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14 January 2021 / Michael Zander KC
Issue: 7916 / Categories: Features , Brexit , Constitutional law
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Brexit got done (Pt 2)

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Michael Zander on whether there was parliamentary scrutiny worthy of the name

Credit where credit is due. Boris Johnson pulled it off. Many, including this writer, doubted whether a trade deal with the EU could be achieved in a year. I felt all along that we would crash-out without a deal and share the general relief that in this respect we underestimated him.

But Parliament was given only one day to consider the European Union (Future Relationship) Bill—80 pages, 40 sections, 6 schedules—giving effect to the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA)—1,246 pages consisting of 410 pages of text and 836 pages of annexes and protocols. Less than five hours in the Commons; something over eight hours in the Lords. No Committee stage in either House. Not a single amendment to the Bill could be moved in either House. Speeches in the Commons limited to four and then three minutes. Speeches in the Lords limited to three minutes. And the Bill was only published the day before it was

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Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
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The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
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A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
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