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Nick Wright

@drnickwright.bsky.social
783 followers 1.1K following 58 posts

Civil Servant | Cat Wrangler | wannabe-Dissectologist | Personal opinions only | London, Norfolk & sometimes Berlin.

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Reposted by Nick Wright
UCL Constitution Unit @conunitucl.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
What is democratic backsliding? Our latest explainer explores key features of democratic backsliding, how it comes about, preventing it, and backsliding in the UK, including the important role that MPs play safeguarding our democracy. Read our brand new explainer 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....
Explainer. What is democratic backsliding? The Constitution Unit. Democratic backsliding is the process by which a country becomes less democratic over time. Recent examples of backsliding have often resulted from a gradual process, led by elected leaders. Preventing backsliding can involve designing institutions with guardrails in place, and transparency requirements and consistent high standards of behaviour by politicians.
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Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
This is a big problem. If the last information people receive is always “numbers went up” because “numbers went down” is never reported we shouldn’t be surprised that perceptions about immigration end up so skewed. Media should take some responsibility here - this is a salient and polarising issue.
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Nick Wright @drnickwright.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Very happy for them. Now if they could finally get round to reconnecting my parents' broadband, that would be great... #BT www.theguardian.com/business/202...
theguardian.com
BT and Verizon to create joint global business in $625m deal
UK telecoms group’s 50/50 venture ends more than 18-month search for a buyer of its international operations
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We Geek Girls @wegeekgirls.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
‘Star Wars’ was released on this day 49 years ago! (May 25, 1977) Directed & written by George Lucas. Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, James Earl Jones, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, Alec Guinness & more. Poster Illustrated by Tom Chantrell #OnThisDay
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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
UK universities cut jobs, research and teaching amid squeeze in overseas students - www.ft.com/content/ded7... I don't really understand why any administration would not try to reverse the fall in overseas student numbers, but I guess I'm a naive liberal
ft.com
UK universities cut jobs, research and teaching amid squeeze in overseas students
‘Very sharp downturn’ in enrolments risks hitting economic innovation and academic pipeline, lobby group says
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Nick Wright @drnickwright.bsky.social · 28/03/2026
Did you watch Dirty Business? I can't believe how much water companies have gotten away with. They're putting profit before public health - it’s a scandal and the Government MUST take action! Sick of sewage? Add your name to the petition today: you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/en...
you.38degrees.org.uk
End the sewage pollution scandal
We're sick of it. Sick of the lies, sick of the greed, and sick of a system rigged against us. This is a scandal and this dirty business must end. For more than 30 years water companies have put corpo...
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Geoffrey A. Fowler @geoffreyfowler.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
After 8 years writing the tech column @washingtonpost.com, I am among folks who were laid off today. I’m grateful for the stories I got to tell and the impact we made on privacy, sustainability & AI. You can keep following my work on my new (free) Substack geoffreyafowler.substack.com
geoffreyafowler.substack.com
Geoffrey's Substack | Geoffrey Fowler | Substack
My personal Substack. Click to read Geoffrey's Substack, by Geoffrey Fowler, a Substack publication. Launched 16 hours ago.
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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 04/02/2026
But Bezos had $75 million to spend on Melania’s vanity project.
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RTÉ News @news.rte.ie · 26/01/2026
Former president of Ireland and member of the Elders - a group of global leaders working for human rights - Mary Robinson has said that the US' proposed Board of Peace is not a board of peace, it is "the board of the power of one person"
rte.ie
Board of Peace 'a delusion of power' by Trump - Robinson
Former president of Ireland, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and member of the Elders - a group of global leaders working for human rights - Mary Robinson has said that the US' proposed Board of...
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Pawel Swidlicki @pswidlicki.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
I occasionally think of the completely unhinged response to David Cameron's comments during the EU referendum about how the prevailing European security architecture shouldn't be taken for granted.
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BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR #BISA2026!! Take a look at the conference programme and register now via the conference website: conference.bisa.ac.uk Participant registration deadline: 2 March See you in Brighton 🌊🏖️ @simonrushton.bsky.social @julietdryden.bsky.social @visitbrighton.bsky.social
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BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Please share original post @juanitamarieelias.bsky.social @victoriambasham.bsky.social @profjackholland.bsky.social @edmundsprof.bsky.social @drnickwright.bsky.social @nickcaddick.bsky.social @risjnl.bsky.social @ejisbisa.bsky.social @therealisthom.bsky.social @sebkaempf.bsky.social
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 30/08/2025
Spoke to CNN about our national flags & why ethnic minorities can certainly identify with them too edition.cnn.com/2025/08/29/u...
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East Anglia Bylines @eastangliabylines.co.uk · 31/08/2025
“The ECHR isn’t Brussels meddling. It’s the foundation that protects you from your own government.” – The Bear on why leaving the ECHR would be a really Bad Idea.
eastangliabylines.co.uk
Leaving the ECHR won’t “Take Back Control” – it will hand your rights to politicians
The myths are seductive, the reality is very different – without the ECHR your freedoms rest on whichever Home Secretary wakes up grumpy
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Jessica Elgot @jessicaelgot.bsky.social · 26/08/2025
Analysis - the moral and economic costs of Farage’s plan to deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers (Currently most read on the Guardian website, beating Taylor and Travis) www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
The moral and economic costs of Farage’s plan to deport up to 600,000 asylum seekers
Key planks of policy include Human Rights Act repeal and potential payments to countries such as Iran and Afghanistan
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
People can feel sympathy for Lucy Connolly over the scale of sentence she got after pleading guilty. But the appeal found her evidence demonstrably not credible on what she knew/did not know about the sentence before her guilty plea. Her media interviews repeat those false claims
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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
"although the summit may not have been a meaningful step towards peace, it was significant for what it tells us about the conduct and direction of US foreign policy" Fascinating piece by @ruthdeyermond.bsky.social on the recent summits. ukandeu.ac.uk/what-the-tru...
ukandeu.ac.uk
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Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
This felt inevitable: an interview with Allison Pearson given top billing in the Telegraph. Connolly suggests Starmer should relearn what freedom of speech means and "what the laws are in this country". I think he knows but Connolly/Pearson clearly don't. No lessons have been learned in prison.
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🇨🇦Greg Stefan aka Fella Dogfather 🇨🇦 @ih8handles.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
🤔
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 23/08/2025
63% of people think net migration rose in the last 12 months 8% of people think it fell Yet it fell by 400,000 in 2024 vs 2023 [It is falling further in 2025] Public service broadcasters are doing a core part of their job on this topic badly if that 8% is not closer to 30% at least
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Daniel Bellingradt @dbellingradt.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
Learn a German word today: Bügelbierflaschenzudrücker (swing top beer bottle shutter).
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Sam Lowe @samuelmarclowe.bsky.social · 05/08/2025
In a new post for @flint-global.com, we take a look at the possible impact of US pharmaceutical tariffs, and why a “deal” might not be as beneficial as it first appears. Featuring @georgeriddell.bsky.social flint-global.com/blog/trumps-...
flint-global.com
Trump's Poison Pill: What's Next for Pharma Tariffs?
Flint Global advises international businesses and investors on policy, politics, regulation and competition.
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BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
New BISA at 50 article! 🌟 'Supporting varied pathways' with @drnickwright.bsky.social - a BISA trustee 📚 'Long may this continue – and I’m already looking forward to the discussions in Brighton next year.' 🎉 Read now 👉 buff.ly/aYWwiNz @julietdryden.bsky.social @juanitamarieelias.bsky.social
buff.ly
BISA at 50: Reflections and perspectives - Supporting varied pathways
We asked some #BISA2025 delegates to share their reflections of the conference in Belfast.
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billkittle.bsky.social @billkittle.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
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UCL Constitution Unit @conunitucl.bsky.social · 01/07/2025
NEW BLOG: 10 reasons why the hereditary peers bill should be amended to constrain Prime Ministerial patronage and the size of the House of Lords Ahead of the hereditary peers bill's report stage starting in the Lords tomorrow, our Director, Meg Russell, sets out why peers should amend the bill.
constitution-unit.com
10 reasons why the hereditary peers bill should be amended to constrain Prime Ministerial patronage and the size of the House of Lords
The government’s House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill reaches its report stage in the chamber this week – presenting a serious moment for possible amendments. Meg Russell argues that peers should…
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Kevin M. Kruse @kevinmkruse.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Every single picture of Peter Thiel makes him look like the guy in a zombie film who's hiding that he was bitten.
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Women in Sport @womeninsportuk.bsky.social · 26/06/2025
Harmful messages sink in, not only for the athletes they’re directed at, but for every woman and girl who hears them. Our research shows it too. 45% of teenage girls feel they don’t have the right body shape for sport, increasing to 52% of girls who used to be sporty but dropped out in their teens.
"I was still a baby" Rebecca Adlington says public called her 'too fat' and 'ugly' while competing in Olympics aged 19
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ETSC - European Transport Safety Council @etsc.eu · 03/06/2025
Study on London 20 mph limits shows: - collisions ⬇️ 35% - casualties ⬇️ 36% - fatal/serious injuries ⬇️ 34% - child casualties ⬇️ 46% - child deaths ⬇️ 75% - walkers, cyclists, motorcyclists killed/seriously injured ⬇️ 28% etsc.eu/20mph-limits...
etsc.eu
20mph limits in London linked to sharp fall in road injuries and deaths, new report finds
A new study published by Transport for London (TfL) has shown that the introduction of 20mph speed limits and zones on local authority-managed roads in London between 1989 and 2013 led to significant…
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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 18/05/2025
A must read
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CNN @cnn.com · 01/05/2025
Robert De Niro is expressing his love and support for his daughter Airyn De Niro, after she recently shared publicly for the first time that she is transgender. cnn.it/3EY1msu
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Cats of Yore @catsofyore.bsky.social · 01/05/2025
“Miss Iris Davis… spends a great deal of time recovering cats with the aid of a 'lassoo' from the debris of bombed house. So far she has rescued six hundred of these feline strays, 8 November 1940.“ www.iwm.org.uk/collections/...
Black and white photo of a laughing young white woman with curly blonde hair. She is descending a gigantic pile of building rubble holding a lasso and an unhappy white and black cat. She’s doing all this while wearing a dress and dress shoes.
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
Dear god let this man cook.
Pritzker: It’s time for us to be done with optimism about their motives. Time to stop wondering if you can trust the nuclear codes to people who don’t know how to organize a group chat. It’s time to stop ignoring the hypocrisy in wearing a big gold cross while announcing the defunding of children’s cancer research… Autistic kids and adults who are loving contributors to our society don’t deserve to be stigmatized by a weird nepo baby who once stashed a dead bear in his car. Our military service members don’t deserve to be told by a washed-up Fox TV commentator, who drank too much before being appointed Secretary of Defense, that they can’t serve their country simply because they are Black, gay, or a woman.
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Jess Piper @piperformissouri.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Previous to the FDA, folks would put chalk and plaster of Paris in milk to make it appear white. They could also add formaldehyde to cover the smell and taste of spoiled milk.
A screenshot of a Reuters article stating that the US FDA suspended milk quality test workforce cuts.
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Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 22/04/2025
You don't pick Secretaries of Defense based on how good they are on TV for the same reason being a pilot has requirements other than a sexy voice for the pre-flight announcements.
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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 22/04/2025
Almost every line of this story would have been simply unbelievable a few months ago: —Pioneering cancer researcher; —*Arrested* at airport in Boston; —Now indefinite ICE detention in Louisiana; —"Crime": not declaring some frog-embryo samples for research. Read it. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
nbcnews.com
New images could change cancer diagnostics, but ICE detained the Harvard scientist who analyzes them
Without scientist Kseniia Petrova’s expertise, no one can fully unlock the data’s potential, putting crucial advancements in early cancer detection at risk.
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Elizabeth Warren @warren.senate.gov · 17/04/2025
I won’t share RFK Jr.’s lies about autism. It’s disgusting and dangerous. If he had a shred of decency, he would apologize and resign. Autistic people contribute every day to our nation’s greatness. To every kid with autism, I’m in this fight all the way for you.
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JourneyDude in Scotland @scottishinsider.org · 16/04/2025
🪬🧿
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German Embassy London @uk.diplo.de · 16/04/2025
🇩🇪🤝🇬🇧 The UK and Germany have renewed their commitment to the military bridging projects 'Wide Wet Gap Crossing' and 'General Support Bridge'. Further deepening of 🇩🇪-🇬🇧 cooperation on armament projects will help strengthen the defence of NATO member states.
UK National Armaments Director and German National Armaments Director shake hands after signing a Letter of Intent
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Jon Cooper @joncooper-us.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
🚀🚀
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Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
I've been in touch with a US colleague who is an international superstar running an extremely successful research programme in health sciences. They said things feel terrible out there, with several of their colleagues having left and more planning to - many leaving the US. It's very sad
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BISA - British International Studies Association @mybisa.bsky.social · 11/04/2025
NEW 'Take Five' from Director/CEO @JulietDryden & Comms Intern Eve Harrison-Taylor Our top 5 readings/podcasts on #internationalstudies! inc: @katiestallard.bsky.social @newyorker.com @newstatesman.com and more: www.bisa.ac.uk/articles/tak...
bisa.ac.uk
Take Five - 11 April 2025
Eve Harrison-Taylor gives you a rundown of the 5 best IR podcasts and articles this fortnight.
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German Embassy London @uk.diplo.de · 11/04/2025
Jürgen's Easter Braid, a German Easter staple that's easy to bake and delicious smothered with butter and jam. 😍 Full video and recipe: instagram.com/p/DITkrFfsIjQ/
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Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Crucial intervention from Meg Russell of the @conunitucl.bsky.social this week: the chance for meaningful Lords reform is crumbling before our eyes. There's still a chance to save it, but it needs to happen immediately with amendments at report stage. inews.co.uk/opinion/labo...
inews.co.uk
Labour is destroying its chance to reform the Lords
This is a historic opportunity. Unless it's grasped quickly, it'll crumble before our eyes.
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Dr. Jonathan N. Stea @jonathanstea.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
As a clinical psychologist, I’ve worked in a hospital setting for over a decade helping people who experience severe depression. They didn’t choose it. Anti-psychiatry propaganda reflects poor science and mental health literacy. This is what it sounds like:
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Dr Simon Ubsdell @simonubsdell.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Always the last century’s greatest sentence. And still perfect.
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Stephen McGann @stephenmcgann.uk · 09/04/2025
"You boy! What tariff is it today?"
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Dr Seth Thévoz @seththevoz.bsky.social · 10/04/2025
Two superb blog posts from @histparl.bsky.social: Robin Eagles on toilet provision in the old (pre-1834) Houses of Parliament at historyofparliament.com/2022/12/01/s..., and @chloechallender.bsky.social on women's toilet provision in the 19thC parliament historyofparliament.com/2024/01/16/t...
historyofparliament.com
Spending a penny in the old palace of Westminster - The History of Parliament
The human side of working in Parliament can often be forgotten, but in today's blog Dr Robin Eagles, editor of our House of Lords 1715-1790 project, explores
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