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15 April 2020 / Patrick Allen
Issue: 7884 / Categories: Opinion , Profession
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Labour under Keir Starmer: reasons to be cheerful?

Sir Keir Starmer’s appointment marks the return of an effective opposition, says Patrick Allen
Sir Keir Starmer QC was finally appointed last month as leader of the Labour Party with the ending of the interminably long election process.

This is welcome news for the country and all who care about progressive causes. For the past four months we have had no effective opposition to the government and the last leader presided over the worst result that Labour has achieved in an election since 1935.

But the legal profession should be especially pleased that Keir Starmer will now occupy one of the most influential roles in politics. Starmer is someone with an intimate knowledge of the legal system and the courts and has every chance of becoming Prime Minister.

Legal career

Starmer brings many good qualities and wide experience to the role of leader of the opposition. First, his legal background and training. He enjoyed an eminent career at the bar, becoming a QC at the age of

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Seddons GSC—Ben Marks

Seddons GSC—Ben Marks

Partner joins residential real estate team

Winckworth Sherwood—Shazia Bashir

Winckworth Sherwood—Shazia Bashir

Social housing team announces partner appointment

University of Manchester: The LLM driving tech-focused career growth

University of Manchester: The LLM driving tech-focused career growth

Manchester’s online LLM has accelerated career progression for its graduates

NEWS
The Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 transformed criminal justice. Writing in NLJ this week, Ed Cape of UWE and Matthew Hardcastle and Sandra Paul of Kingsley Napley trace its ‘seismic impact’
Operational resilience is no longer optional. Writing in NLJ this week, Emma Radmore and Michael Lewis of Womble Bond Dickinson explain how UK regulators expect firms to identify ‘important business services’ that could cause ‘intolerable levels of harm’ if disrupted
Criminal juries may be convicting—or acquitting—on a misunderstanding. Writing in NLJ this week Paul McKeown, Adrian Keane and Sally Stares of The City Law School and LSE report troubling survey findings on the meaning of ‘sure’
The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has narrowly preserved a key weapon in its anti-corruption arsenal. In this week's NLJ, Jonathan Fisher KC of Red Lion Chambers examines Guralp Systems Ltd v SFO, in which the High Court ruled that a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) remained in force despite the company’s failure to disgorge £2m by the stated deadline
As the drip-feed of Epstein disclosures fuels ‘collateral damage’, the rush to cry misconduct in public office may be premature. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke of Hill Dickinson warns that the offence is no catch-all for political embarrassment. It demands a ‘grave departure’ from proper standards, an ‘abuse of the public’s trust’ and conduct ‘sufficiently serious to warrant criminal punishment’
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