My great colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social saying all the thing I want to say this week about antisemitism and saying them beautifully and with real power. Comments are not enabled on this column because that’s where we are. www.ft.com/content/f9ee... The shrinking of Jewish life in Britain

The shrinking of Jewish life in Britain

It should be entirely possible to be anti-Israel without sinking to dehumanising language

ft.com

I just took action with @theactionnetwork.bsky.social: Join the Named Sponsorship Network. Take action here: actionnetwork.org/forms/named-...

Join the Named Sponsorship Network

We want the Government to establish and implement a fully operational Named Sponsorship route by the end of 2026, that gives local communities, civil society, employers and universities the power to c...

actionnetwork.org

Starmergrad..Elizabethtown sounds colonial. Why not crowd source the names?

Politics UK@politicsuk.com · 5mo ago

🚨 NEW: The proposed names the Government is considering calling its new towns - Elizabethtown (after the Queen) - Pankhurst (after suffragette Emmeline) - Attleeton (after ex-PM) - Athelstan (first King of England) - Seacole (after nurse Mary) [@thetimes]

One of the reasons that we have a right to protest for Gaza is that Churchill stood up against fascism & tyranny. The latest stupid stunt from extremists who actions do nothing to support the Palestinians and a sustainable Middle East peace. The inverted triangle sprayed on the statue is chilling.

Slava Ukrainii

Torkil Sørensen@torkilsoerensen.bsky.social · 5mo ago

We were 3 generations standing for #Ukraine in #Copenhagen this afternoon. Later we were walking from the Danish parliament, Christiansborg, to the Russian Embassy - carrying a very long flag. On the way we heard songs and some speeches. I hope there will be no need for manifestation next year.

I've also been captivated by Punch, but there has been very little comment on his horrible, bare concrete enclosure. Ichikawa Zoo don't your macaque monkeys need trees, greenery and more stimulation?

Rolling Stone@rollingstone.com · 6mo ago

I Can’t Stop Thinking About Punch the Sad Monkey. I’m Not Alone "Acknowledging that I am being emotionally manipulated by my amygdala doesn’t keep me from feeling every emotion when I see that tiny little monkey drag his stuffed toy around the yard."

First vandalism then harassment at Gail's bakery in Archway, London. Two of Gail's founders were Israeli, but they have had nothing to do with the business for a long time. Gail's is largely owned by private equity. This type of stunt is naked antisemitism and does nothing to help the Palestinians.

A little known fact about #GortonAndDenton - it is centre of bowler hat making. George Galloway wears a Fedora, but few politicians wear hats these days. However, in 2011 Jacob Rees-Mogg said that council officials should wear bowler hats to identify them as public servants. #BringBackHats.

It's staggering that Craig Guildgord hasn't resigned. He fabricated evidence and lied to Parliament, which doesn't create confidence in the police. Interesting to see what the Home Affairs Committee will recommend.

Henry Zeffman@hzeffman.bsky.social · 7mo ago

NEW Shabana Mahmood announces not only that Craig Guildford, the chief constable of West Midlands Police, no longer has her confidence after a "devastating" independent review, but also that the government will reintroduce the power for home secretaries to sack chief constables

We’re delighted that our @jakepuddle.bsky.social & @heather-rolfe.bsky.social, together with @jillyrutter.bsky.social of Belong, won the MRS Presidents Medal last night at the Market Research Society & Research Live Awards 2025, for the ‘The State of Us’ report. www.mrs.org.uk/awards/mrs-a...

The new report, ‘The State of Us’, by @BritishFuture + @BelongNetwork, offers an authoritative picture of cohesion and community strength in the UK. www.britishfuture.org/state-of-us-...

'Powder keg' of tensions and grievances remain, one year on from UK riots – new report - British Future

A new report on the state of cohesion and community strength in the UK finds a worrying combination of social tensions and grievances.

britishfuture.org

Evidently the people who write YouGov's polling questions are not from the Midlands, or the 'Neither Lands' using their terminology. I was born in Warwickshire, grew up near Banbury and I do think there are English Midlands identities.

YouGov@yougov.co.uk · 7mo ago

Where do the North and South of England begin? Based on the answers of 46,000 English people about where they live, the southern border of “the North” is a line roughly from Shrewsbury to Grimsby, while the northern border of “the South” is a line roughly from the Severn to Great Yarmouth

Ex President of Iraq & ex PM of the Kurdistan Region. Barham Salih was a refugee in the UK & was educated at Liverpool & Cardiff universities. He is the second UN High Commissioner for Refugees who has been a refugee with Gerrit Goedhart (1951-56), a Dutchman who fled the Nazis being the first

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency@unhcr.org · 8mo ago

It’s official! Barham Salih, former President of Iraq, has been elected as the next High Commissioner for Refugees. Having been a refugee himself, he brings powerful lived experience to lead UNHCR. We’re excited to welcome him soon. 💙

“The social media history that has emerged from Alaa abd El-Fattah is of profound concern... The cross-party campaign for such a person, and the warm welcome issued by the Government, demonstrate a broken system with an astonishing lack of due diligence by the authorities.” – Adrian Cohen, SVP

But also some quite large differences in trust and perceptions of inter-group relations between different local authority areas.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 8mo ago

2024-25 community life survey, which has a large sample of 175k, distributed at 500+ in each local authority area The findings are stable year on year & reflect the themes of the State of Us Generally high local belonging Mixed trust Varied civic participation www.gov.uk/government/s...

All great charities, but the work of @thelinkingnetwork.bsky.social & Who is Your Neighbour are particularly close to my heart. The Linking Network links schools across ethnic & class divides, and undertakes intergenerational linking. Who is Your Neighbour undertakes community dialogue in Yorkshire

Alex Smith@alexsmith1982.bsky.social · 8mo ago

‘We’re supporting grassroots charities, which, through their vital work in local neighbourhoods, nurture community and positive change, and provide a powerful antidote to polarisation, distrust and hate.’ A prescient and necessary campaign, well timed: www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

At @britishfuture team meetings in the dark days of COVID we used to wear hats to keep up morale. A legacy of those days - for me - is an interest in millinery and I've just made my first hat. Lots of steam & stretching is involved; the process has barely changed in hundreds of years #BringBackHats

Is citizenship education up to scratch? Last week we and @uclspp.bsky.social hosted Hattie Andrews @politicsproject.bsky.social, Emma Connolly @uclspeechlab.bsky.social and Hans Svennevig @citizenshippgceioe.bsky.social @ioe.bsky.social to discuss how the subject can be strengthened. Watch 👇

Votes at 16: Is Citizenship Education up to Scratch?

In July 2025, the UK government announced that the voting age would be lowered to 16. This reform, among others, aims to broaden the country’s democratic base and modernize the political system. Yet…

youtube.com

The Home Office has released refugee employment statistics today, too. Important data, as the proposed Protection and Work and Study visa will reduce wait prior to settlement being granted. But employment rates for refugees are low and better employment support is needed.

We mustn't forget the capacity of football to bridge divides in Israel. There are many sports-based peace initiatives in Israel eg Football for Peace. Hapoel Tel Aviv has had Israeli Arab players throughout its history & has a large Israeli Arab fanbase This doesn't deny racism in Israeli football

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 10mo ago

The Tel Aviv derby between Maccabi and Hapoel could not be played today in Tel Aviv as the Israeli fans injured rival fans and the police. The game was abandoned at half-time in January. The Israeli police & authorities have struggled to contain the conduct of fans www.jpost.com/israel-news/...

Two years after 7 October and the kidnap of my parents, hate is in fashion. For all our sakes, we need compassion | Sharone Lifschitz

Two years after 7 October and the kidnap of my parents, hate is in fashion. For all our sakes, we need compassion | Sharone Lifschitz

So many were killed – yet on her release, my mother said ‘shalom’ to her captors. Let’s learn from that moment of grace, says Sharone Lifschitz, London-based film-maker and academic

theguardian.com

"Are you representing an organisation here?", I asked a Muslim attendee. “I’m here as a Mancunian mate,’ he replied. “That’s what I’m representing.” Our Avaes Mohammad's reflections from Friday's vigil in Manchester following the appalling Synagogue attack. www.britishfuture.org/im-here-as-a...

"I'm here as a Mancunian – that's what I'm representing" - British Future

British Future's Avaes Mohammad reports from Friday's vigil in Manchester following the appalling Synagogue attack.

britishfuture.org

Labour's post-conference bounce benefits Reform and the Greens

Election Maps UK@electionmaps.uk · 10mo ago

Westminster Voting Intention: RFM: 34% (+2) LAB: 21% (-1) CON: 16% (-1) LDM: 12% (-2) GRN: 10% (+3) SNP: 2% (-1) Via @opiniumresearch.bsky.social, 1-3 Oct. Changes w/ 24-26 Sep.

Hollow words when almost every weekend in London protestors shout 'globalise the intifada' and 'Khaybar, Khaybar ya yahud' and nothing is done by your police to address antisemitism and extremism.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan@london.gov.uk · 10mo ago

My thoughts are with everyone affected by the attack in Greater Manchester today.

Great to see Lisa Nandy announce a new ‘Town of culture’ competition - something British Future’s been calling for since our 2019 ‘Crossing Divides’ report by @sundersays.bsky.social @jillyrutter.bsky.social. Culture’s not just for cities! www.britishfuture.org/publication/... #LPC25

I also think the Government has made a big mistake in pushing this through when trust in democratic institutions is so low. As of 10.40 this morning 1.7 million people have now signed the parliamentary petition opposing digital ID card.

Jill Rutter@jillyrutter.bsky.social · 10mo ago

Arguments for digital ID include faster, streamlined verification. But the Government's main argument is that it reduces unauthorised migration. Yet there's no evidence from outside the UK that it does this. This false promise means I DON'T support digital ID petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

Arguments for digital ID include faster, streamlined verification. But the Government's main argument is that it reduces unauthorised migration. Yet there's no evidence from outside the UK that it does this. This false promise means I DON'T support digital ID petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

Petition: Do not introduce Digital ID cards

We demand that the UK Government immediately commits to not introducing a digital ID cards. There are reports that this is being looked at.

petition.parliament.uk

Liberal Democrats@libdems.org.uk · 10mo ago

Liberal Democrats cannot support mandatory digital IDs. People shouldn't be criminalised just because they don't want to hand over their private data.

After years of making the running on immigration, Farage may this week have handed the initiative back to his opponents'. @robfordmancs.bsky.social for @ukandeu.bsky.social on the unpopularity of Reform's proposals on ILR ukandeu.ac.uk/reforms-radi...

18 September 1932 | A French Jewish girl, Rosa Farber, was born in Paris. On her 10th birthday, she was deported from #Drancy to #Auschwitz. She was murdered in a gas chamber after the selection. --- The first two gas chambers of Birkenau - Bunkers I & II: https://youtu.be/Rr6lF75fDmU

Most councils are taking a sensible approach to flags. They ate discouraging painting on roundabouts and building on grounds of safety/vandalism but keeping up the flags. Councils are also talking to residents on this issue.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 11mo ago

I endorse this message. Well said @markfergusonmp.bsky.social on why the fabric of the flag should be something to unite, not divide