JOHN THOMAS’S SUMMARY STATEMENTS
The judiciary has rarely faced such intense scrutiny. Critics have seized on recent rulings as evidence the judges have usurped their proper role. Famously, during the fi rst Gina Miller case on triggering Article 50 they were branded “enemies of the people” by the Daily Mail. A landmark government defeat on employment tribunal fees in 2017 provoked further anguish, but it was the 2019 prorogation judgment that tipped critics—and the government—over the edge. The Supreme Court’s decision to annul Boris Johnson’s shutdown of parliament was denounced as political interference. A programme of constitutional review has since been announced—a thinly-veiled attempt to rein in meddling justices.