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16 December 2022
Issue: 8007 / Categories: Legal News , Constitutional law
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NLJ this week: Gordon Brown’s blueprint for constitutional reform

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Can Gordon Brown save the UK? Amid mounting support for Scottish independence and rising alarm about corruption and cronyism at Westminster, the former prime minister last week released the report of the Commission on the UK’s Future. In this week’s NLJ, Cambridge University professor Marc Weller assesses the 150-page contents of the report.

Does it promise major constitutional change, or simply more of the same ‘in disguise’ as change? Proposals include abolishing the House of Lords and creating an English Grand Committee of Parliament, but the report also emphasises ‘economic regeneration and a better spread of economic opportunity and growth across the UK’.

Weller writes: ‘The strategy of the report seems to be to try and build enthusiasm for a renaissance of Britain as a whole—a new cool Britannia, as it were—while addressing the national question for Scotland in a more incidental way; the premise being that a successful UK will be enough to dissuade anyone from leaving it.’

See Professor Weller's full article here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NLJ Career Profile: Hugo Plowman, Mishcon de Reya

NLJ Career Profile: Hugo Plowman, Mishcon de Reya

From global fraud cases to fishing off-grid, Mishcon de Reya’s chair of dispute resolution Hugo Plowman discusses mentors, management switching off

Maguire Family Law—Jennifer Hudec, Ciara Florey, Alice Ferguson & Ruth Wynn

Maguire Family Law—Jennifer Hudec, Ciara Florey, Alice Ferguson & Ruth Wynn

Maguire Family Law announces partner promotion and new hires amid a record year for enquiries

Switalskis—Rebecca Parry & Hannah Gamble

Switalskis—Rebecca Parry & Hannah Gamble

Switalskis wills and probate team extends reach with two appointments

NEWS
Restrictions on workplace non-disclosure agreements could make settlements slower, more complex and more expensive when reforms expected in 2027 take effect
Private prosecutors face closer scrutiny under Crown Prosecution Service guidance designed to strengthen accountability and consistency when intervention is requested
Foreign states cannot necessarily claim immunity for cyber operations launched abroad against computers in Britain, following a divided Supreme Court ruling
Defendants who make unsupported complaints about their lawyers risk losing legal aid while confiscation proceedings continue without representation
Lawyers advising Russian clients face different sanctions restrictions across the UK, EU and US, despite their shared objective of increasing pressure on Russia
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