Best legal reads of the week: May 11-15

What are the top reads of the week around the web written by Osborne Clarke people? Which posts have been shared the most via social? 

This week, we’ve got three post-General Election updates on what the Conservative leadership means for employers and the real estate market. We’re also really excited about George Osborne’s recent devolution announcements for England and what this means for smart cities. Plus we take a look at the EU Digital Single market and the geo-blocking, copyright and media framework. 

Here are OC’s best legal reads of the week…

• Making your mind up time – is it common for individuals to resign from a position and then withdraw that resignation? 

Nigel Farage continues to make headlines as the parties seek to get their houses back in order post the General Election. Last week he resigned as leader of UKIP having failed to win his seat and his party only securing one seat in the House of Commons. This was despite UKIP overall receiving the third largest number of votes cast in the General Election, indeed significantly more than the SNP. However yesterday UKIP rejected his resignation. So why is this interesting to employers? Find out why here. 

• With the Conservatives appearing to be the general election winners, what’s in store for employers? 

The Conservatives have come out on top in the 2015 General Election and the results are suggesting with no need for a coalition. So what can employers now expect? Read the full update here.  

• The EU Digital Single Market: geo-blocking, copyright and a media framework for the 21st century

On 6 May 2015 the European Commission published its “Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe”. The Commission’s proposals are aimed at producing a true digital single market, one with – in President Juncker’s optimistic words – “pan-continental telecoms networks, digital services that cross borders and a wave of innovative European start-ups”. Read more about the impact on geo-blocking, copyright and the media framework for the 21st century in our dedicated hub here. 

• Election Thoughts – Tories’ “Blue Belt” thinking on Planning 

This time last week, no-one expected that David Cameron would walk into No.10 leading a Conservative majority Government. During the campaign little attention was paid to the manifesto as there was a reasonable expectation that there would be too much change after a coalition deal. Whilst there is no guarantee that the promises will become policy we’ve picked our top five planning related promises in the Conservative Party Manifesto on what the future holds, read the update here.