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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 18h

Something big may be happening: Trump's world-historical misrule may be creating the conditions for the emergence of a coalition similar to the one that ousted Viktor Orban earlier this year: Anti-corruption, anti-authoritarian, pro-democracy. I made this case here: newrepublic.com/article/2161...

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Diamond Ashiagbor @diamondashiagbor.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

"More Self-Censorship? None of this has been reported on by Times Higher Education, the leading publication for higher education in the UK – which published at least six articles about Orr’s colleague at Cambridge, the late Jason Arday, Professor of the Sociology of Education."

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Diamond Ashiagbor @diamondashiagbor.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Excellent discussion on the politics podcast, Oh God What Now about the dispiriting speech from Chancellor John Healy. Many Labour MPs fetishise reindustrialisation, misunderstand the working class are now working in services, refuse to see universities as vital to economy of our towns + cities

Part of transcript from podcast 'Oh God What Now'
"Actually, I'm really pleased you mentioned universities there, because the way that politicians of all parties, but particularly the Labour Party, talk about the loss of jobs in steel or fishing or manufacturing, versus the complete disregard they have for the fact that the UK's world leading higher education sector is on the brink of collapse for all kinds of interlocking reasons, and the assumption that the universities will just get on with it and they're woke jobs anyway. In many of these post-industrial parts of the country, the university is the big driver of good jobs, and the combination of student finance and money from the government and international students and all that, they are really, really struggling. And you never hear a Labour politician go out and say, we've got to fight for our university sector the way they say, we've got to fight for our steel sector.
Yeah, you get job losses of 2,000, of 500 at universities, and it's never mentioned. You get a job loss of 200 in some manufacturing plants, and it leads to the national news, and every minister responds. And nostalgia is going to kill us if we don't actually address”

From Oh God, What Now?: Labour in Liverpool – Can Burnham make a second first impression?, 29 Sep 2026
https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/oh-god-what-now/id1245265763?i=1000792073634&r=829
This material may be protected by copyright.

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Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Labour's immigration/asylum policies are profoundly racist and xenophobic. They embolden far right, undermine international law and violate basic human rights, while being even more hostile than the previous government. They can't be tweaked. They need to be scrapped. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

bbc.co.uk

Angela Rayner criticises worker visa plans on eve of Labour conference

The housing secretary says the government's plans to change wait times for permanent residency are unfair because they "change the goalposts".

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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

my brilliant colleague @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the threat from Elon Musk’s X platform www.ft.com/content/f270...

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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

Time is long overdue that the political mainstream in Britain vigorously re-asserts its longstanding anti-racism norms... these have been allowed to be significantly eroded the last few years.

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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

The original reporting of what happened in Portsmouth was a joke. This is just a hate mob that has been whipped up who are now targeting the RNLI. Throw the book at them.

independent.co.uk

RNLI closes Portsmouth lifeboat station after huge anti-migrant protests

RNLI volunteers were branded ‘traitors’ after bringing migrants ashore

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Spooky Snigdha @snig.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

Danny Tommo has decided to visit Piddington. If they welcome someone jailed for kidnapping at knife point to their village, it should show everyone their supposed concern for women and girls is just a cover for racism. bsky.app/profile/oxfo...

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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

The people of Piddington have spoken. I say, grant them independence. Border controls. Visas to cross into the UK. Tariffs on goods. No GBP. No NHS. No benefits or pensions. Let us know when your little lilywhite enclave has gone all Mad Max and you started eating each other. BUH-BYE!

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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

I've done a deep-dive on the Harborne and Delo mega-donations over the weekend, and whether they may have to be handed back From my reading, a lot of unlikely things have to be true at once for the two £36m 'gifts' to be allowed once the (retrospective) Representation of the People Bill becomes law

bylinetimes.com

Why Reform UK Could Be Forced to Hand Back Their £72m Donations From Crypto Billionaires

Christopher Harborne and Ben Delo gave a record £36 million each over the weekend to Nigel Farage's party, but a new law means they may have to take it all back

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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

£72m for Reform over the weekend could be just the tip of the iceberg There's nothing to stop Elon Musk giving, via a UK X subsidiary, £300m to Restore Britain today Or a Trump ally giving £500m to Farage via a UK-registered firm There's a v narrow window to tackle big money in the elections bill

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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

So how about this for a "pause AI" proposal: "pause credulous AI reporting". No more media about "breakthroughs" or "rogue agent swarms" or ... UNLESS and UNTIL that media demands the actual empirical evidence and/or focuses on the motivations of & harms by these companies.

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Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I’m just a person on my fucking knees begging the government to use its absolutely massive majority to do something extremely fucking popular: save our democracy.

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

The UK now needs to introduce political spending limits across a parliament, not just for election campaign years. Otherwise, its election spending rules could fall over. Current rules: parties have a limit (about £34m) for 12 months before an election - but no limits outside the 12 month period.

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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

The TUC campaigning against donation caps - despite all the proposed amendments having carve-outs for affiliation fees - will come back to bite the union movement if they succeed in delaying it. Frankly, billionaires will always have more money with which to buy parties than unions will.

politico.eu

‘Step backwards’: Union leader warns Burnham against political donations cap

Paul Nowak, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said he is concerned about union members’ voices being ‘silenced’

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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

The balaclava blackshirted thugs are a result of a decade of politicians, tabloids and the broadcast media telling racists they have "legitimate concerns." The normalisation of actual fascism rhetoric and action has led to this and is a far greater "legitimate concern" than any migrant on a boat.

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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 08/09/2026

@ stephenkb.bsky.social hitting the nail on the head of course. "the Labour Party has now produced two governments whose response to acts of thuggery and intimidation is to reiterate that perhaps the thugs have a point" - as.ft.com/r/97d33f08-a...

as.ft.com

Labour’s muddled migration policy won’t stop thuggery

A government that can’t distinguish between ‘legitimate concerns’ and open racism is only making things worse

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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I want the Prime Minister to look into a TV camera and say the RNLI are heroes, that we do not change policy by street violence in this country, and that he expects any criminal action to face the full force of the law. That's it. That's all he has to do.

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Cornucopist @cornucopist.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

Is Burnham scared, complacent or complicit? Silence is not leadership. Where does he stand on masked men in black intimidating the public and terrified asylum seekers? I have a legitimate concern about fascism taking over the UK.

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Nadia Whittome MP @nadiawhittomemp.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

When blackshirts are marching through the streets of Dover and Portsmouth, the focus shouldn’t be on the disruption they cause, but on their fascist ideology and deliberate intimidation of migrants and people of colour. [1/2]

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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Seems the difference between ‘protestors’ and ‘terrorists’ is that protestors wear balaclavas while terrorists hold placards.

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Diamond Ashiagbor @diamondashiagbor.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Absolutely astounding that Labour ministers seem unable to condemn masked violent racist thugs who are intent on terrorising migrant and non-white communities

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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Let me get this right: if you're a retired vicar and peacefully hold up a sign opposing genocide, you're a terrorist. But if 1200 morons put on balaclavas and close half of Dover to stop people *escaping* genocide, police "constructively engage." Is that it? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.com

Black-clad protesters in balaclavas block road at port of Dover in Kent

Traffic on A20 in and out of port grinds to halt as Kent police say they are in attendance and engaging with group

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Hardeep Matharu @hardeepmatharu.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Now James Orr has stepped down as Reform UK's Head of Policy after C4's report, questions remain for Cambridge – where he is Associate Professor. Byline Times revealed serious concerns about his activities there months ago. We all know there won't now be 200+ articles on him and his life don't we?

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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

The Electoral Commission appears to be straightforwardly wrong about its role and responsibilities in law as the regulator when it says publicly "Information about any potential attempt to evade the controls on donations is for the police to consider". It is the core job of the Electoral Commission

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

If you falsely but strongly believe that your students' intelligence is based on race and gender you will be unable to treat or grade them fairly. This includes giving white and male students too high grades as well as giving Black and female students too low ones

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

1 in 3 UK university students are not white. 57% are female Being unable to treat 70%+ of UK students fairly because of your irrational and immoral beliefs just is you acknowledging you're not qualified for the role (Believing empirical and moral falsehoods to be true is also disqualifying)

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Universities are actually not just bigger schools for older students: to get higher education 'right' in 2026-27, they need to put research and teaching in a shared analytical frame. The research funding side of the equation is also out of control (see toys being flung from prams in parliament). 2/3

A black pram with a lighter interior stands on a wooden floor in front of a table and chairs. It's from Wikipedia and has been wittily captions by its editor there: There are no toys in sight.

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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 31/08/2026

Conservative policy: - Demand criminals get long sentences - Don't build prisons to house them - Oppose early release of prisoners - Cut prisons budgets so that fewer people are rehabilitated 👍

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Max Colbert @mc00.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Unions are failing to see the bigger picture, that a handful of people can buy our democracy with hugely disproportionate means at their disposal, using fear of a cap being weaponised against them to let the main issue at the heart of political financing to continue unabated. A catastrophic U-turn.

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Norm Eisen @normeisen.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Please don't overreact to Roberts Court decision on the contemplated USPS ballot moves They simply held that the injunction came too early in the process, before there was a final rule👇 Now we HAVE a final rule & we will litigate it. I'm as confident in our arguments here as in any of our cases!

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Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

Hi @vicderbyshire.bsky.social if Jason Arday and marathons ever come up, please see the evidence and references below. Better yet, invite @monkemma.bsky.social on and ask why she was able to find this information but most journalists have not

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 22/08/2026

So, it’s not a conspiracy, and you are not imagining it. The biggest and wealthiest tech leaders are genuine fascists. They are leading an active and intentional systematic attack on labor. And they have radicalized each other while sidelining or removing the remaining decent execs in the industry.

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Diamond Ashiagbor @diamondashiagbor.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

This article is brilliant. And heart breaking

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Diamond Ashiagbor @diamondashiagbor.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

This, from March 2026: academics in Belgium warning against the appointment of Cofnas

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

You cannot appeal to rigorous academic standards and argue for the inclusion of racist pseudoscience, the most fallacious, damaging, and discredited idea of the past 500 years. You might as well teach doctors to recognize the four humors.

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Richard Sambrook @sambrook.eurosky.social · 16/08/2026

BBC’s coverage of Reform’s welfare plans is frankly bizarre. Headlines in Ten, leading on some radio networks. Reform are not even the official opposition and the plans have less credibility than Count Binface. Will BBC News do the same for Lib Dem and Greens policy two years out from an election?

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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

One more reminder. Yes, Reform are a deeply unserious party, and have no intention or ability to bring their plans into action, but there’s a very serious side to this. It’s about embedding the narrative that disabled people are dishonest, undeserving scroungers. That does need to be opposed.

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David Wearing @davidwearing.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The “excesses” of “woke”, to the extent that any exist, have been comparatively trivial. The excesses of “anti-woke” are a driving force within a far-right resurgence that threatens to consume democracy in the West and plunge the world into the abyss. Time to wake up and get a little perspective. 5/

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Tom Usher @tomusher.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

While were at it, DEI is literally a yank term imported over here because we our right wing press are beholden to America to such a degree that they just copy and paste the same culture wars without even changing the names. Utterly pathetic

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Ruth @ruthr1.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Appalling headline from BBC .. not “ they claim it would “ just a statement accepted and repeated as fact ! Bias, what bias ??? @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social please challenge this !

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Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Actually, one more - I feel like I should say this directly, so here goes. In the 90s and 00s, the groups I remember pursuing this strategy (hyperpublicize mugshots, Black crime statistics, etc) were Stormfront, the Klan, etc. Now it's the New York Times and the Telegraph. That is the story here.

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Hari Kunzru @harikunzru.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Nobody comes out of this looking good but it was particularly disgusting to watch media outlets like the (London) Times launder Cofnas as a scholar critical of the excesses of DEI rather than a notorious eugenicist

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