Cllr Dr Alex Powell

Image is a screenshot of a reasoned amendment to the Courts and Tribunals Bill. It is signed by Siân Berry, Hannah Spencer, Carla Denyer, Dr Ellie Chowns and Adrian Ramsay. It reads: That this House declines to give a Second Reading to the Courts and Tribunals Bill because it is an inadequate and dangerous response to the challenges faced by the courts; it does not provide the correct solutions to the chronic backlog of cases in the Crown Court; it would not address the long-term underfunding that has led to the degradation of court systems, infrastructure and buildings; it would limit the crucial civil liberty and constitutional protection of trial by a jury of one’s own peers by removing defendants’ right to elect the Crown Court for all triable either-way offences; this change would cover a range of protest-related offences, and because protest rights and free speech, which act as safeguards against authoritarianism, have already been eroded by this Government and should not be limited further; jury trials build public trust and confidence in the courts and act as a space of shared civic responsibility that builds social cohesion; more effective interventions could be implemented that do not roll back fundamental rights, including expanding the use of ‘blitz courts’, increasing the number of sitting days, removing from the system cases that are no longer in the public interest to prosecute, increasing investment in legal aid, improving court case management technology, and bringing in more efficient processes to ensure defendants are brought to court and to the dock on time; and removing rights to judgment by one’s own peers may have the unintended consequence of increasing court backlogs through a rise in appeals.

🚨We have tabled an amendment to reject the Government’s sinister attempt to remove jury trials including for many protest related offences.

Our civil liberties have already been eroded by this Govt and should not be limited any further.

Greens are standing up against Labour's toolkit for tyrants.

From mandatory ID cards to arresting pensioners for holding up cardboard signs to cosy deals with US tech spy firms:

It's good to see lawyers pushing back on their increasingly authoritarian Govenrment.

We must protect jury trials.

This is truly cutting edge journalism. Nobody ever would have guessed that driving less reduces fuel usage. Can't wait for the next spate of Telegraph bile at measures designed to reduce congestion and car use!

Green Party say 'Hannah Spencer won't be silenced' after Manchester violence Hannah Spencer, Gorton and Denton's newly-elected MP, was ushered into a police car amid the unfolding chaos

The reason the middle-class media has not reported Hannah Spencer being attacked by right-wing transphobes is that it needs to preserve the nice, coffeee-round-the-kitchen-table, middle-class view of transphobia, not the thuggish fascist reality.

Dr Powell - Queering UK Refugee Law Hybrid book presentation

This Wednesday, I am giving a talk about my book 'Queering UK Refugee law' at the University of Sussex. There is still time to sign up!

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/dr-powell-...

Yes, there are also much more serious reasons to avoid HSBC!

Indeed. I already don't use them... So they haven't lost anything. But the rhetorical point would be too lost on that detail. I simply cannot accept the idea that anyone rewards them plastering over the windows with more business...

Windows. Coveted with advertising at a Oxford station

At Oxford Station, they have had the bright idea of completely plastering the bridge between the entrance and platform 4 with HSBC marketing, blocking out 80% of the light. Just another example how capitalism drives enshitification. Making a note to avoid HSBC from now on.

Violent men bedecked in 'protect women's spaces' using transphobia as justification to harass a women. None of this is surprising. The far right will instrumentalise any issue. The bullying and harassment are their core beliefs. Solidarity with Hannah Spencer, that must have been terrifying.

Violent men bedecked in 'protect women's spaces' using transphobia as justification to harass a women. None of this is surprising. The far right will instrumentalise any issue. The bullying and harassment are their core beliefs. Solidarity with Hannah Spencer, that must have been terrifying.

This is a really good blog summarising some of the issues with the UK Government's recent move to place a bar on students from 4 countries being granted visas to the come to the UK on the basis that they are committing 'visa abuse' by claiming asylum.

blogs.sussex.ac.uk/sussex-centr...

Pretty difficult to refute a single thing in this perfect assessment of where the f**k we are, from @iandunt.bsky.social:

Home Office may forcibly remove child asylum seekers from UK in handcuffs Move is part of scheme to target families for expedited voluntary removals before enforced removal proceedings

A government of pantomime villains spewing performative cruelty in every breath.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

To choose to present a gay man in this way, against a pink backdrop and holding hands with his political opponent has some connotations that the editorial staff at the Economist may want to unpack.

Really poor stuff here.

Right now govt is making up an obviously false “saving” to justify its imm, while ignoring the obviously true cost of that policy (treasury projections assume a level of net migration Home Sec opposes and which is unlikely to happen). And these ppl wonder why trust in politics is declining.

Death of International Refugee Law? The Right to Asylum in The Age of Retrenchment

On March 24th, I will be giving a guest lecture for the Dialogue in Migration at Oxford Brookes University. My talk is online and open to the public.

The title is:
Death of International Refugee Law? The Right to Asylum in The Age of Retrenchment
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/death-of-i...

Labour resists shift on student migration despite Green pressure Calls to loosen restrictions on international students in wake of shock defeat to left-wing party in by-election may go unheard without leadership change, say experts

Destroying your own electoral base to own the libs?

www.timeshighereducation.com/news/labour-...

The voters: “we don’t like your rightward shift”

Starmer: “fuck you”

Behind many members of this cabinet, who are systematically destroying human rights and human decency in their pursuit of out Reforming Farage, is someone who was once a decent person with values.

Truly excellent work from @zackpolanski.bsky.social here.

It's my daily routine! Although it's usually 5 carriages at least.

4 carriages between Manchester and Bournemouth, a route that includes England's 2nd and third largest cities. With one of those 4 being maintained as first class. Crosscountry is a recurring single company argument against privatised railways...

Read these words from 100 years ago about immigrants in Britain – and see how history is chillingly repeating itself | George Monbiot Shabana Mahmood’s new rights clampdown looks outlandish until we remember that this kind of hardline action is part of our country’s fabric, says George Monbiot

Excellent and important from @georgemonbiot.bsky.social in today's Guardian!

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

And there is the other shoe! I missed that on my first read through. That's a very concerning implication.

The concern here, of course, might be that this becomes pre-text to withdraw the already woefully limited support given to people waiting for a decision on their asylum claim.

Faster processing would obviously be a best case scenario. But after years of baseless (actually worse, activity debunked) carping about "pull factors" any movement on this is good. 12 months is still much longer than many states restrict working though.

What is this, sensible asylum policy? Forgive me for waiting for the other shoe to drop. But this seems like a rare example of positive news.

That is exactly the kind of thing their graphics do say. The graphic even refers to "up for election this year". Trust is important and there are numerous cases of deeply misleading election material out there. This is not one of them and it would be equally fair if any other party did it about us.

I fail to see how it is misleading. It exactly represents the reality of mapping the Gotron and Denton swing on to the local context of the seats up for election.

It is not a lie to say that Labour would be wiped out across all available seats. If 24 seats are up for an election and Labour lose all 24, they are wiped out. The fact they may hold seats which are not up for election is neither here nor there in regard to their being wiped out in the election.

I agree in principle that no representation is bad. But worth noting that Oxford elects in halves. So, Labour would still have 10 councillors overall in this eventuality (we elect 24 seats every 2 years. To give a total of 48 with 2 per ward).