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January is traditionally the time when new bits of legislation sneak in when nobody's looking. You know, the Act comes in with its pomp and cymbals and everybody gets to grips with what it means before we all swan off for the summer. But there are always some bits left over for the following January, and before we've properly sobered up from Hogmanay they're here and we've forgotten all about them.

For example, on 19 January the third EU Directive concerning the issuing of driving licences came into effect in the UK. I, along with most people, had completely forgotten about it. The fact that there is now the option to have a microchip in newly-issued licences had fallen under my radar, as had the amendment to the licencing rules allowing moped riders to ride quad bikes. Ooer!

There is a hackneyed sentiment expressed in varying forms by football managers and some players when asked by sports journalists how they feel about the 'pressures' managers are under. The assumption seems to be that those who are paid vast sums of money to bring success – and are dismissed when they fail – are constantly subject to what used to be called 'executive stress', whereas someone toiling to make ends meet is somehow free from such feelings.

The response in question is a variation on: "I'm not under pressure. It' people with no jobs and children to feed who are under pressure." I think it was Sir Bobby Robson who expressed it most eloquently in response to a question on the radio, waxing lyrical about how he was paid large amounts of money to do something he loved. Waking up in the morning and not knowing how you're going to feed your kids: that's stress!

The use of social media sites as both a political campaigning tool and a method of intimidation has burgeoned in recent years; and authorities' attempts to keep the lid on the internet, particularly in countries with regimes we would consider outwith the pale, has been stepped up since the so-called Arab Spring.

The latest was reported by the BBC and concerned new laws introduced in China to compel internet users to 'fully identify themselves' to service providers.
According to the report: "The announcement will be seen as evidence China's new leadership views the internet as a threat.

"The Chinese authorities closely monitor internet content that crosses its borders and regularly block sensitive stories through use of what is known as the Great Firewall of China."

Not long ago the name Andy Slaughter was not a household one. His constituents knew who he was, as did the wide circle of followers of Parliamentary and political intrigue; now, however, Labour's Shadow Justice Secretary has been catapulted into the limelight, thanks to a series of controversial proposals to save money in the judicial system by making the process more difficult to access.

First there was whiplash, with the aforementioned Mr Slaughter finding himself an unlikely bedfellow with Karl Tonks of the personal injury lawyers (tip: if Googling for APIL whiplash, DON'T let it search instead for 'April Whiplash'). Then there came the proposals from Chris Grayling to implement Dave's attacks on judicial review.
Seems that everywhere he looks, there is a sacrificial lamb just heading his way.