I see Nick Cohen is again complaining in one of his newspaper columns about the cancellation of transphobes.
Barely a day passes in which one national newspaper or another does not carry a piece decrying how trans people have rendered voiceless the writer or their friends.
Meanwhile, when @GoodLawProject brings litigation asserting that trans people too are entitled to benefit from the foundational NHS promise of universal healthcare there is literally not one national newspaper we trust to carry the story fairly.
Meanwhile, I'd be very happy to hear from women who have worked with Nick whether he is the champion they would choose for women's rights in the workplace. Happy to keep your name confidential, if you prefer.
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Richard Sharp's story is the meta story of all 'independent' public appointments by this sleazy Government. And it's one important reason why our so-called 'regulators' never do anything that might cause Government political embarrassment.
The result, of course, is collapsing trust in the idea that our system - including the law - works fairly. Poll after poll shows that more than 70% of the population believes there is one rule for 'us' and another rule for 'them'. And those more than 70% are right.
Here is the notice from Lord Justice Edis sort of suspending the installation of some pre-payment meters. 🧵
We've been looking into this for some months and trying to bottom out what's been going on - and have been given the run around by MOJ and (to a lesser extent) Ofgem.
Reading between the lines, the system seems to assume that energy suppliers will do the right thing before applying for warrants.
And that magistrates can sensibly rely on energy suppliers having done on the right thing.
A hedge fund Sunak may well have an indirect interest in has seen its profits from a Government contract soar. goodlawproject.org/sunak-linked-h…
We wrote to Theleme, the hedge fund Sunak once ran, to ask it whether Sunak had any continuing interest. It made two interesting points in its reply.
First, it said: "On record: For the avoidance of any doubt, there is no interest whatsoever, either indirect or direct."
I was puzzled by that so we wrote and asked:
"Can you confirm the basis of your assertion that Mr Sunak and his family have no interest - direct or indirect - in any Theleme fund? How can Theleme know who are the beneficiaries of trusts that hold Theleme funds?"
They think their immigration plans will be blessed by English courts but fear they will be overturned in international courts - and the real question is why. Is it because international courts don't apply the law - or because English courts don't apply the law?
Judicial review success rates have collapsed in England - in all courts including the Supreme Court. This can be seen in the data - and it is attributable to a change in judicial attitudes after years of attacks. Rishi Sunak himself threatened 'recivdivist' judges.
We have a proper rule of law crisis in England. English judges are now much more pro Government. Our rule of law crisis looks different to those in Poland or Hungary or Israel. But it is real just the same.
Plausible reasons for the delay: (1) it shows he is very wealthy. But if that were right, why would he have made the promise in the first place?
Plausible reasons for the delay: (2) he wants to publish his return for 21/22 (which he has only just filed) because it is cleaner than the return for earlier years? Feels plausible to me.
"He's not that way to me" is a song only those with social capital get to sing.
If you're tempted to sing it, ask whether you are protected in ways others are not, lest you brush abuse under the carpet.
I've spoken to about a dozen women about sexual misconduct by senior editorial figures at The Observer. They all tell the same story - most (unprompted) name the same person - of senior management just wanting them to go away. It's a proper scandal for a 'progressive' newspaper.
In a better world, those women would tell their stories, confident there would be no reprisals. In this world, they are fearful of their abusers, of the management who protect them, and of being blacklisted by the outlets they rely on for their livelihoods.