Step aside Brenda from Bristol, there’s another Brenda on the UK political scene and she’s just captured the hearts of millions.
Lady Hale, or Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, to use her full title, has just announced to the nation that Boris Johnson’s controversial decision to suspend parliament was unlawful.
The 74-year-old president of the Supreme Court immediately trended on Twitter, with people praising her composure, eloquence and, of course, her fantastic range of brooches.
During Tuesday’s announcement, Lady Hale went with what appeared to be a very large spider, suggested by some to be a Black Widow.
There was much debate over its true meaning.
And if you want it on a t shirt, they’ve already got you covered.
Not that it should distract from her previous efforts however…
A panel of 11 justices at the Supreme Court in London gave their decision on Tuesday in a ruling on the legality of the prime minister’s advice to the Queen to prorogue parliament until October 14.
The judges, led by the court’s president Lady Hale, heard appeals over three days arising out of legal challenges in England and Scotland – which produced different outcomes.
The panel held unanimously that Johnson’s advice to the Queen was unlawful because it had the effect of frustrating parliament.
Lady Hale’s announcement was welcomed by those fighting for the UK to remain in the EU.
The BBC’s Emily Maitlis suggested the performance would require a suitably classy recovery period.
And if you haven’t seen the show…
But spare a thought for all the political reporters currently attending the Labour Party Conference in Brighton and now frantically booking last-minute train tickets.
Lady Hale was born in Leeds in 1945, to parents who would both become headteachers and the second of three daughters.
Her scholarly parents obviously rubbed off on her as she graduate Girton College, Cambridge, top of her class.
She became Professor of Law at Manchester University in 1986 and then went on to become a judge in the Family Division of the High Court of Justice.
Her legal career went from strength to strength. A long-standing champion of diversity in the judiciary, she became the first female justice of the court in October 2009, and was appointed deputy president in June 2013.
She was appointed the first female president of the Supreme Court in 2017.
During her time as deputy president, Lady Hale ruled on numerous high-profile cases, including the Brexit appeal.
Johnson is now acing calls to resign after the devastating ruling by the Supreme Court.
Following unanimous ruling by the 11 justices that the five-week prorogation was “void and of no effect” , the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn led calls for the return of MPs to Westminster.
“I will be in touch immediately to demand that parliament is recalled so that we can question the prime minister, demand that he obeys the law that’s been passed by parliament,” he told the Labour Party conference in Brighton.
