlyn Lectures, "Can Human Rights Survive?" is available to read here: www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk/content/dam/...
www.sweetandmaxwell.co.uk
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strictlyobiter.bsky.social
Pre-ordered Hanna Wilberg's Administrative Law in Aotearoa New Zealand. Very excited to read it and really important it's been written. These years Joseph's text is venerable (complimentary) and venerable (derogatory).

www.bloomsbury.com/au/administr...
Administrative Law in Aotearoa New Zealand
This book on administrative law in Aotearoa New Zealand fills a gap with its fresh scholarly account of the law in this area, focusing on analysis of structures…
www.bloomsbury.com
Reposted by Ben Yong
avishaybsg.bsky.social
🧵 I'm excited to share that my article "Democratic Backsliding and the Limits of Civilian Control of the Military" has been accepted @thejop.bsky.social.

It answers the question "how ought militaries act when civilian leaders turn on democratic institutions?"

1/
#CivMilSky #PolTheory
Reposted by Ben Yong
aoifenolan.bsky.social
Conor Gearty died a month ago yesterday. He was deeply committed to human rights law without idealising it. He recognised its power & value while acknowledging its limitations (& those of the people engaging with it). He was also an exceptional lawyer. This is a fitting final piece in the @lrb.co.uk
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eicathomefinn.bsky.social
'A study due to be released this week will say that parliamentary employees who have a range of protected characteristics under equality legislation are more likely to suffer disparities in pay.' 1/3
Parliamentary staff of colour earn £2,000 less than white colleagues, study suggests
Exclusive: Report by GMB union also finds pay disparity for women and disabled, trans, non-binary and gay staffers
www.theguardian.com
bymyong.bsky.social
I think a lot is driven by economic considerations and "market factors"... as well as contradictory impulses from successive govts (driving down international student nos while also keeping down funding and tuition fees)
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aliceolilly.bsky.social
Really interesting- and, I think, welcome- to see MPs sharing this kind of data about casework.

Casework is largely invisible (other than to the constituents it helps!) compared to what MPs do in the Commons chamber but is a huge part of MPs’ workload, and it’s really hard to get robust data on it
Reposted by Ben Yong
senedd.wales
A Senedd report warns Wales is “at a crossroads” as divisions deepen.

It calls for urgent action to rebuild trust, tackle misinformation and bring communities together. https://senedd.wales/senedd-now/news/wales-at-a-crossroads-urgent-action-needed-to-unite-communities/
Senedd Committee urges action to unite communities across Wales.
Reposted by Ben Yong
timdurrant.bsky.social
What day is it? That's right, it's Day 2 ("containment") of Exercise Pegasus, the "largest ever simulation of a pandemic in UK history" - right now, teams in the NHS, govt depts and others are testing their approach to dealing with a possible future pandemic...

hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2025...
A written statement from Ashley Dalton MP, health minister: 

Exercise Pegasus will be the largest ever simulation of a pandemic in UK history and will involve participation from every Department, the devolved Governments and representation from arm’s length bodies and local resilience fora.

The exercise is due to take place from September to November 2025, led by the Department of Health and Social Care and delivered with the UK Health Security Agency. Core exercise days have been confirmed for 18 September, 9 October and 30 October, simulating the first phases of a pandemic: emergence, containment, and mitigation. A fourth phase—recovery—is also planned for 2026. The UK Government have committed to communicating the findings and lessons of the exercise as recommended by the covid-19 inquiry and a post-exercise report will be delivered in due course.
Reposted by Ben Yong
politicalquarterly.bsky.social
There have likely been 10,000 or more university redundancies in the academic year 2024-25.

@gsoh31.bsky.social, Professor of Modern and Contemporary History at Oxford Brookes, argues that the Higher Education system as we know it is coming to an end.
Where now for Britain’s Universities?
UK higher education now faces a very bleak future, retreating in the face of little public sympathy and limited political interest.
politicalquarterly.org.uk
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uomlaw.bsky.social
The ManReg Public Law Seminar Series, now in its third year, resumed for 2025-26 with a brilliant seminar by Professor @robertthomas223.bsky.social on "The Impact of the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman on Special Educational Needs and Disability in England". @uomsoss.bsky.social
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theatlantic.com
The U.S. armed forces may soon face the choice of whether to refuse illegal and unconstitutional orders, @radiofreetom.bsky.social writes. What will they do? https://theatln.tc/MnJ75n1c
Reposted by Ben Yong
Reposted by Ben Yong
verfassungsblog.de
This article is part of our Spotlight section on "US Democracy Under Threat," featuring contributions from leading law and political science scholars 📚

You can access all blog posts published so far right here (open access):

👉 verfassungsblog.de/us-democracy...
Reposted by Ben Yong
verfassungsblog.de
America’s collapse of secular constitutional faith has unleashed a politicized church that turns sacrifice from love into a license for violence.

PAUL KAHN explains why this blurring of church and state marks a critical turning point in America’s political and moral crisis.
Reposted by Ben Yong
patrickcobrien.bsky.social
Obviously, this speech is crassly offensive in multiple ways, and does violence to judicial independence. But I think it's also important to recognise that there was never a 'golden age' when Lord Chancellors just appointed and sacked whoever they wanted as judges. This is an authoritarian fantasy.
Reposted by Ben Yong
sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com
"Wank is a speech act directed first and foremost at helping the speaker feel better about themselves, stated as an objective claim about the state of the world, that we are expected in discussion to treat with the epistemic authority of a claim about identity, but the content of the actual claim".
An essay on wank | deadSimpleTech
This captures well the uncomfortable, slightly disorienting feeling that wank creates when you're subjected to it, wherein you're expected to speak about and think about the statement as though it say...
deadsimpletech.com
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politico.eu
The European Parliament plenary today ratified the legal affairs committee’s decision to maintain the immunity of three MEPs who are being prosecuted by Hungarian authorities.
European Parliament shields left-wing lawmaker from prosecution in Orbán’s Hungary
Ilaria Salis is saved from legal action in Budapest after conservatives split in secret ballot.
ow.ly