Court of Appeal ruling on Conservative leadership election

In a landmark judgment, last month the Court of Appeal ruling in R (Tortoise Media Ltd) v Information Commissioner & Conservative and Unionist Party [2025] EWCA Civ 523 held that the Conservative Party’s 2022 leadership election did not constitute a “public function” under the Human Rights Act 1998. As a result, political parties are not subject to the same transparency or legal obligations as public bodies, even when selecting a future Prime Minister. In this video, Adelaide Lopez discusses how the decision narrows the scope for media and legal scrutiny and raises important questions about accountability, press freedom, and the boundaries of public law in UK politics.