Complete scenes at St Pancras: whoever is in charge of check in for Eurostar is a sadist
Maria Sobolewska
@profsob.bsky.social
Professor of Political Science at Manchester University. British politics, race and ethnicity, representation.
Two(!) permanent lectureships coming up at Cardiff: One in political behaviour/opinion cardiffuniweb.eploy.net/vacancies/52... One in British politics (very loosely defined) cardiffuniweb.eploy.net/vacancies/53... Feel free to get in touch and I'll be happy to answer any questions I can
cardiffuniweb.eploy.net
We will- I have no doubt- look back at this as one of the greatest scandals of our time. It he killing of the golden goose for the UK. A destruction of one of the most profitable and successful sectors.Yet, for now all politicians have their head in the sand on this one… A critically important read.
Peter Geoghegan@petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 2d agoBehind the bewildering transformation of British universities, are management consultants being paid millions Really proud to have this vital piece on our unis are being gutted from the inside by @jheathershaw.bsky.social on Democracy for Sale. Do read democracyforsale.substack.com/p/inside-bri...
Can Labour build 2 million new homes? Around 18 per cent of new builds are in areas lacking a GP surgery or secondary school. Can data-driven policymaking make sure new homes are built in the right places?
Can Labour Build 2 Million New Homes?
Around 18 per cent of new builds are in areas lacking a GP surgery or secondary school. Can data-driven policymaking make sure new homes are built in the right places?
politicalquarterly.org.uk
Glad someone senior from the sector is pushing back. Labour MPs need to understand the serious real anger from graduates and the people who produce them. And the dangerous financial situation they have allowed to fester, or indeed worsened, in one of Britain’s leading sectors.
Labour has harmed universities as much as Trump, London School of Economics head says
LSE vice-chancellor Larry Kramer points to domestic student fees freeze, international student limits and rise in employers’ national insurance
ft.com
More @instituteforgovernment.org.uk initial reactions to the rewiring the state cabinet statement. TLDR - the scale of ambition is bold so a lot to unpack 🧵
This is Beily. He was miraculously found alive under rubble 29 days after the Venezuela earthquakes. He has since been reunited with his 11-year-old human Victoria and is expected to make a full recovery. 14/10 for all (TT: fuerzavzla1)
Amazing self-trolling. Also: such a beautiful part of the world 😢 Of course this is also where I booked a holiday this year…
Anthony Painter@anthonypainter.bsky.social · 2w agoWhoever designed this Times front page has a dark and wicked sense of ironic humour. Hyper-sensitivity to predictable technical challenges of energy transition. Meanwhile, Europe burns.
This is all so weird in Manchester today, crowds of people stood round looking at a generic 1980s office block, Slug and Lettuce doing a roaring trade, plus a fake No 10 door, what a time to be alive
They don't just employ ivory tower academics, they employ administrators, caterers, cleaners, electricians, plumbers, gardeners, caretakers, medical staff, etc etc etc. By closing a university you're not just punishing the academic elite. You're punishing a glorious cross-section of society.
This gets me the most. People don't care because they assume unis only employ pompous academics. But the news never covers all the non-academic staff losing jobs. And certainly not all the low paid jobs. Its just stupid!
New @instituteforgovernment.org.uk comment from me and @aliceolilly.bsky.social Burnham is right to identify parliament as a source of useful scrutiny rather than a problem to be managed, but fixing relations with MPs will require more than warm words and should be backed by bigger changes.
Fixing relations with MPs will require more than warm words from Andy Burnham | Institute for Government
Andy Burnham should be prepared to redistribute power in Parliament.
instituteforgovernment.org.uk
Shut a university, even if you 'avoid a disorderly exit', will have a massive knock on effect in any town or city. Businesses will go under. Shops will shut. Pubs will empty. It won't be just the universities that will suffer. Pretty much everyone will.
Universities and students are not enclosed units, ivory towers separate from the rest of their local communities. They eat and drink (a lot) including spending lots of money in local pubs and restaurants. They shop. They get buses, taxis and Ubers. They put money into local economies.
The frequency of attacks on mosques - over one a week - is somewhat under the media radar. New funding to protect faith/community spaces, but some process barriers re demostrating the threat/risk. A sustained strategy on the causes of hostiliy & hate is essential www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
One UK mosque attacked ‘every five days’, says British Muslim Trust
More than 70 attacks have been recorded over past year, including acts of violence, property damage and vandalism
theguardian.com
A betting account in the name of George Cottrell, the convicted fraudster who bankrolled Nigel Farage, received almost $9mn in cryptocurrency from unidentified sources while he was providing gifts to the Reform UK leader great work from @annasophiegross.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/b74c...
Betting account in George Cottrell’s name received $9mn in crypto from unidentified sources
Deposits in Polymarket wallet came as convicted fraudster was providing gifts to Farage
ft.com
Our brand new report makes 28 recommendations across seven policy areas for how to safeguard the UK constitution and protect the integrity of our democracy. Read a summary 👉 blogs.ucl.ac.uk/constitution.... Review the recommendations 👇
Safeguarding the Constitution: Key Steps to Strengthen UK Democratic Resilience Our latest report, by @lisajames.bsky.social, Meg Russell and @alanrenwick.bsky.social, sets out concrete reforms in a number of areas to safeguard the constitution and protect the integrity of democracy. Read it 👇
New Constitution Unit report makes recommendations to safeguard UK democracy
A new Constitution Unit report, Safeguarding the Constitution: Key Steps to Strengthen UK Democratic Resilience, by Lisa James, Meg Russell and Alan Renwick, focuses on protecting the constitution.
ucl.ac.uk
And who will go to these pubs and clubs and work in these pubs and clubs once your universities go bust? In many places the main clientele and workforce is students. Hoping against hope AB will stop the hate campaign on universities
Financial Times@financialtimes.com · 2w agoBurnham announces cut to business rates for pubs and clubs ft.trib.al/sovy18K
Research has identified gaps between projected funding and projected spending needs of local government funding in England of £9.3 billion by 2026–27. But if fiscal devolution is the answer for English local government, what is the question? politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/what-pe...
On 14 Sept, MPs will debate a petition calling for a referendum on public ownership of water Govt already rejected the idea in April, saying: "Nationalisation would take years and involve complex legal processes, diverting effort...We are taking action now through stronger regulation & enforcement"
I agree with this assessment, having worked in the social tech space for decades. Social media is more often a lifeline for isolated kids. Anecdotally my daughter uses social media (vs social games, etc) less than I do and is very cautious about what she shares. Stop looking for easy answers.
The Guardian@theguardian.com · 3w ago‘Social media bans are likely to make things worse’: psychologist Candice Odgers on kids, tech and mental health
Yes, but they’ll never know this as they cut all the SHAPE subjects at universities
Rachel Happe@rhappe.bsky.social · 3w agoThis anti-tech stance for teens is actually a symptom of industrial thinking - that solutions to human problems are linear or mechanical in nature (a + b = c). Human and relational issues are complex, as opposed to complicated. There is not one lever of influence.
Good data is essential for policy. Today it’s been a year since we had a permanent National Statistician. No news on what is happening with the current recruitment which began Oct 2025. This is an under the bonnet issue that points to state failure 🧵 uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/news/stateme...
Statement: Sir Ian Diamond steps down as National Statistician
Today the UK Statistics Authority has announced the resignation of Sir Ian Diamond as the UK’s National Statistician. Since joining the organisation more than five and a half years ago, Sir Ian has l...
uksa.statisticsauthority.gov.uk
‘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...
Humanities among degrees being ‘extinguished’ by hard-up universities
Exclusive: Experts fear rise in education ‘cold spots’ and social immobility as 4,000 academic posts lost in one year
theguardian.com
