iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

"One option the government proposes is that hosts can switch to landlord status and charge refugees rent." What a cheap, ghoulish way to try to save money. Keeping Shabana Mahmood in post is a stain on the supposed progressive turn of the Burnham government. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...

theguardian.com

Ukrainians in UK fear cut to funds for Homes for Ukraine hosts could make them homeless

Monthly ‘thank you’ payments for people hosting refugees in their homes will be cut from £350 to £100 from next year

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I was optimistic, not knowing of the author’s work, that it might at least be a clumsy but well intentioned take on her handling of the Greek debt crisis. Of course it was not.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I could spend the rest of my life trying and still wouldn’t understand the extreme emotional reactions people have when you criticize genAI or their usage of it.

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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

“Don’t bring a union rep” is one of those sentences that always means your employer is going you treat you with respect and dignity

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

People keep thinking I am kidding when I say we are in the end times

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Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 18/09/2026

woman currently using the cafe's toilet as a cubicle to take a work call from (??) is an exciting new frontier in the "have people forgotten how to behave in the world" discourse we've been having here lately

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

Swedish elections are weird because everyone gets a rush of anxiety watching the results come in and then everything freezes for 2-4 days while we wait to see if a bunch of Stockholm School of Economics alumni in New York and London decided to support fascism.

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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It's a rare policy that would be welcomed by both business and trade unions - and at the same time would *improve* the UK's fiscal position. Dropping these proposals - for which there is no economic, moral or political case - would be one. www.ft.com/content/8a00...

ft.com

Unions demand softening of UK immigration reforms

Proposals will ‘punish’ low-paid migrants doing essential work in public services and create a new staffing crisis in social care, says motion passed at TUC

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Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

Hi, #UCU. UCU's Anti-casualisation committee are running an Equality & Anticas webinar on 23rd September, at 12.30pm and 5pm. Come and hear from chair Ben Pope, and speakers Suzi Toole, Andy Ward and Kevin Daws. Links to register and more info in linked post. Please share and pass to contacts!

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 14/09/2026

It is completely post-rational that L is so adamant on this. Mohamsson was firm in her “victory” speech & interviews that it will be a blue-yellow cooperation, that January Agreement was a failure… whereas even Kristersson was more careful to remain open to different scenarios.

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 14/09/2026

FE staff have waited long enough. UCU president Dyfrig Jones moves Motion 40 at #TUC26, demanding: A 10% pay rise Pay parity with schoolteachers A return to national bargaining #FurtherEducation #RespectFE #UCU

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It’s impossible, watching Ulf Kristersson speak, to figure out how he can be tolerated by, much less popular among, so much of the public. I don’t even mean this as a personal political preference; he answers press in an extraordinarily arrogant and dismissive tone & his posh voice is grating

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Christian Christensen @chrchristensen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

If we ever needed a reminder about the dangers of taking polls at face value, this is it. In an exit poll at 20:00 tonight, Swedish Television predicted that the Left-Green-Center bloc would win the election by 4.5%. With almost almost 90% of districts reporting, their lead is 0.1%.

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Alice @wordsbyalice.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Can I get an analysis of their walk off songs because ‘The Best’ was a choice

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It is difficult to find Andersson’s victory speech credible when she’s delivered the worst result since the Spanish Flu.

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Cas Mudde @casmudde.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

The only thing that can save Andersson is that she can become Prime Minister again, as she is leading the party to the worst election result since 1908 and the first time under 100 seats since 1928!

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I think this is an incredibly important point to make. The Liberals could easily be part of a centrist government with policies closer to their purported preferences and values. They certainly could try. But they don’t want to; they want to cooperate with the far right.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Mohamsson coming out so forcefully against Andersson as PM (to wild applause) and calling for “blue-yellow” cooperation really cements the far right turn of the “Liberals”. She’s not even pretending they are open to a “mitten regering”.

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Christian Christensen @chrchristensen.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Sweden's Social Democrats on target to get 99 seats in parliament (out of 349). That's their worst result since 1928. In March, Denmark's Social Democrats had their worst election result since 1903. What to they have in common? Mimicking "hard line" right-wing policies. It's a recipe for disaster.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This is objectively captivating — and difficult to explain.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Kind of obsessed with the SVT reporter struggling to give an update from Green Party HQ because everyone had lost interest in the election and they were playing Britney Spears too loudly

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This two hours has been a rollercoaster and I am not okay

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Well then. Perhaps we all got too excited too soon.

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 13/09/2026

“Trans rights are human rights, and an injury to one is an injury to all.” UCU vice-president Mark Pendleton seconded Composite Motion C01 on union equality reps at #TUC26. Equality is not separate from industrial work. It is our industrial work.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This would be extremely welcome news after several years of wondering if the whole generation was lost to the manosphere.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

If the exit polls hold, this is an astonishing comeback for the Liberals #val2026

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I’ve never been so excited to see the Moderates come in second place! And V in third — we may be in for a wild few weeks of negotiations!

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Lucy Prebble @lucyprebblish.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Not so smug about the believability of them continuing to build Jurassic Parks now are we

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Svenska val - nu kör vi! Hoppas på ett resultat som är antirasistiskt och klimatvänligt. 🙏🏼

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Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

A related reason: until early 2010s England succeeded in making Higher Ed accessible for so many, immigrants & non. The PISA success here is the child (literally!) of that socioeconomic experiment. That UK govs of past 15yrs chose to strangle the golden goose of HE is a scandal and a tragedy.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

I am disgusted & dismayed to learn that my employer also had representation and fringe events at the Reform UK Conference. LSE should be on the frontlines in defence of higher education/academic freedom, not participating in this celebration of the racist politics of those who seek to undermine it.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Rest in peace, and in power, Gloria ✊🏻

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Dr Jo Edge 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Hi #UCU. My voting recommendations for the NEC casual vacancy ballots which drop this week. Please share! For UK-wide HE: Madeleine Moore 1 Tilia Lenz 2 For Women's rep FE: Helen Kelsall 1 More on our wonderful Maddie here! ucucommons.org/madeleine/

ucucommons.org

Casual NEC vacancies

Casual NEC vacancies UK-elected member (HE) UCU Commons is delighted that our member Madeleine Moore (Loughborough University) is standing for the current casual vacancy (UK-elected membe...

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Peter @notalawyer.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

“if we don’t stand up for the free speech of racists, it puts everyone’s free speech in danger.” - guy who only ever talks about free speech when it’s racism

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

This is actually hilarious to anyone who has insight into who makes decisions at universities. I would encourage anyone to compare signatories of The Letter against the staff sitting on Councils or hiring panels or as heads of department at their respective institutions.

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Federica Genovese @fgenovese.bsky.social · 23/08/2026

incredibly frustrating scenes of some academics pretending (or truly believing?!) that *in this historical moment* the ivory tower is immune from bad faith attacks and that arguments with incredibly toxic real-world implications can be just battled in “the market of ideas”

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Priyamvada Gopal @priyamvadagopal.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

A reminder that academic freedom does not mean the right to spout and propagate discredited theories or pass off disproved claims as 'knowledge.' It also does not protect you from breaking contractual agreements.

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 23/08/2026

📰 Today’s Sunday Times exposes just a fraction of the attacks on jobs in Universities. We know the true picture across the UK is even worse. With record student sign ups this situation is completely untenable. The government must intervene.

This table describes the level of job losses in several universities across the UK.

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 23/08/2026

And our general secretary sets out exactly what’s happening and calls for government intervention.

“Using money in the sector to force people out of their jobs rather than reinvesting it in staff and students is an outrageous use of funds.

Dr Jo Grady
UCU General Secretary

“In the absence of leadership from the employer bodies, it is now essential the government gets off the fence and steps in to save one of the few sectors of the economy where the UK can legitimately claim to be a world leader. This status is under critical threat, as is the standard of education afforded to millions of students.”

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 23/08/2026

A Russell Group lecturer calls out the atmosphere being created by University management.

“The university is making the atmosphere as nasty as they possibly can, and the pools as wide as they can, to maximise take-up. Some really top, older staff have gone for voluntary redundancy.”

Russell Group Lecturer

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University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 23/08/2026

Universities across the UK are calling their redundancy programmes ‘voluntary’. In today’s Sunday Times a Senior Lecturer in Humanities completely exposes that lie.

“I didn’t want to leave, but anyone who stays in that job will be burnt out by November. It will be far worse for the students, because they are losing so many specialists in their fields, and it will leave no time for research.”

Senior Lecturer in Humanities

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Chris Person @papapishu.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Sorry chatbot lovers but the waning of Boolean operators in most search functions on websites has made my life actively worse. You can't find anything, you can only have things suggested to you.

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Rebecca Sear @rebeccasear.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Here’s the new letter defending Cofnas against “punishment for whistleblowing” (which is not why Ghent suspended him). This time around signatures from a disappointing number of academics from my old institution, London School of Economics johnarmstrongmaths.com/openletters/...

johnarmstrongmaths.com

As academics, we are concerned that Ghent University's disciplinary proceedings against Dr Cofnas appear to constitute retaliation, at least in part, for publicizing academic misconduct that occurred in British universities.

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Ian Higham @highamian.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I RECEIVED HATE MAIL IN TODAY’S POST

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Jo Grady @drjogrady.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Rest in peace, Jason.

The death of Jason Arday is devastating.

There are so many questions that need to be answered. The level of harassment he suffered and the racism he was subjected to, has been sickening. It must be investigated.

Right now, a young man has lost his life. All of my thoughts and love are with Jason’s family, friends and colleagues.

Rest in peace, Jason.

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Priyamvada Gopal @priyamvadagopal.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Is there a connection between an institution parading a lone Black figure as evidence of its munificence, & also turning a blind eye to 'racial science' networks on its campus, & accepting dodgy donations while having secret talks with Reform? You can decide.

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Priyamvada Gopal @priyamvadagopal.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

I think it is fair to say that the position of much of the Cambridge senior leadership is untenable. They, and Simon and Schuster, bear no little responsibility for this tragic and avoidable outcome.

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