please sign these petition, started by British Library workers, demanding that the okans to privatise reading rooms and outsource security services are halted. (I for one had not realised the plan included the latter: the security staff at the BL are lovely and it would be awful to see them lost)

Stop the Privatisation of the British Library!

On 16 October, Jeremy Silver, Interim Chief Executive Officer, announced to staff that British Library management intends to: • Close parts of the Library, including the Science Reading Rooms, with th...

megaphone.org.uk

Main reflection from my diet of entirely American and South African politics this week...British political culture is diminished by not having speeches from the back of bakkies/pickup trucks! Full cowboy-isation now! I want Ange in a Stetson in Ashton in the IKEA carpark!

The British People watching on helplessly as I, a foreign-born, wander London spending too much on little baked goods: WHEN WILL IT STOP, OH THE HUMANITY!

Jonathan Portes@jdportes.bsky.social · 3w ago

Enoch Powell level bile and lies from the Times www.thetimes.com/comment/the-...

on Naza, I have many disjointed thoughts. Mostly how very lucky we are to be soft, to not know that violence up close, to not know how monstrous we could become. Rearmament might be a necessity, but it will remake us. We should not cheer that, and should try our hardest to make it a last resort.

This great edition of Renewal, read in conjunction with JBM's latest, poses a challenge for some of our lazy socdem assumptions that decline in associational life is about 'at-home' beating 'going out' on cost or is the fault of austerity/neoliberalism/capitalism www.ft.com/content/989c...

Why have screens replaced socialising?

The economics of why we increasingly avoid the company of both other humans and books

ft.com

David Klemperer@dmk1793.bsky.social · 4w ago

In the Editorial, I draw on the many brilliant essays within the issue to argue for a "Pro-social social democracy" - one that treats enabling and encouraging social connection as one of its defining purposes

Come find the team at Labour Party Conference. Incredibly proud of our brilliant programme of panels this year!

UCL Policy Lab@uclpolicylab.bsky.social · last mo.

🧵Following on from the Lib Dem and Reform conferences, we're now at Labour. Join us in Liverpool for our packed programme. Kicking off today, discussing the case for multilateralism with @kirstymcneill.bsky.social @uclspp.bsky.social @ucl.ac.uk @wordsaredeeds.bsky.social @kiranstacey.bsky.social

"This is not my Zionism" writes the president of the UK Jewish Board of Deputies today. Good for you, but this is the Zionism that exists. Is it about time to start treating Israel as a real state and not as a fairy tale?

Yair Wallach@yairwallach.bsky.social · 2mo ago

The Knesset barred today the only two Palestinian led parties from running in the coming election. According to an overwhelming majority in the Knesset, the constitutional meaning of a Jewish State is a state where Palestinian citizens cannot run for parliament.

Just immeasurably proud of all those in my community joining the government in showing moral clarity and leadership rjgordon.substack.com/p/an-open-le...

An Open Letter on Settler Violence and British Sanctions

I’ve witnessed and experienced settler violence first-hand.

rjgordon.substack.com

now and forever not my chief rabbi!

Nadine Batchelor-Hunt@nadinebh.bsky.social · 2mo ago

This is an overtly political statement unbecoming for a chief rabbi that conflates Jews and Israel and does not represent the views of me or people like me I could say more, but it’s almost Rosh Hashanah and I don’t want to start the new year badly - and, frankly, its awfulness speaks for itself

Will also say beyond my general disavowal of this letter written in the name of my community, there is something deeply pernicious about the phrase "extremist settlers". Being a settler is an extremist thing to do, no matter the attempts at normalisation of that act by its cheerleaders.

I'm sorry this has sent me, I can't stop laughing! Maurice goes to Dollywood

Here is a gift link to Simon Schama's appreciation of David Hockney's life and art which we ran last year. It's an amazing piece and contains, as you might imagine, some spectacular pictures including an absolute corker of Hackney with Lucian Freud as.ft.com/r/f1473f70-0...

Great to see parts of my community calling out the @boardofdeputies.bsky.social for demanding antiracist solidarity for me but not for thee!

We cannot effectively fight antisemitism if we tolerate other forms of hatred

We should be cautious about aligning with anyone who offers vocal support for Jews while expressing or excusing hostility toward Muslims, immigrants, asylum seekers or Palestinians

jewishnews.co.uk

popped back to the other place and my feed is currently full of fancam allegations of a torrid affair between Wes Streeting and Owen Jones c.2010.

Any effective 'whole society' effort against antisemitism does involve asking other groups, whether they are professional bodies or communal orgs, to marginalise and criticise within their own camp, sometimes at great difficulty. Zero prospect of achieving that if we won't do that ourselves.

I'm now watching a Haringey Council nailbiter. Last ward to declare. Greens one seat away from taking the council off Labour outright rather than NOC. I imagine this is what you lot feel when you're worried your team is going to be relegated!

"Almost every plotline in the narrative of Britain’s malaise, on both left and right, among the apolitical and hyper-online, can be traced back to local government" @anooshc.bsky.social on how years of Westminister failure is turning up at council doors www.newstatesman.com/politics/ele...

The Town Hall Theory of Everything

In local elections, road problems rank ahead of the cost of living

newstatesman.com

I’m biased, but brilliant analysis from colleagues @uclpolicylab.bsky.social and @moreincommonuk.bsky.social on the sentiments underpinning yesterday‘s drubbing of the big 2 parties! www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...

Disrespected Britain punishing Starmer in local and devolved elections

New analysis from UCL Policy Lab and More in Common shows that a failure to respect ordinary people has led voters to desert the established parties in favour of populist challengers.

ucl.ac.uk

Probably says more about my mental state on the week of locals/devolved elections, but bawling at Jo and Kush's friendship on #RaceAcrossTheWorld

Must know is the wheels on the bus "all through the town" vs "all day long" a Anglo-American schism or was my family/school just wrong?

Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani@mayor.nyc.gov · 7mo ago

Spent Saturday with President Obama and New York's Cutest — turns out my first name is Mayor and I need to be doing more squats.  Here’s to building a City where families can thrive and every classroom is full of this much joy.

tears, literal tears, streaming down my face at that final. Never underestimate the power of a mum and her fawning gay colleague!

The education system is failing too many working-class pupils, but we can turn it around. Jonathan Slater, Former Perm Sect at the Department for Education on BBC Radio 4 Today, discussing a new report from the UCL Policy Lab on how we can improve standards for poorer pupils.

Really interesting piece by James Baggaley on the dangers of policy without people - and the real divide within Labour: www.newstatesman.com/politics/202...

Steve Reed’s Yimbyism can’t win

To connect to voters, politics needs to be rooted in place and community

newstatesman.com

We were joined by leaders from across Britain for a celebration of what brings us together. In partnership with @citizensuk.org @moreincommonuk.bsky.social and @belongnetwork.bsky.social. Thank you to all those who came along.

Anyone at labour conference, come down to camp and furnace for Campaign Lab Fringe @campaignlabscrape.bsky.social to learn from some of the best campaigners in the game!

What's Nigel Farage's problem with solar panels?

We're hiring 🚨 Join the team as our new Project Network Coordinator (Community-led Public Service Reform). Help us build the movement for putting communities at the centre of public service innovation! You can read more about the role and apply here 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/work-at-ucl/...

I am running the Hackney Half for Summer Hype in just 1 week! I know there are lots of requests for sponsoring atm but I would be so appreciative if you could spare just a little bit - this will be the best money you spend all month!