UK and EU finalise agreement to bring UK into Erasmus+ in 2027 Thousands across the UK set to benefit from re-opening of the historic Erasmus+ programme

Some positive news for young people and universities for a change. Undoing some of the ridiculous self-sabotage committed by the Brexit Governments.
www.gov.uk/government/n...

Interest rate cap introduced to protect Plan 2 borrowers Interest on Plan 2 and 3 student loans will be capped at 6%, instead of RPI+3%, to provide borrowers with certainty in an uncertain world.

A 6% cap is still pretty grim and will continue with loans never being repaid.
www.gov.uk/government/n...

NASA Moon Tunes Playlist

Some proper bangers to be fair. NASA Moon Tunes playlist to celebrate the Artemis missions. open.spotify.com/playlist/7y7...

We forgot the crackers!! 😱 Wallace & Gromit: A Grand Day Out 🚀🌕 #shorts YouTube video by Wallace & Gromit

youtube.com/shorts/nwwu6...

NASA delays.

The death of "Ibid"?

What a Friday treat. The fifth edition of OSCOLA has now been published!
www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/defaul...

Absolutely no surprise (unfortunately) seeing this kind of behaviour.

Student loans: The main problems caused by changes announced in the budget Sky News explains who is affected by what Rachel Reeves implemented, and what options there may be to help resolve the difficulties.

Some hideous numbers in there.
news.sky.com/story/studen...

Contributed some written evidence for the Representation of the People Bill, currently in the House of Commons committee stage. @ljmuimpact.bsky.social
publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm5901/cm....

The UK in a period of "autocratization", according to the V-Dem Democracy Report 2026 v-dem.net/publications...

Member Defections: Automatic By-elections - Hansard - UK Parliament Hansard record of the item : 'Member Defections: Automatic By-elections' on Monday 16 March 2026.

A pretty uninspiring turnout for this debate. No surprise that the four constituencies with the most signatories were Fareham and Waterlooville, Newark, Romford and East Wiltshire - all have seen candidates elected as Conservative Party MPs defect to Reform UK.

hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2026...

MPs will debate a petition relating to automatic by-elections following Member defections - Committees - UK Parliament On Monday 16 March, MPs will debate a petition relating to automatic by-elections following Member defections.

Parliament to debate a petition today - "By-elections to be called automatically when MPs defect to another party". Unlikely to go anywhere, but certainly growing in popularity given the current trends and collapse of the two-party system.

committees.parliament.uk/committee/32...

Polanski responding to Kemi Badenoch comments.

No name calling. No shouting. Just one calmly stated fact.

Honestly, one of the most respectful political eviscerations I’ve ever witnessed.

AI toys for young children need tighter rules, researchers warn In first study of its kind, Cambridge researchers found AI toys could misread some children's emotions.

This AI bubble needs bursting, or at least reining in significantly.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The Representation of the People Bill This blog looks at the Representation of the People Bill which has been introduced in the UK Parliament and how it may affect voters and campaigners at UK Parliament elections in Scotland.

Cited in a Scottish Parliament Information Centre blog.

spice-spotlight.scot/2026/03/11/t...

Hereditary peers to be removed from Lords as bill passes The bill abolishes the 92 seats reserved for peers who inherit their titles through their families.

Given the scale of reform promised in the run up to the General Election this is pretty weak, but something is better than nothing as is the theme these days. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

UK universities are so obviously strapped for cash (in some cases, drastically) so the utter persistence and insistence to book travel/accommodation through travel agents with their significant mark-up pricing is getting more and more ridiculous.

Real opportunity to address this in the current Representation of the People Bill. Guts needed.

11 Loopholes in Labour’s Elections Bill which MPs are Pushing to Close Labour MPs break ranks to demand ‘Representation of the People’ law is tightened up to tackle crypto donations, AI deepfakes and more

Some absolutely no chance, but some might get a bit of support.
bylinetimes.com/2026/03/04/1...

A few snaps from a long weekend in Oslo. Crisp and extortionate, but splendid.

A regular moan and plea to software designers e.g. Microsoft Outlook, to only roll out new versions when they are actually ready and not littered with bugs.

Thumping win for the Greens that. Not really close at all in by election terms.

Labour Accused Of By-Election Dirty Tricks Over 'Fictitious' Tactical Voting Group A leaflet sent out on the eve of the crunch poll has sparked a furious backlash.

Pretty shady stuff here to say the least. The type of thing being called out by Labour whilst in opposition...
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/labour...

Ben Stanford: The Government’s Electoral Reform Proposals: Good Intentions, Unrealised Potential The long-awaited Representation of the People Bill was laid before the House of Commons on 12 February 2026. This followed the Government’s earlier policy paper, “Restoring Trust in our Democracy”,…

Agree entirely in my own modest contribution from a few days ago:
ukconstitutionallaw.org/2026/02/23/b...

Maybe. And about time. But it's probably already too late given the scale and work needed for any such move. Consultations, committees, proposals, boundary reviews etc etc. All before 2028/2029? No chance.

Ben Stanford: The Government’s Electoral Reform Proposals: Good Intentions, Unrealised Potential The long-awaited Representation of the People Bill was laid before the House of Commons on 12 February 2026. This followed the Government’s earlier policy paper, “Restoring Trust in our Democracy”,…

Contributed a short piece on the Government's electoral reform proposals (the "Representation of the People Bill") for @ukcla.bsky.social.

In short - A good effort but could do better.
ukconstitutionallaw.org/2026/02/23/b...

@ljmuresearch.bsky.social @electoralreform.bsky.social

the only place this should happen is academic conferences

Better subscribing. Landed through the letter box today!

A good day to bury bad news.

Liberty Mitchell jailed for causing crash that killed two people Police found videos showing Liberty Mitchell would sometimes film Snapchat clips while driving.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

On the road again in eight years. The penalties for dangerous driving are truly offensive to victims.