Staff profile

Ben is a public lawyer. His research focuses on the work of the executive and Parliament, the role of officials, and the maintenance of ideals in the grubbiness of organisation. Most recently, he published the third edition of Parliament and the Law (Hart, 2022 with Alex Horne and Louise Thompson)--the only text dealing with Parliament and its relationship to the law--and Leading Works in Public Law (Routledge 2024 with Patrick O'Brien).

Ben joined Durham Law School as an Associate Professor in Public Law and Human Rights in September 2019. He obtained his PhD from the LSE, and LLM from Victoria University of Wellington (New Zealand). He previously worked at the Constitution Unit, UCL and was a Teaching Fellow in Public Law at UCL. Ben also worked at the UK Ministry of Justice in 2010 on the UK Cabinet Manual. Prior to joining Durham, Ben was a lecturer in public law at Queen Mary and then at the University of Hull Law School.

Ben has worked on a number of areas, including coalition government, special advisers, legislative governance and parliamentary administration (how legislatures are run), government lawyers and parliamentary lawyers.

Ben has won a number of external grants. He was awarded a Leverhulme Trust research grant in 2016 to carry out an 18 month project examining the provision and reception of legal advice in the 4 legislatures of the UK; in 2021 he was awarded another 14 month Leverhulme Trust research grant to examine parliamentary administration in the same 4 legislatures. He was also co-investigator with Patrick O'Brien (Oxford Brookes) on a British Academy small grant project examining the work of UK judges after they retire.

Ben's current research projects include the bureaucratic impartiality of officials; legislative governance and parliamentary administration; the nature of Parliament; and the role of the civil service in the constitution. 

In spite of the grisly profile picture, Ben has a pretty moderate disposition.

Research Supervision

Ben would be pleased to hear from potential students interested in researching the law and practice of Parliament; bureaucracy and the law—the civil service, government lawyers or parliamentary administration; and the Executive in the constitution. 

 

• Bureaucracy and bureaucratic norms
• Non-judicial institutions: executives and legislatures
• Parliamentary administration
• Public sector lawyers
• Sociolegal research

Authored book

• Yong, B., & Hazell, R. (2014). Special Advisers: Who They Are, What They Do and Why They Matter. Hart Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781474201032
• Hazell, R., & Yong, B. (2012). The Politics of Coalition: How the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Works. Hart Publishing

Chapter in book

• O'Brien, P., & Yong, B. Introduction. In P. O'Brien, & B. Yong (Eds.), Leading Works in Public Law. Routledge
• Yong, B. Martin Loughlin, Public Law and Political Theory. In P. O'Brien, & B. Yong (Eds.), Leading Works in Public Law. Routledge
• Yong, B. (2024). Reimagining Parliamentary Governance. In D. Judge, & C. Leston-Bandeira (Eds.), Reimagining Parliament. Bristol University Press
• Yong, B. (2022). The Politics of Legal Expertise at Westminster in Times of Crisis. In E. Korkea-aho, & P. Leino (Eds.), Legal Expertise in EU Policy-Making: Changing Roles for the Legal Profession (124-146). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108909099.007
• Lee, C., & Yong, B. (2022). Paying for Parliament. In A. Horne, L. Thompson, & B. Yong (Eds.), Parliament and the Law (57-86). (3rd ed.). Hart Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781509934126.ch-003
• Yong, B. (2022). Ministerial Responsibility. In Constitution and Governance in the UK. UK in a Changing Europe
• Yong, B. (2019). The Governance of Parliament. In A. Horne, & G. Drewry (Eds.), Parliament and the Law (75-102). (2nd). Hart Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781509908745.ch-004
• Yong, B., & Thompson, L. (2019). What do we mean by parliamentary scrutiny of Brexit? A view from the House of Commons. In T. Christiansen, & D. Fromage (Eds.), Brexit and Democracy: The Role of Parliaments and Citizens (29-49). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-06043-5
• Yong, B., & Petit, S. (2018). The administrative organization and governance of Parliament. In C. Leston-Bandeira, & L. Thompson (Eds.), Exploring Parliament. Oxford University Press
• Yong, B. (2016). Britain's experience of coalition government: continuity and change. In Developments in British Politics (20-38). (10). Palgrave Macmillan

Edited book

• O'Brien, P., & Yong, B. (Eds.). Leading Works in Public Law. Routledge
• Horne, A., Thompson, L., & Yong, B. (Eds.). (2022). Parliament and the Law. Hart Publishing. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781509934126

Journal Article

• Melhuish, F., & Yong, B. (online). Parliamentary Questions to the House of Commons Commission: Accountability and Parliamentary Administration. Parliamentary Affairs, https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsae013
• O'Brien, P., Yong, B., & Anderson, S. (2024). The Decline of the Judicial Retirement Convention, 1950-2020. Public Law, 2024(Oct), 623-647
• Yong, B., Davies, G., & Leston‐Bandeira, C. (2019). Tacticians, Stewards, and Professionals: The Politics of Publishing Select Committee Legal Advice. Journal of Law and Society, 46(3), 367-395. https://doi.org/10.1111/jols.12153
• Yong, B., & Bale, T. (2015). When Second-Best is Still a No-Brainer: Why Labour Should Shoot for a Majority Coalition in May 2015. The Political Quarterly, 86(1), https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923x.12143

Report

• Yong, B. (2013). Risk Management: Government Lawyers and the Provision of Legal Advice within Whitehall. [No known commissioning body]
• Yong, B., & Hazell, R. (2011). Putting the Goats Amongst the Wolves: Appointing Ministers from outside Parliament. [No known commissioning body]