John Blake
@johndavidblake.bsky.social
Director, The Post 18 Project // Professor of Social Innovation and Public Policy at University of Salford // musical theatre obsessive
I’ve done a post on the recent curriculum kerfuffles, and why I have firms views about the specifics, but I think that part of the problem is that education is complex system, and I try to explain why here:
Is it possible that both Nick Gibb and Lucy Powell are right?
It seems unlikely.
substack.com
A good way to think about the current Whitehall state is that everything is one circle of power removed from where it should be: HMT is the actual government, treats depts like arms-length bodies, depts treat their agencies like constituents, and there’s nothing left for actual citizens.
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 2d agoHow to end the cycle of mistrust between the Treasury and everybody else ft.trib.al/KvmNepY | opinion
Might it be in any way relevant that, by the end of our longest war with France, England had lost everything and France was the most powerful state in the world?
Sunder Katwala (sundersays)@sundersays.bsky.social · 4mo agoLord Glasman says the sovereigntyist approach should then involve a "confrontation" with France - to take people back without permission. I questioned how far he would go in invading French waters. His response was "War with France is not unknown in our history". Partly a joke, partly not.
Time to offer this seminar again I see.
Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 6d agothere are a lot of philosophical concepts that get egregiously misused out of the seminar room (and in the seminar room, to be fair). but in terms of sheer pernicious misuse "social construct" has gotta be top 5 somewhere and it's not number 5
Come to the visitor centre and learn about the science that doesn’t happen at Jodrell Bank!
UK Research and Innovation@ukri.org · last wk.Jodrell Bank Observatory will continue to be home to a range of scientific and public engagement activities, led by the University of Manchester. The University has also confirmed that the Jodrell Bank Centre for Engagement is not funded by STFC and will remain open to visitors.
Bloody spiteful of Thames Water to announce a hosepipe ban just because Andy Burnham is going to nationalise them.
Ah, once again someone has confused Clausewitz with the Marquis de Sade.
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 2w agoRep. Rich McCormick on Iran: "I'm a big Clausewitzian warfare guy. I believe in dominance. We are the dominant world superpower. These guys are not. I would've been unrelenting until the end."
John Healey to ride into HMT screaming “find me the bastards who underfunded my defence review?!”
Surely this needs a capital letter or it just suggests he’s doing some Ikea upcycling?
Or storming the Capitol to try to prevent the peaceful transfer of power
Greg Sargent@gregsargent.bsky.social · 2w agoCrucial from @ryanenos.bsky.social: If you doubt Trump might try to seize ballot boxes, recall that not long ago it seemed outlandish that armed government militias would be roving our streets, killing people. On the pod, Ryan is so good on the danger of this moment: newrepublic.com/article/2132...
The immediate arrest of Steve Bray is the unifying policy this nation needs.
Jim Waterson@jim.londoncentric.media · 2w agoSteve Bray trying to sing his way through the Met police ban on having a speaker, is it.
“The French enjoy people with nut allergies going into anaphylactic shock”
In an ideal world you'd want to hear from Bernard Donoughue, Sarah Hogg, Shriti Vadera, Chris Wilkins, Lee Cain - people who have been involved in midterm transitions - but nowadays you maybe get one per story on Today. It's v sad.
To joylessly suck the fun out of this joke: this is actually true! As the BBC's budget has shrunk, there are fewer guests on programmes, which means you get more intra-BBC 'I'm not allowed to say anything of note' rather than getting a historian or the PM's biographer or a former No 10 aide on.
Stephen Graham@stephengraham.bsky.social · 2w agoJohn Kay and Chris Mason talking about the Downing Street cat. This is only possible due to the unique way the BBC is funded.
NEW on Wonkhe: "Parity of esteem" for college and university-based HE comes from a shared quality architecture and governance framework, not vague policy aspirations, argue Nic Beech and Rebecca Parks buff.ly/bqeGbW9
What's great about VAR is that it makes the matchday experience worse while we still have clear and obvious errors.
based on the trailer alone I don't think Chris Nolan even played Mario Odyssey
This is the core of everything, and it is obviously correct — it has been broken. The state is systematically failing at things it said it would do. The problem is previously successful operationalisations of the contract are quite distinct from the political legends of parties, esp Labour.
Jennifer Williams@jenwilliamsft.bsky.social · 3w agoThey DO feel a social contract has been broken
After separation, I went back into renting having been a homeowner for a decade. More people should return to renting in their 40s, they’d be radical housing market reformers before the end of the week.
Jennifer Williams@jenwilliamsft.bsky.social · 3w agoOk well live next door to a house that’s a nightmare - anti social HMO, empty and a lightning rod for nonsense, a commercial building rotting - that’s owned by someone hundreds or even thousands of miles away, who is unresponsive, and their agents don’t care, and even the council can’t get purchase
65 per cent of Britons are owner-occupiers. General elections are won in the Midlands. Most people have a middle class occupation. The United Kingdom's comparative advantage is in services. These aren't facts that Philip Gould invented in order to make Labour feel sad.
But Labour MPs have been happy to endorse nationalising British Steel because it creates “good jobs” while denigrating universities which create “loads more jobs at lots of educational levels”
Stephen Bush@stephenkb.bsky.social · 3w agoCome on. It's because steel is important, but tiny, and the cost is a rounding error in both financial and political terms. Universities are important, but large, and the cost is huge in either financial terms, political terms, or both.
