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Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley

@ardernkate.bsky.social
3.7K followers 2.5K following 1.2K posts

Public health doctor, hon Professor @salforduniversity, health policy wonk, former Director of Public Health, Scouser & @FT Women of 2020 ❤️all arts especially music & film, wildlife, photography, history, politics & sci-fi

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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 4h
Healey's Treasury already faces intense pressure as eg today's report from @theifs.bsky.social reveals - current policies being pursued by his colleagues in Home Office are going to make these problems worse. Would be nice if the linkage of these things was ever recognised www.ft.com/content/6198...
ft.com
Healey’s Budget will be ‘fiction’ without plan for £35bn hole in spending, IFS warns
Influential think-tank says a ‘do-nothing’ fiscal event on October 28 is not an option
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 6h
Another on the list of "things that are obvious from the evidence yet ignored" is "current immigration policy will deliver a great big hole in future budgets". The OBR currently assumes net migration bottoms out at 200k then rises. That isn't going to happen
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 5h
'The closure of three specialist programmes at the Edinburgh College of Art will have a disproportionate impact on women, the head of Craft Scotland has warned.' Tip of an unacknowledged, unexamined iceberg. Arts & Humanities losses likely disproportionately affect women, students w/ disabilities.
heraldscotland.com
University's arts closures will disproportionately affect women, warns craft body
Ms Kernan questioned whether Edinburgh University management had carried out an equality impact assessment prior to making the decision to close the programmes.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Mark Thompson @markreckons.bsky.social · 18h
Why on earth does this BBC piece on Burnham telling an interviewer the UK security services confirmed Russian interference in the Brexit referendum require a response from a pro Brexit pressure group? It's literally our Prime Minister telling us about election security. It's nothing to do with them.
The prime minister told The Rest is Politics podcast that upon arriving in No 10, he had asked about possible Russian interference in the 2016 vote, adding: "I've had the clear answer that, yes, there was."

"I think we've been too much on the back foot on that actually and we haven't informed people sufficiently about the extent to which people are seeking to disrupt the political process from overseas," he added.

Burnham did not provide further details about the type or extent of Moscow's activity during the Brexit referendum.

Britain Unbound, a pro-Brexit campaign group, said Burnham's comments were "another crude attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the decision that the British people made in 2016".

It said that foreign interference in UK elections was "obviously unacceptable" but added: "There is no good reason to believe that Russian intervention influenced the outcome of the referendum in 2016.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 11/10/2026
One of South London’s very best. Great to see plans for London to celebrate David Bowie’s extraordinary legacy as we look ahead to what would have been his 80th birthday.
standard.co.uk
David Bowie’s 80th birthday will be marked with major London celebrations
The Starman would have turned 80 in a few months - and London is already gearing up to celebrate his enduring legacy
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Dr. Todd Arrington @btarrington.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
“Democracy, freedom, human rights have come to have a definite meaning to the people of the world which we must not allow any nation to so change that they are made synonymous with suppression & dictatorship.” ~Eleanor Roosevelt, 1948. Eleanor Roosevelt was born OTD in 1884. Image: Public domain.
This black and white photo shows a woman in a dark dress, Eleanor Roosevelt, sitting with her hands folded in front of her.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Mark Chadbourn @chadbourn.bsky.social · 16h
“The prime minister told The Rest is Politics podcast that upon arriving in No 10, he had asked about possible Russian interference in the 2016 (Brexit) vote, adding: "I've had the clear answer that, yes, there was."”
bbc.co.uk
PM says it is 'clear' Russia interfered with Brexit referendum
He says voters were not "sufficiently" informed about how foreign actors sought to disrupt UK democracy.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 16h
There is 73% support in Britain for the principle of refugee protection - including in the UK - while 20% are opposed to this. The peak of support was 2022 at 80% (largely because the images from Ukraine had more impact than images from the Channel that year, though boats + migration were high)
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 16h
A decade on, British politics and society still doesn’t grasp the nature of the threat posed to it by Russia.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Really interesting piece this on the Houthis' military capabilities:
ft.com
Houthis show military reach with deadly missile strikes on Riyadh
Yemen’s Iran-backed militants demonstrate that they are not just ‘guys in flip-flops’
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 22h
The 2016 Brexit vote was targeted by Russian “state-sponsored interference”, Andy Burnham has said, as he warned voters in France and Germany about Kremlin-backed attempts to influence their countries’ politics.  www.ft.com/content/4fcb...
ft.com
Russia ‘interfered’ in 2016 Brexit vote, says Andy Burnham
UK prime minister calls for European voters to be better informed about efforts to disrupt democratic process
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Henry Foy @henryjfoy.ft.com · 20h
💥 The Trump administration has threatened European capitals that it could stop paid-for weapons shipments to Ukraine if Kyiv does not halt its deep strikes on Russian energy infrastructure, officials told @christopherjm.ft.com and me @financialtimes.com as.ft.com/r/bc5bd7e2-3...
as.ft.com
US threatens to block arms for Ukraine over attacks on Russian refineries
Officials lobby European capitals and Kyiv following Trump’s diesel deal with Putin
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
We're already at war with Russia, exhibit 2342:
ft.com
Russia steps up bid to kill European defence chiefs, spy agencies warn
Companies increase personal security for top executives as Kremlin orders expansion of sabotage and ‘hybrid’ operations
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Rachel Fairbank @sweetsciencewriter.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
“The children who are randomly selected not to receive the birth dose of the vaccine, those who “lost the lottery”, face in their earliest days the risk of contracting hepatitis B, which can cause irreversible lifelong damage.” No words. I am speechless. This violates all ethical boundaries.
theguardian.com
Controversial vaccine trial touted by RFK Jr gets go-ahead in Guinea-Bissau
Recommended dose of hepatitis B vaccine will be withheld from thousands of newborns by Danish researchers
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 21h
This is a truly grotesque "trial" of a vaccine known to be safe and effective. It will in practice randomly withhold that treatment from a percentage of children to see what happens. It is absolutely the reverse of good practice.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Street Kids, Glasgow, c.1949-51, painting by Joan Eardley, Scottish artist, 1921-63 (National Galleries of Scotland).
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 18h
It's this kind of behaviour from Russia that means we could soon find ourselves in a unpredictable escalation. www.ft.com/content/5da2...
ft.com
Russia steps up bid to kill European defence chiefs, spy agencies warn
Companies increase personal security for top executives as Kremlin orders expansion of sabotage and ‘hybrid’ operations
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
James O’Brien @mrjamesob.bsky.social · 19h
Trump’s obeisance to Putin has been established beyond even the vaguest scintilla of doubt; the possibility of another January 6-style assault on US democracy after/during the mid-terms is clearly acute and ‘we’ are still wary of calling fascism fascism. These are the moments…
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
'Schools should consider changing start and finish times, reordering holidays and moving exams from the summer months in an effort to adapt to the UK’s increasingly severe heatwaves, according to the leader of the country’s biggest education union.'
theguardian.com
Retrofit schools and consider moving exams to beat extreme heat, says teaching union leader
NEU’s Daniel Kebede says earlier start times and longer summer breaks may be needed to help pupils and teachers
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Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley @ardernkate.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
😂😂😂😂👏👏👏👏👏
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
This is the real Russia Report, suppressed five years ago by Boris Johnson “I asked the question coming to Downing Street: was there interference in the 2016 referendum from Russia? And I’ve had the clear answer that yes, there was.” @andyburnham.bsky.social
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Carole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
NEW: Prime Minister Andy Burnham finally breaks a decade of UK govt silence…& reveals there was ‘clear’ Russian interference in the Brexit vote. 1/
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
'Under the changes, the baseline allocation of university-funded research time is being reduced from 600 hours per academic each year to 315. This changes the traditional division of working time: 40% research, 40% teaching and 20% administration.'
nation.cymru
Research cuts make Cardiff Uni ‘a Russell Group university in name only’
Martin Shipton Staff at Cardiff University fear that the near-halving of allocated research time for academics will compromise its status as an elite higher education institution. The university is pr...
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Derailed Coal Tram, c.1941, painting by Vincent Evans, 1896-1976, Welsh artist and former miner (University of South Wales Art Collection Museum).
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Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley @ardernkate.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
I remember getting separate FOI requests for our dragon and zombie defence plans …. 🐉🧟‍♀️
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Dr Pop Culture USA @drpopcultureusa.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
October 10, 1903: The Women's Social and Political Union was formed by Emmeline Pankhurst to fight for women's rights in Britain.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
🧵The Second Siege of Hull reached its dramatic climax on 11 October 1643, marking a pivotal turning point in the First English Civil War. For six grueling weeks, the Earl of Newcastle’s Royalist army bombarded the vital Parliamentary stronghold. However,
 An engraved bird's-eye plan and panoramic view of Kingston upon Hull "The Towne of Hull", created around 1640–1642 by the Bohemian printmaker Wenceslaus Hollar. Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
'Despite Foreign Office guidance advising against all travel to Syria because of the “volatile” security situation, the government has classified it as a safe place for refugees to return to.'
theguardian.com
Surgeon faces deportation as Home Office revokes refugee status for Syrians
UK classifies Syria as safe to return to despite UN refugee body’s advice
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Restore Britain supporters are sharing Britain First's petition to deport Kemi Badenoch
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Jodrell Bank in Cheshire, the world’s largest steerable dish radio telescope at the time (now the third largest). was switched on in 1957 on this day. Built by Bernard Lovell, it was the only radar device that could track the carrier rocket of the Soviet Union’s Sputnik I.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
LAFAYETTE @lastudiolafayette.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
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Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Smartly dressed village children in Scholes, near Rotherham, south Yorkshire, 1906. Almost all the working population in the village were coal miners.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
So, finally, a PM who admits there **was** Russian interference in the Brexit Referendum — after all the evidence amassed by myself @carolecadwalla.bsky.social @lukeharding1968.bsky.social Sergei Cristo, J Patrick et al — dismissed as conspiracy for ten long years Truth is the daughter of Time
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
‘The English belief that they have the oldest and firmest nation-state, or the Spanish belief that they are on the front line with Islam – go straight back to the middle ages. The medieval period lies at the origin of modern myth-making.’ Chris Wickham RIP www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/publishing/r...
thebritishacademy.ac.uk
Chris Wickham: interview
This is the latest in a series of interviews with Fellows of the British Academy, showing leading humanities and social sciences academics at work.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
🧵Just over the Lancashire border lies the enchanting (the only word for it) hamlet of Wycoller. The ancient village has three notable bridges although the beck is bridged seven times in total. One is the medieval packhorse bridge below dating from between the 13-15th centuries although
The medieval packhorse bridge at Wycoller dating from between the 13-15th centuries although probably reconstructed at a later date. It is also locally known as "Sally's Bridge" after a member of the Cunliffe family who lived in nearby Wycoller Hall. Image: Karl Davison CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Starry Night, painting by Spennymoor-born Norman Cornish (1919-2014). He was a coal miner for 33 years.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Peter Stefanovic @peterstefanovic.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
Andy Burnham first PM to confirm Kremlin role in Brexit vote The prime minister has revealed UK authorities told him there was ‘clear evidence’ that Moscow meddled in the referendum observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk
From Russia with interference: Burnham first PM to confir...
The prime minister has revealed UK authorities told him there was ‘clear evidence’ that Moscow meddled in the referendum
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
In the least surprising news of the century, vast majority of racist flag shaggers who go about brandishing crosses and saying that we're a Christian country... don't pray, or go to church or read the Bible www.theguardian.com/world/2026/o...
theguardian.com
Christian nationalism in Britain driven by people who seldom go to church, says report
Research challenges the notion that the growing visibility of crosses and other symbols reflects a revival of Christianity
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
TL;DR - thanks to interaction of decisions it controls and rules it sets which use outcomes of those decisions as a performance metric, HO has acquired a power to unilaterally shape policy in areas well beyond its remit. Doesn’t seem like a good situation to me.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Christabel Cooper @christabelcoops.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Thoughts on Holborn & St P: Not ideal Green territory. May's locals were a Labour-Green toss-up here, so with Labour's position improving under Burnham, a fairly comfortable hold was to be expected. But it means that in the places where the Greens actually beat Labour in May, they remain a threat.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Also relevant to PM, who would want to maintain good relations with large strategic partners like Pakistan and Nigeria, and who has made “growth in every postcode” one of his taglines. Harder to get that growth if the largest employer/innovator in many towns is cutting staff due to funding crisis.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
One would think this dynamic might be of interest to the Education Secretary, because HO is changing HE funding situation unilaterally; the Treasury, for similar reasons; and the Foreign Office because “we won’t take students from your country” has significant foreign policy implications
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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
It would seem the Home Office has now acquired the ability to impose, without visibility or accountability, shadow bans on students coming to British universities from particular countries. How? Because of the interaction between indiv visa decisions (made by HO alone) and visa rules for unis 1/?
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History and Heritage Yorkshire @handhyorkshire.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Autumn Leaves at Nostell Priory near Wakefield courtesy of Tim Hill, Public Domain. As well as the stunning tree colour, there are treasures to be found on the ground as conkers, acorns and beechnuts ripen and fall. Autumn is also the time to spot woodland fungi natures own recyclers.
Autumn Leaves at Nostell Priory near Wakefield courtesy of Tim Hill, Public Domain. As well as the stunning tree colour, there are treasures to be found on the ground as conkers, acorns and beechnuts ripen and fall.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Liverpool, 1956, photo by Thurston Hopkins.
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paulusthewoodgnome @paulusthewoodgnome.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
'Tom Watson, the owner of recruitment firm Futura Energy Group, is at the centre of a "doxxing" campaign against the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), anti-racism activists and business executives who recruit black, Asian and minority ethnic workers.' www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Recruitment boss accused of being behind ‘doxxing’ campaign against RNLI and anti-racism activists
Tom Watson, of Worcester, alleged to be behind Big Time Charlie X account that created so-called Traitorbase
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Those who were old enough to vote in 2016 but didn’t also now break heavily Remain. So three forces all steadily pulling electorate in same direction. The politics which makes sense in a 52/48 nation may not make sense in a 40/60 nation. And we are 40/60 nation now.
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Reposted by Kate Ardern@KateAlvanley
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10/10/2026
Also obvious and often forgotten: underlying maths here changed. A lot of people still analyse politics of Brexit as if the split in the public is still 52/48, with leave both an overall majority and more efficiently spread, with most seats majority Leave. None of that true now
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RoseMarie @rosesbloom24.bsky.social · 11/10/2026
“There will never be a new world order until women are a part of it.” — Alice Paul (1885-1977)
Alice Paul (1885-1977)

Feminist. Suffragist. Political Strategist.

A black and white photo of Alice Paul.
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