Woolas produced no evidence in support of this allegation. After examining it in great detail, the judges found it not true. Nor was it true that Watkins had reneged on his promise to live in the constituency, a claim that suggested he was untrustworthy. The Labour candidate had no reasonable grounds for disbelieving his opponent's announcement that he had "recently moved into a lovely terraced house in Delph".

A finding by the judges that Woolas was personally guilty of an illegal practice meant that his seat was now vacant. That was confirmed by John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons. But Bercow delayed calling a by-election while Woolas tried to overturn the election court's ruling.

This was never going to be easy. The Representation of the People Act 1983 says that an election court's decision "shall be final to all intents as to the matters at issue on the petition". Perhaps we should not be surprised: election law dates back to before the creation of the Court of Appeal. But the idea of an unappealable trial court is pretty unappealing. So, in recent years, the judges have agreed to consider applications for judicial review of decisions relating to local elections.

This requires some explanation. To lawyers, "judicial review" is a remedy rather than a process. The courts grant judicial review when they overturn the decision of an inferior body that has exceeded its powers or exercised them inappropriately. 

That's fine in the case of local elections. Petitions are heard by part-time judges, known as election commissioners. They're pretty inferior. But challenges to parliamentary elections are heard by High Court judges. They sit as what's called a court of record. And the generally held view is that such a court is not susceptible to judicial review. 

Even if the courts were to entertain an application from Woolas, it would not get him very far. Judicial review deals with the decision-making process, not the decision. Judges would consider whether the election court had conducted itself in the right way, not whether it reached the right answer. Woolas would be well advised to step aside now.