“‘Manchester’ has been a metonym at least twice in the last two hundred years, escaping the orbit of a more generalised ‘North’.” I explore the achievements and failures of the current Manchester model.

London Review of Books@lrb.co.uk · 2d ago

‘Between 2015 and 2024, nearly a billion pounds of public money was lent on favourable terms to developers who built almost no affordable housing – almost two-thirds of it to one company.’ @harrystopes.bsky.social on Manchester, new on the blog. www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2026/au...

Agreed, this is a good move for local places and UK cities. Having a PM with local gov't experience will hopefully mean more funding along with devolved budgetary powers (that may be wishful thinking given current budget shortfalls - but hey a girl can dream).

Iain Roberts@slowbikeiain.bsky.social · 5d ago

Let's talk about mayors - a 🧵 Burnham wants to give mayors across the country substantially more powers, money and responsibility. He's looking to roll out "Greater Manchester Plus" (my phrase) across England within three years. That's very fast, and very good. It needs to be done. 1/X

The government rejects the education committee report recommendations more or less tout court, and uses the same fallacious reasoning about 'provider independence'about 8 times. Lovely.

Dr Matt Lodder@mattlodder.com · 2w ago

In which the government tells the entire UK university system to die in a fire.

“To accountants, some courses or departments may be viewed as cost centres. But to lecturers and students, and the places in which they are based, they are cultural resources – repositories of knowledge built up over decades, some of which will have a specific, local character and relevance”

The Guardian view on humanities cuts in universities: academic departments are more than cost centres | Editorial

Editorial: Literature, the arts and social sciences must not be sacrificed as higher education funding is squeezed

theguardian.com

New: Dialogues in Urban Research exploring what it means to think about crisis as urban & how locating crisis in the urban reconfigures relations between eventful & everyday crisis politics, materiality, discourse & movement. Part of a great set of interventions. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

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

journals.sagepub.com

Happy to see this out in @springernature.com Society! Led by Sotiria Kyriakidou, based on her PhD research, we show the potential for community-run models to foster stronger social support, better health outcomes, & argues for social inclusion in shelter governance. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Temporary Accommodation as a Risk Environment: Substance Use, Care, and Control in Homeless Shelters in Athens (Greece) and Santiago (Chile) - Society

Policies intended to support people experiencing homelessness (PEH) can, at times, reproduce or intensify the very vulnerabilities they seek to alleviate. This comparative study examines how homeless ...

link.springer.com

Burnham's had a lot of successes & leveraged them to win in #Makersfield. The next mayor of #GreaterManchester still has a lot of challenges on thier hands including a worsening housing crisis & ongoing health inequalities (e.g. male life expectancy is 61 healthy years vs national figure of 63).

Institute for Government@instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 2mo ago

Andy Burnham's Makerfield win leaves the post of mayor of Greater Manchester vacant. So with a mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester expected, how does devolution in the region work? Read our explainer to find out www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/ma...

And add to the pile: www.heraldscotland.com/news/2622404... A perfect storm is wiping out the sector.

University bosses to press on with £140m cuts bid despite projected budget surplus

In an email sent to staff last week, principal Sir Peter Mathieson and provost Kim Graham said that the university has an operating surplus of…

heraldscotland.com

Elsa Devienne @elsadevienne.bsky.social · last mo.

📣 People are understandably up in the arms about this (it is horrible). But just want to wave a hand out there 👋 as we're going through the same thing in Humanities at Northumbria (1 out of 5 staff need to go by end of July). 1/?

Coming as mayor of GM where higher ed is a huge economic driver there is the hope that a Burnham gov’t will prioritise and reinvest in universities, with the caveat that decades of underinvestment won’t be solved in one year or even a four year term.

Nick Gray@path-dependent.bsky.social · last mo.

Relax, everyone. Crisis over.

From Hulme to Clacton

… and she is right. www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Florence Welch’s mother says cuts to arts and humanities ‘absolutely tragic’

Exclusive: Prof Evelyn Welch, vice-chancellor of Bristol University, believes her daughter’s success shows value of arts education

theguardian.com

From Hulme to Clacton

Remarkably short sighted decision-making here. Geography remains one of the highest employability degrees across the U.K. cutting funding along with nursing and computing completely undermines U.K. economic and industrial strategies.

Rachel Pope@prehistorian.bsky.social · 4w ago

“In a letter to the Office for Students, which distributes the funding, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said funding should no longer be given to support nursing, computing, history, creative arts, performing arts, archaeology, and geography courses.” removepaywalls.com/https://www....

"Classics?" they said. "How is that going to be useful unless you're a teacher or work in a museum?" *me 20 years later writing a column analysing Count Binface's assessment of finer points of ancient Athenian democracy* "Take THAT!"

Likewise archaeology and the heritage sector, planning, museums/tourism. Our expertise *is* the economy.

Cristina Temenos@ctemenos.bsky.social · 4w ago

Remarkably short sighted decision-making here. Geography remains one of the highest employability degrees across the U.K. cutting funding along with nursing and computing completely undermines U.K. economic and industrial strategies.

Remarkably short sighted decision-making here. Geography remains one of the highest employability degrees across the U.K. cutting funding along with nursing and computing completely undermines U.K. economic and industrial strategies.

Rachel Pope@prehistorian.bsky.social · 4w ago

“In a letter to the Office for Students, which distributes the funding, Bridget Phillipson, the education secretary, said funding should no longer be given to support nursing, computing, history, creative arts, performing arts, archaeology, and geography courses.” removepaywalls.com/https://www....

Then they turned on the geographers. Because geopolitics and understanding of climate collapse was so very yesterday. 5/9

The UK universities cutting geography have lost their bearings

From climate change to geopolitics, the knowledge, skills and insights of geographers have never been more relevant, say five professors

timeshighereducation.com

First they came for the languages. In the hope that no one would have the words to say what was happening. 1/9🧵

University of Aberdeen's plans to cut modern language degrees were 'rushed' - review

The University of Aberdeen says it accepts there were "missteps" in its process in 2023.

bbc.co.uk

"Today, when I look at the empty teaching podium in the hall, I realize that Israel did not just kill a geography teacher, but assassinated a “compass” that was guiding us toward our homeland. He taught us how to see in geography a face of truth."

Geographers for Justice in Palestine@geogboycott.bsky.social · last mo.

"Writing against erasure: A geography of resistance in Gaza" by Lubna Ahmad Abu Sitta, writing as a geography graduate and Master’s student at Al-Aqsa University. journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

Coming as mayor of GM where higher ed is a huge economic driver there is the hope that a Burnham gov’t will prioritise and reinvest in universities, with the caveat that decades of underinvestment won’t be solved in one year or even a four year term.

Nick Gray@path-dependent.bsky.social · last mo.

Relax, everyone. Crisis over.

Read this great piece from @prisonculture.bsky.social. Including an analysis of Mamdani’s biggest mistakes so far: immediately endorsing Hochul, keeping Tisch on as police commissioner, and, of course, breaking his promises regarding library funding. hammerandhope.org/forums/mamda...

How Is Zohran Mamdani Doing?

Nine New Yorkers discuss the first six months of the Mamdani administration.

hammerandhope.org

All those hot countries with afternoon siestas clearly didn’t know what they were doing. The siesta can’t work in late capitalism.

James Kneale@jameskneale.bsky.social · last mo.

Reading the BBC's advice about not napping in the daytime heat (41 degrees predicted for Paris today): "When it is hot, feeling sleepy can be precious - save it for bedtime." After the poor night's sleep I had last night, FEELING SLEEPY CAN BE PRECIOUS seems to sum everything up perfectly

Four PMs in five years.

Scott Bryan@scottygb.bsky.social · last mo.

the most stable figure in british politics in the last decade is the man who sets up the lectern the PMs resign from

153 academic jobs are proposed to be cut at Exeter. Just had the news. Process is going to be quick too. We will be told if we are part of those considered later today

New, short article out with Jinsoo Lee. We chart the embrace MAGA-scripts and anti-Chinese sentiment by the Korean far right as a type of political realignment in light of the US-China rivalry and in a context where the 'pro-North' bogeyman is not longer as effective in regimenting politics. 1/3

The Geographical Journal | RGS Research Journal | Wiley Online Library

This article examines South Korea’s recent martial law crisis as an untimely or ‘late’ instance of authoritarian politics and notes the utility of a ‘global conjunctural frame’ for situating it withi...

rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Four PMs in five years.

Scott Bryan@scottygb.bsky.social · last mo.

the most stable figure in british politics in the last decade is the man who sets up the lectern the PMs resign from

Burnham's had a lot of successes & leveraged them to win in #Makersfield. The next mayor of #GreaterManchester still has a lot of challenges on thier hands including a worsening housing crisis & ongoing health inequalities (e.g. male life expectancy is 61 healthy years vs national figure of 63).

Institute for Government@instituteforgovernment.org.uk · 2mo ago

Andy Burnham's Makerfield win leaves the post of mayor of Greater Manchester vacant. So with a mayoral by-election in Greater Manchester expected, how does devolution in the region work? Read our explainer to find out www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/ma...

More gentrification-by-fire...

Manchester History@mcrhistory.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Robin Hood in Stretford had a mystery fire last night, been closed for 8 years. Urmston Lane is still taped off there with police and fire still in attendance. There was an application to turn it into flats recently.

More gentrification-by-fire...

Manchester History@mcrhistory.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Robin Hood in Stretford had a mystery fire last night, been closed for 8 years. Urmston Lane is still taped off there with police and fire still in attendance. There was an application to turn it into flats recently.

It's absolutely infuriating that blue-state governors do not see this as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to launch their schools into the stratosphere. And I don't mean that in a greedy way. I mean that they could actively work to save US higher ed AND make their schools even better.

Kathleen Bachynski@bachynski.bsky.social · 2mo ago

“The Auburn University Board of Trustees on Friday gave itself complete control over course offerings, curriculum, degree requirements and academic credentials while eliminating shared governance at the Alabama land-grant university… The policy leaves many questions unanswered”