When two artists paint the same view: Rue de la Chausée à Argenteuil, painted on the same day in 1872 by Claude Monet & Alfred Sisley, friends and founding figures of French Impressionism, who set up their easels side by side en plein air. Private Collection | Musée d’Orsay

This piece on the "load-bearing internet people" and how AI-code writing is overwhelming the web's unheralded maintainers by @samlearner.bsky.social is absolutely terrific: brilliantly accessible without being patronising:

Who cleans up after the vibe-coding party?

Our obsession with AI code-writing tools is overwhelming the web’s unsung human caretakers

ft.com

Soooooooooo much has been written about Brexit and the 🇬🇧, far less on the 🇪🇺 and Brexit. So do read the short piece I write for @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Political Insight. And here is a 🧵 on the main points I make: bsky.app/profile/cleo...

Political Studies Association@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social · last mo.

*PSA PUBLICATIONS* #Brexit 10 years on: In the latest issue of PSA Political Insight magazine read 'The EU A Decade After Brexit' #OpenAccess article by @cleodavies.bsky.social ➡️ buff.ly/NQSyRRm #PostBrexit #EU #Politics #BritishPolitics

It is worth remembering the 🇬🇧 as a land bridge for trucks on their way to Ireland and back via Holyhead. Brexit has a geographical impact too, and for that part of Wales, Brexit has been bad + the expected increase in jobs for customs & veterinary checks may now be redundant with an SPS deal with 🇪🇺

John Springford@johnspringford.bsky.social · last mo.

@faisalislam.bsky.social rounds up the Brexit research and adds some interesting points of his own. A sizeable chunk of the reduction in services trade we found in our paper was in transport. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

For anyone interested in how the 🇪🇺 managed to avert the disaster that Brexit could have turned out to be for the Union, I have covered this in a piece for @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social Political Insight magazine published this month. Some points 🧵 1/5 journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

journals.sagepub.com

Un article intéressant et détaillé sur les perspectives de rapprochement entre le Royaume-Uni et l'Union européenne par Agnès Rotivel de La Croix et qui est construit autour de l'expertise des chercheuses Marie-Claire Considere-Charon, Laetitia Langlois et moi-même. www.la-croix.com/internationa...

Brexit : dix ans après, le Royaume-Uni et l’UE sur le chemin d’un timide rapprochement

Le 23 juin 2016, le Royaume-Uni décidait de quitter l’Union européenne. Dix ans plus tard, une majorité de Britanniques regrettent les conséquences du Brexit. À l’initiative du premier ministre démiss...

la-croix.com

good 🧵 on what is coming out of @ukandeu.bsky.social conference today on what relationship between 🇬🇧 &🇪🇺 might look like and trade-offs

Simon Usherwood@simonusherwood.bsky.social · last mo.

Among the usual things at @ukandeu.bsky.social conference, some things worth exploring as part of getting towards a more mature debate on European policy in the UK 1/

As European leaders pay genuine tribute to Starmer, I am reminded of piece I wrote on his👌qualities as a diplomat for 🇬🇧 across Europe: 'Starmer may have proven himself a good diplomat, but so far, this is not a quality that has endeared him to the British public'. Let's hope his successor does both

The good diplomat: Starmer’s bilateralism with EU member states

Barely two weeks go by without a bilateral meeting between Keir Starmer and a leader from a European capital. He hosted his Irish and Spanish counterparts in Downing Street on 12 September…

encompass-europe.com

🇬🇧-🇪🇺 summit now postponed, which makes sense. President of the Council @eucopresident.consilium.europa.eu announced the summit will be postponed and also thanked 'his friend Keir'.

Cleo Davies@cleodavies.bsky.social · last mo.

Let's hope he has clear idea of kind of relationship he wants 🇬🇧 to have with 🇪🇺, that he has a close team that understands how Brussels works & a Comms team that knows Europeans read whatever declaration is in press & will puzzle over/pick up on discrepancies, especially because no one knows Burnham

Let's hope he has clear idea of kind of relationship he wants 🇬🇧 to have with 🇪🇺, that he has a close team that understands how Brussels works & a Comms team that knows Europeans read whatever declaration is in press & will puzzle over/pick up on discrepancies, especially because no one knows Burnham

Mujtaba Rahman@mijrahman.bsky.social · last mo.

If Burnham is in place by 17 July, then 5 days into the job and he will be leading talks with the EU at the 22 July reset summit

This is an unpopular thing to point out on Europhile Bluesky, but *the UK opt-outs are still there*, in protocols attached to the Treaties which have not been amended or removed. So the obvious argument is that if the UK rejoined, the opt-outs would just be revived as far as the UK is concerned.

Yes, the poverty of the British European debate, whether in the public debate or amongst politicians, including many of those advocating rejoin are calling to rejoin the 🇪🇺, is why the existence and work of @ukandeu.bsky.social is so essential!!!

If the UK wants to rejoin the European Union, it first needs to understand it | Timothy Garton Ash

A full return will require a marathon of democratic persuasion, on the continent as much as in Britain. For one side holds most of the cards, says Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash

theguardian.com

J'ai fait un entretien sur le 🇬🇧 10 ans après le Brexit dans la Revue politique & parlementaire. Voici un point : même si les brits sont favorables à une relation bcp plus intégrée avec l'🇪🇺 et même une réintégration, elle n'a pas encore saisie les 'trade-offs' entre autonomie et une relation + proche

Just listened to @franceculture.fr programme on populism 20 years after Brexit in 🇬🇧. Always impressed at depth & professionalism of some french media 🇬🇧, which is vary rarely reciprocated in 🇬🇧 on anything European, including 🇫🇷. That said, no mention whatsoever of the politics in the devolved regions

👇👌👌very much yes! In the future, it will also have an influence on how much the 🇬🇧 is able to get 🇪🇺 & 🇪🇺 member states'attention on all kinds of areas. Right now, 🇪🇺 really takes seriously 🇬🇧 requests for deeper cooperation but that should not be taken for granted. The 🇪🇺 has a lot of issues on its plate

Alexander Clarkson@aphclarkson.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Watching Sky and BBC news you get the sense that even experienced commentators and journalists haven't entirely internalised the implications of falling behind France, Germany, Italy and Poland in key areas of defence for the UK's influence over the future trajectory of the EU and Europe as a whole

A summary of CTA provisions on movement of people across the UK-Irish border, to help inform some of the coming debates PDF: bit.ly/UshGraphic146

📆 23 June marks a decade since the EU referendum 💥 Join us, @policyatkings.bsky.social & @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social for an evening of drinks & discussion as we reflect on 10 years of Brexit 👀 And for a look at some exclusive new polling 📍In London or online Sign up 👉 ukandeu.ac.uk/events/10-ye...

10 years of Brexit: how the vote to leave changed the UK - UK in a changing Europe

Join UK in a Changing Europe, the Policy Insititute and Ipsos as we mark 10 years since the EU referendum.

ukandeu.ac.uk

So much wrong with David Frost's post! Another low for the man who cannot get over having been blindsided by 🇮🇪 in the Brexit negos. He seems to hold so much contempt for 'the Irish' as he refers to them in his post. It's shocking. He knows that the common travel area between 🇮🇪&🇬🇧 pre-dates 🇪🇺 stuff.

Roland Smith@rolandmcs.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Remember when Remainers warned that Brexit might cause Irish border problems – 'Project Fear!'? And remember, later, when Brexiters wailed at the EU that 'we're not putting up a hard border between NI and Ireland; it's on you if you put one up'? Now Lord Frost calls for a hard border.

CNN: President Trump has said the the war will be over within days at least 37 times before

Martin Wolf @financialtimes.com on whether 🇬🇧 should/will rejoin 🇪🇺: will make unsatisfactory reading both for those who believe Brexit was a great democratic opp & for those who want to reverse Brexit. He suggests: 🇬🇧 to become a rule-taker + to incrementally get closer to 🇪🇺 to achieve🇨🇭like setup. 1/2

Infamous tennis match between Cameron & Johnson early 2016 is mentioned by Cameron in BBC doc in 2019. When I first watched it, I was astonished at how casually Cameron recounted two old Etonians openly discussing Johnson being PM one day + how flippantly they spoke of relations with 🇪🇺

David Cameron offered Boris Johnson senior cabinet role if he agreed not to push for Brexit

Johnson tells BBC documentary he played tennis in early 2016 with then prime minister to discuss EU referendum

theguardian.com

📢 Very last opportunity: Early bird registration closes today for the UACES 56th Annual Conference 👉 Register now: www.conftool.org/uaces2026 This is your final chance to secure the lowest available rates and confirm your place in Prague. #UACES2026 #EuropeanStudies #AcademicConferences

OMG! 🇬🇧 has not just sank to the lows of 🇮🇹 with its changing PMs, it is now actually more like France than 🇨🇦 or 🇦🇺!! 😨😨 Re-jointing the 🇪🇺 (an ‘academic question’ for Ganesh) is logical consequence of sinking to the lows of all those continentals, weak gvts, lethargic growth, bloated welfare states

👌 @tom-clark.bsky.social. seems conclusion is (economic) policy & being straight with public. But comparison in piece is with 🇫🇷 4th Republic. It did take eco growth of 60s for 🇫🇷 to stabilise but also major change in political system (parliamentary to semi-presidential). Does 🇬🇧 need system change 🤔

The ungovernable country? Why Britain keeps losing prime ministers

May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak, and now perhaps Starmer: each one was brought low for a reason. But what if the deeper problem is the office itself?

theguardian.com

👌 tour d'horizon 👇. 3 points importants: 👉En nombre de voix, bipartisme a disparu depuis longtemps au 🇬🇧, mais masqué par mode de scrutin au nvx national &local (scrutin proportionnel en 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿&🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿) 👉La personnalité du PM (=charisme & communication) compte tellement 👉Degagisme envers partis traditionnels

Fabien Escalona@fabienescalona.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Pauline Schnapper, spécialiste de la vie politique britannique, décrypte les appels à la démission qui montent de la part des travaillistes envers leur premier ministre. Elle analyse des équilibres politiques inédits à l’échelle du royaume. www.mediapart.fr/journal/inte...

What also struck me about this interview was the framing of re-join as a left-uniting platform, at a time when the EU itself is becoming ever more right wing:

Nicolai von Ondarza@nvondarza.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Random thought: One of the ironies of Brexit is that 'rejoin' is regarded as a left-wing project in the UK, at a time when EU policies are becoming more and more defined by (far) right wing forces.

Your one stop - one hour - shop to hear from the experts what happened at the local elections, and what it means ukandeu.ac.uk/events/ukice...

UKICE Lunch Hour: Unpacking the local elections 2026 - UK in a changing Europe

To dissect the details of the results of the local elections, UK in a Changing Europe is bringing together some of its expert pollsters.

ukandeu.ac.uk

Just listened to @london.gov.uk on yesterday's @thenewsagents.co.uk saying that re-joining 🇪🇺 should be on next Labour party's election manifesto. Has anyone thought to check what the 🇪🇺 thinks of this and what long political process that could be 🤔... UK politics through the looking glass

💡👇Would have liked (not even paragraph!) a bit on 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 in Labour party between Bevan & devolution.. a little caricatural without (👀 Kinnock). Today's labour myths are well recounted in piece (Bevan again), but labour movement in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 was born out of & embedded in social life (ok, so was Chapel... 😬)

London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 3mo ago

‘During the extended periods when the UK has been under Conservative rule, Welsh Labour has made much of its political integrity and electoral success. Such one-party dominance is rare in democracies and is now coming to an end.’ @richardhywelking.bsky.social: www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

Perfect timing to listen to Prof Michael Kenny at Sorbonne Nouvelle CREW seminar @thibaudharrois.bsky.social, just before elections 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 & 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Parliaments, for councils & some mayors in 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Two💡: 👉 British unionism a dwindling feature of British politics, whilst 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 nationalism growing in significance 🧵1/2