Colin Murray
@colinmurray.bsky.social
Professor of Law & Democracy @newcastleuni.bsky.social
Constitutional Law | Human Rights | Brexit | Devolution | Political Violence | Colonialism | Other Assorted Dourness
He/Him
Constitutional Law | Human Rights | Brexit | Devolution | Political Violence | Colonialism | Other Assorted Dourness
He/Him
Pinned
Colin Murray
@colinmurray.bsky.social
· Sep 16
A new Explainer out from @aoifemod.bsky.social and me detailing the UK's ECHR commitments under the 1998 Agreement in response to recent speculation. It is short, because there is very little to say - the UK's obligations are evident on the B/GFA's plain text:
caj.org.uk/wp-content/u...
caj.org.uk/wp-content/u...
Reposted by Colin Murray
Three different articles on the BelTel alone today, showcasing appropriate anger at PEACEPlus (the EU programme) and Co-operation Ireland for financing proscribed organisations, specifically the South East Antrim UDA, that was behind the Ballymena race riots in June.
Splashing a million pound of our money on a gang of thugs is beyond sick
Public services in Northern Ireland are collapsing, and we’re constantly told there’s not enough money to fix them.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
November 23, 2025 at 8:06 AM
Three different articles on the BelTel alone today, showcasing appropriate anger at PEACEPlus (the EU programme) and Co-operation Ireland for financing proscribed organisations, specifically the South East Antrim UDA, that was behind the Ballymena race riots in June.
Great to be at @ulsterunischlaw.bsky.social for the Irish Association of Law Teachers for the Annual Conference - including a significant panel on the framing of rights in Northern Ireland law, kicked off here by @aoifemod.bsky.social and Kathryn McNeilly:
November 22, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Great to be at @ulsterunischlaw.bsky.social for the Irish Association of Law Teachers for the Annual Conference - including a significant panel on the framing of rights in Northern Ireland law, kicked off here by @aoifemod.bsky.social and Kathryn McNeilly:
Reposted by Colin Murray
Quite the correction by the Telegraph. The publication in question is @freemovement.bsky.social
November 21, 2025 at 5:27 PM
Quite the correction by the Telegraph. The publication in question is @freemovement.bsky.social
Over twenty years since Bob Dylan was last in Belfast and I think he came back just to warble "I can tell a Proddy from a mile away" on Goodbye Jimmy Reed and know that only a few folk will have any idea what he just said. Golden.
November 20, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Over twenty years since Bob Dylan was last in Belfast and I think he came back just to warble "I can tell a Proddy from a mile away" on Goodbye Jimmy Reed and know that only a few folk will have any idea what he just said. Golden.
Reposted by Colin Murray
Book Launch: Consociational Powersharing in Northern Ireland, 25 November at 4pm
www.qub.ac.uk/events/whats...
www.qub.ac.uk/events/whats...
Book Launch: Consociational Powersharing in Northern Ireland
www.qub.ac.uk
November 20, 2025 at 5:32 PM
Book Launch: Consociational Powersharing in Northern Ireland, 25 November at 4pm
www.qub.ac.uk/events/whats...
www.qub.ac.uk/events/whats...
Reposted by Colin Murray
If you read one thing today, let it be this article from @lukejbutterly.bsky.social. Discriminatory policing, the handing down of impunity to loyalist terror groups and supporters, and according to the @cajni.bsky.social - the 'risked discriminatory impact against nationalists.'
Palestine Action: PSNI faces questions on policing of support for proscribed groups
Despite arrests and advisory letters since Palestine Action was banned, no similar action was taken over displays of support for paramilitaries
thedetail.tv
November 20, 2025 at 11:17 AM
If you read one thing today, let it be this article from @lukejbutterly.bsky.social. Discriminatory policing, the handing down of impunity to loyalist terror groups and supporters, and according to the @cajni.bsky.social - the 'risked discriminatory impact against nationalists.'
Reposted by Colin Murray
I watched Yarvin’s Sheldonian lecture. What struck me is that he’s describing real institutional failures, but he completely misdiagnoses the cause. He treats “democracy” as the problem, when the actual collapse is upstream.
See also Curtis Yarvin's remarks in a recent Oxford lecture:
"Say what you want about MBS, he's quite an effective king I think in a lot of different ways. Um love the Ritz thing, the whole Saudi embassy thing, I don't know, but I mean he was a journalist". [Giggles]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYl...
"Say what you want about MBS, he's quite an effective king I think in a lot of different ways. Um love the Ritz thing, the whole Saudi embassy thing, I don't know, but I mean he was a journalist". [Giggles]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYl...
November 20, 2025 at 11:18 AM
I watched Yarvin’s Sheldonian lecture. What struck me is that he’s describing real institutional failures, but he completely misdiagnoses the cause. He treats “democracy” as the problem, when the actual collapse is upstream.
An idea is gaining traction in pieces like this that NI is stuck with old EU rules even if the EU tightened its immigration policies. This is a significant misreading of WF Art 2 - if "but for" Brexit, EU law would permit UK action, then Art 2 doesn't prevent it:
www.irishnews.com/opinion/newt...
www.irishnews.com/opinion/newt...
Newton Emerson: Is Northern Ireland facing a Windsor Framework immigration fiasco?
Framework is so poorly conceived that the whole of Europe could tighten up its immigration rules and Northern Ireland might be unable to follow
www.irishnews.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:40 AM
An idea is gaining traction in pieces like this that NI is stuck with old EU rules even if the EU tightened its immigration policies. This is a significant misreading of WF Art 2 - if "but for" Brexit, EU law would permit UK action, then Art 2 doesn't prevent it:
www.irishnews.com/opinion/newt...
www.irishnews.com/opinion/newt...
Every Grain of Rice is an incredible cook book which everyone who loves to cook should have handy:
www.theguardian.com/food/2025/no...
www.theguardian.com/food/2025/no...
‘The English person with a Chinese stomach’: how Fuchsia Dunlop became a Sichuan food hero
The long read: The author has been explaining Sichuan cuisine to westerners for decades. But ‘Fu Xia’, as she’s known, has had a profound effect on food lovers in China, too
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Every Grain of Rice is an incredible cook book which everyone who loves to cook should have handy:
www.theguardian.com/food/2025/no...
www.theguardian.com/food/2025/no...
The Telegraph churns out these stories almost daily, but this one about the reduced range of tumble dryers is v funny. Reduced range simply means that people in NI can't buy inefficient models which can't be sold in EU. And no, Robin Swann, by definition that means folk can't buy them from Ireland:
November 19, 2025 at 11:07 PM
The Telegraph churns out these stories almost daily, but this one about the reduced range of tumble dryers is v funny. Reduced range simply means that people in NI can't buy inefficient models which can't be sold in EU. And no, Robin Swann, by definition that means folk can't buy them from Ireland:
With dizzying power imbalances at "prestigious" institutions and frightening levels of precarity for junior scholars, UK academia is rife with these stories:
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Oxford University Has Failed Women Over Harassment Concerns, Staff Say
The university has repeatedly been slow to act against male academics accused of sexual misconduct and inappropriate behavior, a Bloomberg investigation found.
www.bloomberg.com
November 19, 2025 at 10:49 PM
With dizzying power imbalances at "prestigious" institutions and frightening levels of precarity for junior scholars, UK academia is rife with these stories:
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Fear is such a misplaced word here. The concept of women having to look a certain way to be accepted as women has to be what would scare people with any inkling of feminism, and maybe even Philipson?
"Trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on how they look. The Times has seen the equalities watchdog’s final guidance, which Whitehall figures fear Bridget Phillipson is delaying to avoid a political backlash" [Times]
www.thetimes.com/article/82ee...
www.thetimes.com/article/82ee...
Trans people could be banned from single-sex spaces based on how they look
The Times has seen the equalities watchdog’s final guidance, which Whitehall figures fear Bridget Phillipson is delaying to avoid a political backlash
www.thetimes.com
November 19, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Fear is such a misplaced word here. The concept of women having to look a certain way to be accepted as women has to be what would scare people with any inkling of feminism, and maybe even Philipson?
Paul Givan being unavailable for interview on the day of a UK Supreme Court judgment with massive ramifications for school policy in NI is so dispiriting. It just plays into a narrative that no one is in charge and having power sharing functioning isn't very different from when it has collapsed.
Amid all of the bluster coming out about the landmark JR87 judgment, here's my account (with @anuragdeb.bsky.social and @lewisgrahamlaw.bsky.social) of this UKSC decision and to the wake up call it poses for religious education in NI:
administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/j...
administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/j...
JR87: indoctrination and religious education in Northern Ireland (and beyond?)
Introduction On 19 November 2025, the Supreme Court (Lord Reed PSC, Lords Burrows, Hamblen, Lloyd-Jones and Stephens JJSC) handed down judgment in Re JR87 [2025] UKSC 40. This case (involving an ap…
administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com
November 19, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Paul Givan being unavailable for interview on the day of a UK Supreme Court judgment with massive ramifications for school policy in NI is so dispiriting. It just plays into a narrative that no one is in charge and having power sharing functioning isn't very different from when it has collapsed.
Amid all of the bluster coming out about the landmark JR87 judgment, here's my account (with @anuragdeb.bsky.social and @lewisgrahamlaw.bsky.social) of this UKSC decision and to the wake up call it poses for religious education in NI:
administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/j...
administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/j...
JR87: indoctrination and religious education in Northern Ireland (and beyond?)
Introduction On 19 November 2025, the Supreme Court (Lord Reed PSC, Lords Burrows, Hamblen, Lloyd-Jones and Stephens JJSC) handed down judgment in Re JR87 [2025] UKSC 40. This case (involving an ap…
administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Amid all of the bluster coming out about the landmark JR87 judgment, here's my account (with @anuragdeb.bsky.social and @lewisgrahamlaw.bsky.social) of this UKSC decision and to the wake up call it poses for religious education in NI:
administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/j...
administrativecourtblog.wordpress.com/2025/11/19/j...
Significant changes likely coming down the line for religious education in NI... In a nightmare for Paul Givan, the UKSC blows through the NICA's (pretty contorted) efforts to maintain the status quo with a straight application of unambiguous Strasbourg case law:
supremecourt.uk/uploads/uksc...
supremecourt.uk/uploads/uksc...
November 19, 2025 at 10:37 AM
Significant changes likely coming down the line for religious education in NI... In a nightmare for Paul Givan, the UKSC blows through the NICA's (pretty contorted) efforts to maintain the status quo with a straight application of unambiguous Strasbourg case law:
supremecourt.uk/uploads/uksc...
supremecourt.uk/uploads/uksc...
There is so much to unpack with the ban on Palestine Action, the role of ministerial discretion, the extension of counter terrorism powers, the intersection with public order measures, the rights implications, the court challenges, that this podcast is long, but could have been twice as long:
I recorded a podcast with @daniellalock.bsky.social and @colinmurray.bsky.social in which we discuss decision to ban #PalestineAction. There is some really excellent stuff in here-- Daniella and Colin are on top of their briefs.
Please do check it out and share widely!
youtu.be/tKN4Wk2SEyQ?...
Please do check it out and share widely!
youtu.be/tKN4Wk2SEyQ?...
Banning Palestine Action: Legal Experts Explain the Implications for UK Democracy
YouTube video by Dr Alan Greene
youtu.be
November 19, 2025 at 9:55 AM
There is so much to unpack with the ban on Palestine Action, the role of ministerial discretion, the extension of counter terrorism powers, the intersection with public order measures, the rights implications, the court challenges, that this podcast is long, but could have been twice as long:
Reposted by Colin Murray
We are doing our best not to dismember any more journalists with bone saws www.ft.com/content/dc11...
November 18, 2025 at 9:28 PM
We are doing our best not to dismember any more journalists with bone saws www.ft.com/content/dc11...
Great post from Kirsty Hughes on Labour's flailing efforts towards a statutory redefinition of the meaning of family rights for immigration purposes:
ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/11/19/k...
ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/11/19/k...
November 19, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Great post from Kirsty Hughes on Labour's flailing efforts towards a statutory redefinition of the meaning of family rights for immigration purposes:
ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/11/19/k...
ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/11/19/k...
How to normalised state murder under the banner of freedom of speech at universities [cries]:
See also Curtis Yarvin's remarks in a recent Oxford lecture:
"Say what you want about MBS, he's quite an effective king I think in a lot of different ways. Um love the Ritz thing, the whole Saudi embassy thing, I don't know, but I mean he was a journalist". [Giggles]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYl...
"Say what you want about MBS, he's quite an effective king I think in a lot of different ways. Um love the Ritz thing, the whole Saudi embassy thing, I don't know, but I mean he was a journalist". [Giggles]
www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXYl...
November 19, 2025 at 9:02 AM
How to normalised state murder under the banner of freedom of speech at universities [cries]:
Reposted by Colin Murray
"Just as Gaza has proved to be a place where the failings of Western political institutions are exposed, the BBC has itself come unstuck... [with a] managerial elite struggling to avoid falling into a chasm that has opened beneath them." @equatormag.bsky.social:
www.equator.org/articles/ins...
www.equator.org/articles/ins...
Inside the BBC’s Gaza Fiasco • EQUATOR
How the world’s most trusted media organisation fell apart
www.equator.org
November 18, 2025 at 10:58 PM
"Just as Gaza has proved to be a place where the failings of Western political institutions are exposed, the BBC has itself come unstuck... [with a] managerial elite struggling to avoid falling into a chasm that has opened beneath them." @equatormag.bsky.social:
www.equator.org/articles/ins...
www.equator.org/articles/ins...
Rarely spotted job fairy alert! A specific public law senior lecturer/reader post (and a few other positions - including in environmental law - to boot). Please spread the word! Happy to discuss with anyone who is tempted to come join us in Newcastle:
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPM199/s...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPM199/s...
Senior Lecturer/Reader in Public Law at Newcastle University
Apply now for the Senior Lecturer/Reader in Public Law role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
www.jobs.ac.uk
November 18, 2025 at 8:16 PM
Rarely spotted job fairy alert! A specific public law senior lecturer/reader post (and a few other positions - including in environmental law - to boot). Please spread the word! Happy to discuss with anyone who is tempted to come join us in Newcastle:
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPM199/s...
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPM199/s...
One of those efforts to push a problem down the road that could, for my money should, boomerang. It is a brazen effort to deny a remedy where hundreds of people, not just Adams, were locked up without even minimal process. But if rights are vindicated, it'll create a rallying cry against the ECHR...
The Northern Ireland Troubles Bill questions-statements.parliament.uk/written-stat...
November 18, 2025 at 7:51 PM
One of those efforts to push a problem down the road that could, for my money should, boomerang. It is a brazen effort to deny a remedy where hundreds of people, not just Adams, were locked up without even minimal process. But if rights are vindicated, it'll create a rallying cry against the ECHR...
A new international university is born? Weirdly this story is not yet on the Dundalk IT or QUB websites. Looking forward to QUB UCU factoring this into their pay negotiations...
Dundalk Institute of Technology to become a college of Queen's University Belfast, at the 5min mark on the News at One: www.rte.ie/radio/radio1...
News At One Tuesday 18 November 2025
News, sport, business and interviews presented by Cian McCormack.
www.rte.ie
November 18, 2025 at 3:56 PM
A new international university is born? Weirdly this story is not yet on the Dundalk IT or QUB websites. Looking forward to QUB UCU factoring this into their pay negotiations...
Banging on about pull factors is always a race to the bottom, let's-make-asylum-someone-else's-problem approach. Can we get real with the fact that a huge amount of international instability results in refugees, and a few rich countries trying to pull up drawbridges won't solve this issue:
...And in terms of asylum applications per 10,000 people the UK is lower down, at 16 per 10,000 people in 2024...
November 18, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Banging on about pull factors is always a race to the bottom, let's-make-asylum-someone-else's-problem approach. Can we get real with the fact that a huge amount of international instability results in refugees, and a few rich countries trying to pull up drawbridges won't solve this issue:
Reposted by Colin Murray
This from @stephenkb.bsky.social cuts to the heart of the matter. Does the government not understand how toxic this argument is? Do they think they can somehow weaponise it? The last governments at least had the merit not of making this kind of foul claim.
November 18, 2025 at 10:04 AM
This from @stephenkb.bsky.social cuts to the heart of the matter. Does the government not understand how toxic this argument is? Do they think they can somehow weaponise it? The last governments at least had the merit not of making this kind of foul claim.