Editorial: A Brief Departure From The Dock

It is a rare day indeed when the relative silence of the courtroom is not due to a legal technicality or a missing witness, but rather the democratic hum of a local election.

With the several of key court cases rising today to allow for the machinery of local government to turn, the benches are empty and the public galleries uncharacteristically still.

Consequently, I have taken the decision to pivot our coverage. For today and tomorrow, VP News and UK Courts Live will be stepping out of the dock and into the polling station. While we usually deal in the hard currency of Crown allegations and verdicts, it felt only right—given the lack of movement on the legal front—to bring you the latest from the local ballots.

Consider this a temporary discharge. We shall be following the developments from the ground as the results are tallied and the new political landscape takes shape. Rest assured, we have not gone soft; our usual service of clear, direct and uncompromising court reporting will resume in full over the weekend once the last vote has been counted and the political dust has settled.

Our normal legal programming resumes shortly. In the meantime, the candidates have put forward their cases, and the decisions are not in the hands of a jury, but the electorate. Now it is time to see what they have to say. We will be following events live from ballot centres up and down the country, and bring you all the live results as the electorate’s verdict begins to roll in.

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Best Regards - Ben Freeman.