iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 2h

Something Oxford’s special educational ChatGPT said when I prompted it to justify prioritizing that investment: “The human tutor acquires claims on the institution…they can object to working conditions; they might demand a permanent contract.” It gets it! 😝

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lawofprotest.bsky.social @lawofprotest.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Amid all the talk of lawfulness, unlawfulness and the rule of law, it's important to remember that it's peaceful assembly that is protected by human rights law - not merely lawful assembly. #ParadesCommission #Garvaghy #Drumcree #PSNI

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Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan @london.gov.uk · 29/09/2026

Access to culture is a right, not a privilege. Keeping museums free means millions can continue to explore, learn and be inspired, regardless of their background or income. That's good for London, and good for ensuring cost is never a barrier to discovery.

theartnewspaper.com

Culture secretary confirms free admission for all at England’s national museums will remain

The announcement by Lisa Nandy, the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, came after recent discussions of introducing admission fees for overseas visitors

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 16h

'Unspecified proposals by UK Research and Innovation to phase out some “specific” QR funding streams could reduce institutional diversity and weaken regional research capacity, specialist universities have warned.'

timeshighereducation.com

UKRI’s plans to cut QR funding risk ‘weakening regional capacity’

Proposed loss of certain quality-related streams could undermine specialist institutions’ ability to build research capacity

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

When I attended a broadly CoE secondary school after Catholic primary school, I (backed by my Irish family!) was a conscientious objector to the nationalist/imperialist hymns or ones with Berengarianist heresies!

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 24/09/2026

Never been to the opera before? Now’s your chance. We’re giving away 70,000 free tickets to the @metopera at the iconic Lincoln Center. Go to on.nyc.gov/opera to enter the lottery. There’s not a bad seat in the house.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

If the horrible but all too imaginable outcome happens, surely manslaughter if not murder charges. And I can think of a few offences that might apply to slashing a dinghy with a rescuer on board (eg criminal damage endangering life).

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

@gwr.com You’re advertising an Oxford-London fare starting from £6.50. BR Fares confirms this advance single fare should be available. But suddenly as of today you have none on sale whatsoever. Would you like to clarify for Oxford-London commuters if you’ve withdrawn the fare—in effect a 215% hike?

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Chris Millard @chrismillard83.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

“Universities have managed staff costs significantly below inflation,[between 2016-17 and 2023-24] increasing only 14% compared to the 41.2% increase in RPIX [measure of inflation]” Substantial real terms pay cut, which continues a trend existing years before that…

gov.uk

Cost of undergraduate provision and qualifications in England

A study of the full economic cost of providing undergraduate-level higher education and other qualifications in England.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

We need to make a clearer case for culture as a structural precondition for a prosperous and thriving society, not as something nice-to-have. And it will take some creative imagination beyond the visitor economy and supply chain or labour mobility mediated spillovers to demonstrate this.

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Asylum Welcome @asylumwelcome.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Asylum seekers don't choose where they're accommodated. They deserve to live in dignity and safety while their claims are considered. That's why we're calling for community-based accommodation rather than large, isolated sites. Read more on our website: www.asylum-welcome.org/bicester-news/

asylum-welcome.org

Asylum Welcome responds to plans for large-scale asylum accommodation at MOD Bicester - Asylum Welcome

Please help us support more refugees, like Hira, who built a community in her asylum centre, when we helped fund her an art class.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

This does feel like quite a low bar given the burning pyres around the country

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

*That* thread could at least have identified some of the genuine issues with Jäger’s argument. Instead it engages in that particularly pointless epistemic vice of accusing the other of being epistemically vicious.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

As the FT reports the government is considering charging international visitors, a reminder of the charity law considerations and a question about whether they’ve really considered the dynamic public value of free access: www.stoneking.co.uk/literature/e...

stoneking.co.uk

What would it really mean to end free admission to our national museums?

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The Policy Institute @policyatkings.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

NEW: London has among the lowest violent crime rates in England & Wales, tops a ranking of best cities, and pays more in tax than it gets back – but the public overestimate crime risk, underestimate its standing, and don't know it's a net fiscal contributor. Our latest Mistaken Britain study ⬇️

kcl.ac.uk

London misperceptions: public often wrong on capital's crime, quality of life, contribution to public finances and Muslim population | King's College London

A third believe there are "no-go" areas ruled by Sharia law

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

He knows, right, that lots of research isn’t done “at the bench”? And while I agree with reducing admin hurdles, I’m concerned that fewer longer awards will make the system less inclusive and support fewer researchers and institutions based on prestige over quality of proposals.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

And this is the person to whom UUK were listening giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

When asked in the Q&A about arts and humanities he says he personally values them (seems very genuine) but that he is the Science Minister, and it’s for the DCMS Minister to make the case for those. He’s perhaps not yet clocked he is responsible for all R&D. Would Wissenschaft Minister work better?

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Peter Whitewood @pwhitewood.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Why is the answer to employers wanting more work ready graduates always that universities should provide more workplace training, rather than employers providing more training in the workplace?

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Exactly what @seethingmead.bsky.social said, and MPs should definitely take up his offer of a briefing.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Nice quote on #listening in @mazzucatom.bsky.social’s discussion paper on the public value of art and culture. “I like to think of the cultural sector as listening to you. […] I don’t think culture tells you what to do, but it listens to what you want to do.”—Olafur Eliasson

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

As a colleague of mine liked to remind me, there’s nothing that says impact has to be for the better.

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Netpol @netpol.org · 09/09/2026

If you've been focused on the (cough) 'restraint' of the policing of far-right vigilances over the weekend, you may have missed Staffordshire Police arresting two women, one in her 70s, outside an Elbit subsidiary. They've also fined 5 car drivers for tooting their horn in support of recent protests

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David Mead @seethingmead.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

I’m not sure what the point of Parliament legislating to criminalise intentionally/recklessly interfering with the use or operation of a key national infrastructure, in 2023, if it’s not going to be used to arrest blackshirted men who interfere with operations at Dover and Portsmouth harbour

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Phil Burton-Cartledge @philbc3.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Good thread this

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This to everyone pointing to masks as if that is primary/sole problem.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

There are a number of problems with Stephen Bush’s FT piece on distinguishing il/legitimate concerns. They are, in the end, the contradictions within liberalism that explain it keeps mainstreaming the far right. (Read @aurelmondon.com & @aaronwinter.bsky.social.)

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Julius Kölzer @juliusk.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

Saxony-Anhalt went to the polls, with the AfD falling just short of a majority. Here are some takeaways based on the preliminary results across all 218 municipalities and local socioeconomic characteristics. A thread 🧵(1 /n) Full analysis + write-up: juliuskoelzer.de/saxony-anhal...

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Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Es wäre gut die nächsten Wochen mal denjenigen zuzuhören und eine Bühne zu geben die Erfahrung damit haben wie man Antifaschismus organisiert. Wir brauchen das sicher dringender als „ist die Brandmauer gescheitert?“

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Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

A few things (international) commentatoes should remember. Only 2 million people live in Sachsen-Anhalt. Half of Berlin, a tenth of NRW. Around 400k will vote AfD. Even with this strong result, 80% of people living in S-A will not have voted for the AfD. In a state that is a far-right stronghold.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

Two-tier policing ought to be a salutary reminder of the futility of looking to the police or the state to save us from fascism. The fight is a political one.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

It’s not the masks or wearing black en masse per se. Both can be, and have historically been, part of defensive tactics (and if the far right continues to be mainstreamed that repertoire may be important for safety in the future). It’s doing so with intent to intimidate, exclude, and dominate.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

If it’s an exercise of academic freedom of expression under Art 10, it will be more of a hurdle for the university to assert its Art 8 reputational rights (cf. Kharlamov v Russia), but otherwise it definitely can. There’s also the implied term of trust and confidence in the employment contract.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

@jburnmurdoch.ft.com’s latest on the declining graduate premium needs to be read alongside this. But it’s also existential for the HE sector when one of the most nuanced and reflective commentators on the issues avers that “the link between academic credentials and career prospects is weakening.” 1/

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Runnymede Trust @runnymedetrust.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Two new roles are now open to applications! 🚨 Are you skilled in charity fundraising or workplace culture? We're recruiting for a Senior Fundraising & Grants Manager, and a People & Culture Manager, to support our operations and advance our racial justice work. App deadline is Mon 21 Sept, 09.00 ⏰

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Daniel Moser @dmoser.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Pollution levels in London after 10 years of advancing sustainable transport.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

If you are a young progressive voter who thinks "I like Burnham but I don't trust him to listen to us, particularly given how the first two yrs of this govt went", then a "vote Polanski in to keep Burnham honest" message is going to be quite attractive.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

“Those of us who want another university, one that can be an honest and meaningful pillar of life, are left struggling to make the political appear between the marketing schemes of EDI, clubs of specialism, conservative bad-faith claims, left romances for an institutional democracy that never was.”

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

And a reminder that the anagram of the TV series’ title is Flowery Twats 😂

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

So many days I feel as if I work for that great and venerable British institution—Fawlty Towers.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 02/09/2026

End of an era as SCO says farewell to Shoreditch

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Someone should be emailing this to Healey

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

I have distinct memories of Starmer being mocked by young people from estates in his consistency for his smug ignorance about how to combat knife crime. But then I also have distinct memories of the actual figures in the 2017 and 2019 elections under Corbyn.

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Naomi Waltham-Smith @auralflaneur.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

That reveal in Silo that the ghastly repressive and arbitrary Pact was written by AI is 👩‍🍳💋

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