Good to hear detailed coverage of the scandalous closure of the @essexuni.bsky.social #SouthendCampus on #bbcpm this evening @evanhd.bsky.social. We need to think differently about what a university is for.
Jo Warner
@jowarner01.bsky.social
Academic. I research risk, emotions, social work/welfare, politics and democracy. Posts poetical, philosophical, trivial in equal measure. Lido fan.
“With what can you whet our palate from the ballot Nick?” Asks Paddy O’Connell #newsnight #gortonanddenton
Spoiling a lot of takes but begging a large number of other questions... "Worsening graduate fortunes, it turns out, are a particularly British problem" www.ft.com/content/649d...
Self-proclaimed ‘friend of the King’ suggesting there might be closet Republicans on #Newsnight undermining the royals is beyond parody. Who needs Republicans when the royals are busy sh*tting in their own best hat? #Andrew
Not for the first time…thank goodness for @carolinelucas.bsky.social and her knowledgeable take-down of right-wing nonsense on #Newsnight
Yet another “sex offender lied as well as abused people” surprise revelation www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Aide linked to sex offender ‘did not give full account’ before he was given peerage, PM says
Keir Starmer defends his actions as Kemi Badenoch asks why Matthew Doyle was given ‘a job for life’
theguardian.com
Starmer has had his chips. I can’t see a way out of this. Barry Gardiner on #Newsnight unwilling to defend him (probably no surprise there, but still). The only question is will it be a slow or quick political death? #mandelson
You can’t call many things distinctively British, but the misnomer of ‘Humble Address’ for a political device that compels someone to disclose information is surely quintessentially so. #mandelson
Greenwich and Kent announce merger to become UK’s first ‘super-university’
Greenwich and Kent announce merger to become UK’s first ‘super-university’
Formal approval given for new university group to operate from August, with both institutions keeping their names The universities of Greenwich and Kent have confirmed they have been given formal approval to merge into the UK’s first “super-university”. The merged entity will be the third-largest higher education institution in the UK, the universities said, and is consulting on being named the London and South East University Group. Continue reading...
theguardian.com
What a tragic waste. The UK is completely wrongheaded about what the role of a university is and what it means for society. So weighed down by the baggage of elites and class contempt. #universities www.theguardian.com/environment/...
‘If I think about what this means, I want to cry’: what happens when a city loses its university?
When Essex University’s Southend campus opened, it was a message of hope for a ‘left behind’ UK seaside town. Its closure will be felt far beyond its 800 students, some of whom will not get their degr...
theguardian.com
Dan Neidle’s analysis and his knowledgable eye for detail is precious in making sense of a murky story such as this #Newsnight @danneidle.bsky.social
Man implicated in multiple serious scandals with the rich and powerful over many years such that he was widely known as the ‘Prince of Darkness’ turns out to be massive moral-free zone shock #Newsnight #Mandelson
Mark Carney's speech really is terrific: full text is here and very much worth your time.
The Carney doctrine
Open comment thread on the PM's Davos speech
paulwells.substack.com
The patience of these two women calmly and intelligently rebutting the stupidly bizarre macho ramblings of this Republican on #newsnight is staggering
Victoria Derbyshire@vicderbyshire.bsky.social · 9mo ago#Newsnight 1030pm LIVE • the stakes couldn’t be higher: tomorrow President Trump addresses leaders with THE speech of Davos LIVE • Greenland’s Minister for Natural Resources 🇬🇱 • Republican Congressman who’s introduced a ‘Make Greenland Great Again’ Bill • Geopolitics Ed of The Economist
The fight for the right is not going to be just between reform and the tories but within reform. Farage has never had to deal with ambitious and ruthless competition for leadership before - he has specifically managed to avoid it - and will not handle it well. 🍿 #newsnight
“It’s been an explosive day in the fight for the Right” great intro sequence on #newsnight tonight. #Jenrick
The same policy will have v different meaning according to the party that promotes it. #DigitalID from Reform, for example, wd be seen as creating hostile environment for migrants. But from Labour govt it’s understood as meaning something else. Shift in public opinion is unsurprising. #politicslive
Mandelson’s apology over #Epstein about as sincere and credible as Zahawi’s explanation for defecting to Reform #Newsnight
“The key to understanding the relationship is recognition of the importance of empathy and emotion for political representation” blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
Why the constituency work of MPs bears comparison with social work | British Politics and Policy at LSE
Jo Warner reports on a qualitative study using semi-structured interviews with thirteen MPs. The aim of the research was to find out what characterises their constituency work and to understand why it...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Jo Warner@jowarner01.bsky.social · 9mo agoAn emotional connection cannot be conjured up by PowerPoint presentation. This deficit is another reason to listen to backbench MPs. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
An emotional connection cannot be conjured up by PowerPoint presentation. This deficit is another reason to listen to backbench MPs. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Government lacks emotional link with voters, cabinet ministers warned
Morgan McSweeney says Labour needs emotion, empathy and evidence, sources say
theguardian.com
One of the most lopsided results you'll ever see in a poll, from our weekend Washington Post poll www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int...
Fascinating and rare insight into this moment in history #TiananmenSquare “I said I had a different opinion on this matter. I said this was a mass political incident, and it should primarily be resolved through political means.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Rare footage from trial of Chinese general who defied Tiananmen crackdown order leaked online
Video shows Gen Xu Qinxian explaining why he refused to deploy troops to crush 1989 student-led demonstrations
theguardian.com
“Dao said its research had found 18- to 34-year-olds send two to three times as many letters as other age groups, citing the trend researcher Mads Arlien-Søborg, who puts the rise down to young people ‘looking for a counterbalance to digital oversaturation’.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
Danish postal service to stop delivering letters after 400 years
PostNord’s decision to end service on 30 December comes after fear over ‘increasing digitalisation’ of Danish society
theguardian.com
A reminder, if any were needed, of how unpleasant Johnson was and still is. And the Daily Fail continues to give him space for this poisonous stuff.
Toby Earle 🇺🇦@tobyontv.bsky.social · 10mo agoJo Cox was murdered before the vote by a far-right terrorist & this is the language this complete disgrace chooses to use
Some of the best political reporting these days is coming out of Rolling Stone magazine. This piece is among the most important I've read recently: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...
Melissa Hortman Died in a Shocking Act of Political Violence. This Is the Story of Her Life
Melissa Hortman died in a shocking act of political violence. This is her story
rollingstone.com
“3 questions on eponymous facial hairstyles: first, a moustache named after a fictional criminal mastermind…it is long, thin and styled downwards…” #universitychallenge
God turns out to be a rather fickle entity that will bat for any and every side that cares to ask shock www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
C of E responds to Tommy Robinson’s carols event with ‘Christmas is for all’ message
Release of 43-second video comes as senior church figures speak out against dangers of Christian nationalism
theguardian.com
