Tessera
Folgen

Matt Houlbrook

@tricksterprince.bsky.social

History, Britain, culture, cities, selfhood, sexuality, gender, #20s30s. Now - The Institute: The untold story of Pelmanism and its followers Just out - Songs of Seven Dials: An intimate history of 1920s and 1930s London (MUP) He / him

3429 Posts4254 Follower1495 Folgt
Matt Houlbrook@tricksterprince.bsky.social · last wk.

Congratulations @andyaitchison.bsky.social on getting this brilliant photoessay in @theguardian.com! It’s great to see Andy’s powerful new book Incarcerated (and our project) getting the attention it deserves. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Life behind bars in Britain’s surviving Victorian prisons – photo essay

Photographer Andy Aitchison’s book Incarcerated explores how Victorian prison infrastructure has persisted and what these old buildings mean for the people who live and work inside

theguardian.com

Matt Houlbrook@tricksterprince.bsky.social · last wk.

Congratulations @andyaitchison.bsky.social on getting this brilliant photoessay in @theguardian.com! It’s great to see Andy’s powerful new book Incarcerated (and our project) getting the attention it deserves. www.theguardian.com/artanddesign...

Life behind bars in Britain’s surviving Victorian prisons – photo essay

Photographer Andy Aitchison’s book Incarcerated explores how Victorian prison infrastructure has persisted and what these old buildings mean for the people who live and work inside

theguardian.com

Nick Lloyd@spaincivilwartours.bsky.social · last mo.

#onthisday on 17 July 1936 the rebel military rose against ths Spanish Republic in colonial Morocco unleashing a murderous war causing incalculable pain+suffering, which still casts its shadow. Image: the Gracia family, like 100,000s, escaping into a very uncertain French exile, Jan 1939. Bastards

Bild
Dave Andress@davidandress.bsky.social · last mo.

Murder is bad, m’kay? And the Brexiteer nationalist hard-right is single-handedly responsible for introducing a real language of violent response to ”betrayal” and “treason” over the last decade. Nigel Farage literally (if preposterously) threatened armed insurrection if he didn’t get “his” Brexit.

Ann Widdecombe’s death should make Britain ask itself: what sort of political culture do we want? | Gaby Hinsliff

Dehumanising politicians is the first step towards justifying their elimination. It matters more than ever to keep putting the person back into the picture, says Guardian columnist Gaby Hinsliff

theguardian.com

Robert Saunders@robertsaunders.bsky.social · last mo.

Every time I turn on the News, someone is discussing who *might* be Chancellor and what that *might* mean. These are good and important questions, but they are not "News". We need to find a way to shift the dial back to reporting on what *has* happened, rather than speculating on what *might*.

Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · last mo.

'A government that says it wants innovation while pursuing a policy of often malign neglect when it comes to universities’ funding model and international students is not being tough-minded. It is simply incoherent.' @jdportes.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Burnham must learn from Starmer’s mistakes: Labour was elected to transform the economy, not just stabilise it | Jonathan Portes

Devolution, tax, the EU and immigration: these are all opportunities for growth if Burnham abandons the excessive caution of the past few years, says economist Jonathan Portes

theguardian.com

Dave Andress@davidandress.bsky.social · last mo.

If you can sit in a meeting and cry about what you're being told to do to a child, you can also refuse to do it.

Cal Horton (they/them)@fiercemum.bsky.social · last mo.

Just had meeting with kiddo's school. She has been fully supported, treated with full equality & dignity for years. All of that changes from September. Full segregation & humiliation across the board. The school staff cried in the meeting. This will absolutely lead to children's deaths 1/2

Elspeth Van Veeren@evanveeren.bsky.social · last mo.

Another excellent example of just how incurious and limited the UK press has been about this crisis. Not one mention of the cuts to humanities that Bristol’s own VC is trying to push through at the moment in this article about her position on the cuts 🤔🙄. 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

Zack Polanski@zackpolanski.bsky.social · last mo.

I know people who clung onto the Labour Party in the slim chance that after Keir Starmer things might have been different. Labour consistently revealing there's absolutely no plan for change. The puurpose is to maintain power & wealth for the super rich. Join.greenparty.org.uk

Join the Green Party

Join the Green Party from just £6 a year. Become a member today - join the only party standing up for people and planet.

join.greenparty.org.uk

Financial Times@financialtimes.com · last mo.

Shabana Mahmood set to be named UK chancellor by Andy Burnham ft.trib.al/B8BshzA

Liesbeth Corens@onslies.bsky.social · last mo.

At which point are journalists allowed to say "nope, that's not an answer. You're failing in your duties by repeating this very obvious deflection for two years in a row. You need to give an actual response now."? Or else publish just "the DfE said the same thing they did for 24 months".

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Universities are independent from government and are responsible for managing their own finances, but we are committed to creating a secure future for our world-leading universities so they can deliver for students, taxpayers and the economy. “We have taken action to put the sector on a secure financial footing, including raising the maximum cap on tuition fees annually and refocusing the Office for Students to support universities’ financial stability. “Through our ambitious reforms announced in the post-16 education and skills white paper we will restore universities as engines of growth, aspiration and opportunity.”
Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · last mo.

‘Thousands of university job cuts in humanities and social sciences are creating widespread cold spots for languages, classics and theology degrees, the British Academy has warned’ www.theguardian.com/education/20...

Julia Laite@julialaite.bsky.social · last mo.

Do non-migrants have any idea how *utterly terrifying* it is for those who have IDL in the UK; have built a life here, have British kids & forged a sense of love & belonging to be bombarded with news that a sizeable % of the population & government want to be able to take that away & deport us?

David Veevers@davidveevers.bsky.social · last mo.

Imagine complaining that a work place is committed to equality. This is where we are in the UK in 2026. Heartbreaking to watch a society voluntarily roll back decades of progress.

Margot Finn@eicathomefinn.bsky.social · last mo.

'The Alumni for Free Speech (AFFS) group said it had identified “very risky” practices across a significant number of institutions in the sector, having studied the recruitment criteria of 162 institutions.' No astroturf to see here, no doubt. 1/3

David Higgins@davidhiggins.bsky.social · last mo.

The truth is that, by European standards, the UK is not a good place for kids. A big factor is the cost of living. Labour’s expansion of childcare has been something, but tackling an extractive rentier economy is much more difficult. www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

UK children will be one of unhealthiest generations in decades, doctors say

Analysis of 12 indicators including asthma, obesity and vaccination finds child health is ‘national embarrassment’

theguardian.com