December 2023.Rwanda government threatens to pull out of the deal if it does not adhere to international law. Link: International agreements, human rights law, role of media. 

 December 2023 Robert Jenrick  resigns after the publication of the emergency legislation that will disapply sections of the Human Rights Act  responsibility, ministerial responsibility, power of PM vs Cabinet, 

 December 2023 The government will disapply sections of the Human Rights Act from its emergency Rwanda legalisation . Link: Human Rights in the UK, Sovereignty of Parliament      The location of sovereignty in the UK 

December 2023 . Rishi Sunak suffers his FIRST Commons defeat as PM over the infected blood scandal 246 to 242 in favour of a new body to help compensate - government majority wiped out  Win for Labour, forcing him into a £20 billion spending commitment this year Link Role of backbenchers, power of PM

December 5th 2023 Senate confirms more than 400 military promotions after @SenTuberville (R-AL) dropped his months long blockade of the nominations, which he held up in protest of the Pentagon's abortion policies. Link: Party factions, abortion, Congress partisanship The powers of the  Senate  

Case Study: Rwanda Bill and Conservative Party Factions December 2023

 13 December 2023 The Republican-led US House of Representatives has formally backed an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.

Lawmakers voted 221 to 212 - entirely along party lines - on Wednesday to authorise a resolution that accuses the president of bribery, corruption and influence-peddling off his "brand".

link: Congress partisanship, The Impeachment of Trump, Is Congress the broken Branch? 

Supreme Court to rule if Trump can run for president Jan 5th 2024

The Supreme Court and Public Policy

 2023 Is Barbie a feminist movie?  link Feminism 

On 14 December 2023 the House of Commons Committee on Standards published a report on Scott Benton, the MP for Blackpool South.  Recall of MPs Act 2015 Parliamentary Standards 

January 2024 Case study Mr Bates v The Post Office  Link Voting behaviour and the Media Parliamentary Sovereignty 

January 2024:Voting intentions tracker 2024

Rwanda Bill: Lords effectiveness ,Constitutional Reform Elective Dictatorship.

Feb 2024 Wellingborough  by-election was won by Gen Kitchen of the Labour Party. It was the biggest swing from the Conservatives to Labour since the 1994 Dudley West by-election and the second biggest since the Second World War. Recall of MPs Act 2015   Scott Benton: Lobbying scandal MP loses suspension appeal 

Reform UK celebrates best-ever by-election result as Wellingborough candidate says the Tories 'need to go'     Minor Parties

The Popular Conservatives (LOL!):  launched by Liz Truss and Jacob Rees Mogg in February 2024.  The message was social conservatism (anti-woke) and libertarian economics- with the view that the Conservative Party was no longer conservative. Conservative Party Factions 

 April 2024 Trump claims presidential immunity. Presidential power & supreme Court neutrality. Case study Trump & the Supreme Court Unitary Executive Theory 

MPs reject Lords amendments to Rwanda bill April 2024:

Link: The evolving House of Lords House of Lords Reform 

Elections Act 2022 Local government elections will use the new ID laws in May- link to the democratic deficit -powers of Parliament to change voting rights

Impeachment of AlejandroMayorkas links: Republican partisanship  , 'Congress has become the least powerful branch of government' Discuss Is Congress the broken Branch?

 Example. Partisan Voting: House votes to hold Attorney General Merrick Garland in contempt over Biden audio. Republican partisanship  

Case study: Who owns the moon? How the lunar frontier could become the new Wild West  Global Governance: Political and Economic  

 June 2024 Case Study US Supreme Court in ‘crisis of legitimacy' Scandals and partisan rulings. Link::  Interpretations & debates of the US Supreme Court & civil rights 

June 2024 Rishi Sunak abandoned his “legacy” policy to ban smoking for future generations amid pressure from the tobacco industry  

Link :Are Pressure groups good for democracy?

US Supreme Court: June 2024: Fischer v. U.S.: Charging Jan. 6 rioters with obstruction

Trump v USA July 2024 Former presidents are immune from prosecution for official actions taken while in the White House 

Power of federal agencies Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo and Relentless 

Case study: The UK General Election 2024 

How important is the pick for Vice President Updated 2024

Collective Responsibility October 14th 2024  No 10 Downing Street pointedly rebuked a cabinet minister for their public comments delivered,  in their capacity as a government minister. Louise Haigh, the transport secretary, was said to have not been speaking for the government when she urged consumers to boycott P&O Ferries. 

Primaries and Caucuses 2024 Updated

Case Study: Why did Trump win in 2024? 

 Power  of the judiciary: March 2025 The Trump administration sought permission from the Supreme Court to enforce President Donald Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship for most people. 

Brown University doctor Roasha Alawieh was deported despite court orders blocking her deportation 

Power Trump turns away from soft power  

Kamala Harris (Biden's Vice President) holds the record for casting the most tiebreaking votes in history. With 33 tie-breaking votes more than any other VP before her. This is more evidence of the polarised Senate and partisan politics. 

Trump v the Courts 2025 

Executive Orders - Trump breaks all records

Case study: Birthright Citizenship & the Power of Federal Courts to Issue Nationwide Injunctions may 2025