The Battle of the Bastards

Its been an interesting 3 weeks. In tandem, with the mass political suicide of the governing class, I have been watching season 6 of Game of Thrones with back to back episodes, and noting the curious parallels, between the rising political body count at Westminster and the emptying ranks of the noble Houses of Westeros on the small screen.

With a degree of cautious confidence, I predict the series only has another two seasons at most, as by then virtually every conceivable British character actor will (a) have appeared in it and (b) met a bloody end.

The former Lord Chancellor, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Stannis Baratheon, has fought his metaphorical Battle of the Blackwater, burned poor Boris on a pyre of his own hubris and achieved his life long ambition of not becoming the next Prime Minister. As was said caustically of the death scene of Little Nell in Charles Dickens’ The Old Curiousity Shoppe: it would take a heart of stone not to laugh.

I am upbeat that some good may yet come of all this. There may yet be a reversion to the appointment of a qualified lawyer as Lord Chancellor, and perhaps the recall of the impressive Dominic Grieve QC as Attorney General: I listened attentively to an excellent speech he gave on the Human Rights Act at the ALBA conference last summer, the ramifications of its repeal, and the way a British Bill of Rights might take shape.

In the meantime, and coming  back to the real world of costs, whispers are now circulating that the scheme for fixed costs in clinical negligence, might actually start to move forward.

Cynics will note that the Department of Health has a fondness for publishing consultation documents in August, secure in the knowledge that many lawyers depart for warmer climes, during that month. It follows that the next two months, might see some developments in terms of the long heralded reforms in this area.

I shall be departing for my own break at the end of the month, and this blog will be abandoned, for the duration of my holiday, as I voluntarily deprive myself of Iphone, Ipad, Ieverything and let the Outlook auto-response take the strain. Have a splendid summer.

 

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