So his government will drive practical education into the ground too? Odd message.

UK Gov again trying to do research and HE on the cheap. When they hit science like this you can imagine how far they go with humanities etc. we cut research and HE, the basic fuel for the engine of regional growth, and wonder why our economy is sputtering… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands

Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.

bbc.co.uk

Is my union really suggesting we reject a pay offer that includes joint campaign with employers to save post-18 education along with other vital work to address precarious employment that has become a trap for ECRs, and go on strike?

I can’t see the Greens, especially under Polanski, not standing against Farage. Hope they prove me wrong, but alas I don’t think they will.

A diversion from my usual talk about archives, history and radical politics - but I can't help but think at the price point they have had to release the Steam Machine at, Valve would have been much better off just saying they wouldn't release it at a price they were not happy with and shelving it.

Now on a related theme we have @narson.bsky.social : Nostalgia for pre-Modern White America: The Fiction of Tito Perdue. Perdue is a novelist in the picaresque tradition, and he is also a proud member of a neo-Confederate movement.

It is a sad statement on modern Britain that we now have political parties arguing over who has the best and most coherent policy to forcibly deport people.

The EHRC guidance appears quite callous to be honest - bits that boil down to 'trans people can just use disabled loos' are just horrendous. I expect MPs to enter their objections against this - especially Lib Dem MPs - but it says something that I hold little hope.

Just struck me that if Starmer goes, Ed Davey ends up being the last of the mainstream party leaders from the dissolution of the 2019-2024 Parliament standing. Dear God.

Also rather concerning, if they do oust Starmer...well, even if they don't TBH, does he have the resolve and strength now for the EU Reset Bill? Easiest economic win is moving towards re-alignment - and Labour have few paths to economic wins if they keep to their fiscal rules. Utter madness.

‘Yes, breaking news here. Wes Streeting is apparently keen to make his case to Labour Party members to become the next Prime Minister. A spokesperson told me his message is: ‘what if the ongoing drift to the right was continued but orchestrated by a goblin from the film Labyrinth?’ A strong pitch.’

Labour is being rather foolish, to put it mildly. A circular firing squad that will fuel factionalism, will entrench the narrative from the left and right of the old system breaking, and where they don't have a popular successor. They need better comms, ditch economic red lines, and get on with it.

My contributor copy arrived today - really excited to read the other chapters! And do the usual thing of avoiding reading the chapter I did with the amazing @siobhanhyland.bsky.social - any brilliant bits Siobhan gets the credit, any bad bits I’ll take the blame!

In case you missed it, a couple of weeks ago a blog went up from @pnjackson.bsky.social on our site - looking at how the extreme right make use of dogwhistles, hiding their messages within what may be common language that for them has layered meanings. www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo...

Extreme Right Explainer: What is an extreme right ‘dog whistle’? | UON

Use of coded and ambiguous language, hidden messages and multiple layers of meaning are common features of far and extreme right politics, past and...

northampton.ac.uk

The latest blog is up! Following on from Prof. Paul Jackson's look at dogwhistles, Dr Dan Jones talks about how the extreme right have engaged with environmentalism - using mainstream language to cloak concept-dense narratives. www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo...

Hiding in plain sight – the extreme right and environmentalism | UON

The environment has moved increasingly into a mainstream debate over the last 30 years, so it is not a surprise that the extreme right have sought to...

northampton.ac.uk

Today our seminar is by the great Kate McCoubrey, exploring the Women's Division of the British Movement and activity in the Welsh Borderlands. You can read her great recent (open access) piece at compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...

The Jewish News, which I am proud to work for as Deputy Editor, has published an editorial on this week's Iftar prayers in Trafalgar Square www.jewishnews.co.uk/voice-of-the...

The last few days to get an abstract in for our conference on the 12th of June, run in collaboration with CST's SAFE team. Emotion, Nationalism and Extremism - Contexts and Responses. In person at Northampton, deadline for abstracts 15th March. www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo...

The legacy of Churchill is complex (in ways the debate around him usually isn't) - but there are a lot of incredibly racist and problematic things that make championing him an uncomfortable choice for a liberal leader. Perhaps Ed is a true fan of Churchill, but it feels like cheap jingoism.

Ed Davey@eddavey.libdems.org.uk · 5mo ago

Winston Churchill helped defeat fascism in Europe. He deserves better than being replaced by a badger 🦡

It's certainly been a year so far in terms of my health, a very long year. But finally got my heart whibbles treated, and of course it is far worse for many others right now. And I'm writing again - heart made it hard to work, and I'm very grateful for the patience of editors!

Good news that Reform lost. And congratulations to the Greens, who are now ahead of the DUP in MPs. Much like Orpington, I suspect the biggest message is for the ruling party - Liberals thought Orpington meant a breakthrough, but 1964 taught them that it would be a marathon, not a sprint.

Last week we said goodbye to antifascist legend Gerry Gable. Was really honoured to be there, and more than a little emotional. I’d known Gerry for about 15 years, and he has had a profound impact on my life, as he did for many others. Miss you Gerry - and rest well. You deserve it.

Last year Lenny Zeskind, this year so far Gerry Gable and now Chip Berlet. It feels like we are losing a generation of activists whose lessons we seem not to have yet fully absorbed.

Idavox@idavox.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Chip Berlet (1949-2026) When neo-fascists began to be followed and recorded, it was Chip that was the one who made the first moves. He gave us the blueprint that antifascist researchers go by today. Thank you, Chip, we will take it from here.

Fascism is a revolutionary political faith, but it is one that can come to power through democratic means. When it emerges into a state already formed, it has a state with its powerful institutions intact - but also the democratic inertia built up over decades and centuries of rule of law.

Another day, another defection, another tapping of the sign. The most successful democratic party in the west hollowed itself out and seems to be at risk of sinking over the past decade - are there enough moderate mainstream Conservatives left to right the ship when the loons fly off to a new lake?

Daniel Jones@narson.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The hollowing out of talent in the Tories post-Cameron and the promotion of people of dubious quality has left them exposed to these 'former minister' defects stories. They had many ministers who aren't serious people - and now they go where unserious people go. Reform. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'The technology must be used because otherwise the boom [or bubble] fails' is such a bad argument. Why does it need wider adoption? It has specific use cases where the cost is worth it. Beyond that? Get back to developing actual artificial intelligence. And for God's sake, employ ethicists.

The Irish Times@irishtimes.com · 7mo ago

AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns

If the US treats its allies as hostile powers, it may find that those allies no longer think it is safe to have signals and air bases of the US on their land. The US is a huge power, but its ability to project that power has long relied on bases across the world.

I mean. Forever true I guess.

Daniel Jones@narson.bsky.social · 7mo ago

The hollowing out of talent in the Tories post-Cameron and the promotion of people of dubious quality has left them exposed to these 'former minister' defects stories. They had many ministers who aren't serious people - and now they go where unserious people go. Reform. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

The hollowing out of talent in the Tories post-Cameron and the promotion of people of dubious quality has left them exposed to these 'former minister' defects stories. They had many ministers who aren't serious people - and now they go where unserious people go. Reform. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Former Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi defects to Reform UK

Zahawi, who was chancellor for two months when Boris Johnson was prime minister, is the latest former Tory MP to join Nigel Farage's party.

bbc.co.uk

Gerry Gable, long-time editor of Searchlight, sadly died last weekend. The work of Gerry and his comrades forms our Searchlight Collection, the heart of the Searchlight Archive, and we are honoured to continue his legacy in some small way. Rest well, Gerry. www.northampton.ac.uk/news/remembe...