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Laurence Cooley

@lpcooley.bsky.social
2.2K followers 1.9K following 132 posts

Politics lecturer, University of Birmingham Work on the politics of deeply divided societies (mostly Northern Ireland these days), including power-sharing, demography and the census. Recently also thinking about Lough Neagh. UCU rep. #firstgen

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Reposted by Laurence Cooley
Jasmin Mujanović @jasminmuj.bsky.social · 2h
Some back-of-the-napkin thoughts concerning the parliamentary dynamics following the 2026 Bosnian general elections.
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Ewan Gibbs @ewangibbs.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
'Green' and 'class' politics are often viewed as mutually hostile to each other. My research explores how British miners, electricity workers and builders articulated a distinctive working-class environmental politics in the 1970s and 80s. You can read my new article here.
tandfonline.com
‘The true conservationists’: British trade union environmental politics in the late twentieth century
This article demonstrates British energy trade unionists engaged intently with environmental debates during the 1970s and 1980s. These findings challenge dominant interpretations of the emergence o...
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PSA Ethnopolitics Specialist Group @psaethnopolitics.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
We'd welcome your paper proposals for Ethnopolitics SG panels at the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social PSA27 Annual Conference. Do select Ethnopolitics as your topic on the form if you'd like to join us in Hull in March! The call closes on 12 October. www.psa.ac.uk/conference/p...
psa.ac.uk
PSA27 Annual Conference - Political Studies Association
Join us in Hull for PSA27 to discuss Seismic Politics – impacts and responses from the global to the local “PSA [conference] was really great. It gave much-needed exposure to interact with like-minded...
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Conor J. Kelly @conorjkelly.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
The stand off in Drumcree continues and threatens the stability of Stormont. I’m quoted a few times in this @financialtimes.com article by @judewebber.bsky.social on the growing debate around political reform. www.ft.com/content/9297...
ft.com
Stand-off over Protestant march pushes Northern Ireland politics to the brink
Crisis over attempted march down Catholic road may hasten reform of Stormont’s political institutions
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Poorly Drawn Lines @poorlydrawnlines.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Going to bed
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Laurence Cooley @lpcooley.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Just FYI, the link to the full journal article at the end of this post goes to the wrong place.
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Much as I would love to see a resolution to the last few days of crisis, there must be a lot of details of this Drumcree proposal which are being left out, even if the leaked information is accurate, because as it stands this is a recipe for hundreds of prosecutions: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
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Feargal Cochrane @feargalc.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
PSNI on a sticky wicket here -enforcement of the law is its job -but interpreting the law on basis of context has always played a role (see bonfires 🔥 flegs effigies) There’s also the fact that original PSNI assessment to PC kicked everything off in the first place! So PSNI is in the dock too.
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 30/09/2026
Mediation over Drumcree parade is ‘dead in the water’, say nationalists
theguardian.com
Mediation over Drumcree parade is ‘dead in the water’, say nationalists
Northern Ireland secretary holding talks with both sides as Garvaghy Road group launches fresh legal challenge * UK politics live – latest updates Talks to break the deadlock over the controversial Drumcree parade will continue with the Northern Ireland secretary, Chris Bryant, on Wednesday as nationalist protesters declare the prospect of mediation with unionists “dead in the water”. The nationalist Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition has at the same time launched a fresh legal challenge to reimpose the almost 30-year ban on the Orange Order marching down their road, mounting fresh arguments that the Parades Commission has “materially misdirected itself”. Continue reading...
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Dr Adam Evans @a-b-evans.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
For those following the Drumcree standoff and with an interest in N Irish devolution, this is a handy outliner of what might happen if the Executive were to collapse *or* if a new one cannot be formed immediately after the forthcoming Assembly elections… #devolution #stormont
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
'Hub campuses have lots to offer Western universities seeking to establish a foothold in Asia.' Or, are they perhaps predominantly snake oil vanity projects inimical to the flourishing of their home institutions?
timeshighereducation.com
Are international hubs the key to a flourishing branch campus?
A handful of high-profile developments purpose-built for global outposts have sprung up across Asia in the past two decades, promising vibrant, collaborative environments, sometimes at little cost. Bu...
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The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 29/09/2026
Drumcree: ‘I want to stop all this in its tracks. I have five grandchildren; it’s breaking my heart’
irishtimes.com
Drumcree: ‘I want to stop all this in its tracks. I have five grandchildren; it’s breaking my heart’
Garvaghy Road resident Dessie Traynor is from a mixed marriage and is determined the Orange Order march will not go ahead
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Shaun McDaid @drshaunmcd.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I was grateful for the chance to write a review article of 4 recently published books on Northern Ireland for Irish Historical Studies, all of which centre lived experiences of the conflict. Open Access. Thanks to everyone at IHS and Cambridge University Press. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
‘This is my truth, tell me yours’: lived experiences and the Northern Ireland conflict | Irish Historical Studies | Cambridge Core
‘This is my truth, tell me yours’: lived experiences and the Northern Ireland conflict
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Sam McBride @sjamcbride.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🎧 The Drumcree crisis and what's likely to happen next, with @ciarandunbarrach.bsky.social, Allison Morris, Andrew Madden and Claire Dickson.
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Drumcree: Nationalist and unionist camps completely divided over Garvaghy march
There is a stalemate in Portadown and deep division in Stormont.On the Orange side, the issue is the rights of a small number of people to march their traditional route – backed by a legal ruling. On ...
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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The next election will now be the Drumcree Election one way or another. But it won't come in a month even if one party leaves the Executive. Other ministers remain in post for 24 weeks under the 2022 Act, so we'd still be looking at a Spring 2027 election. But will that lead to any "cooling off"?
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Laurence Cooley @lpcooley.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Reminded of how, when I was a student at Queen's, we read Shane O'Neill's @bjpir.bsky.social article about Drumcree one week on a philosophy of social science module and how relevant it made normative political theory feel. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Liberty, equality and the rights of cultures: the marching controversy at Drumcree<link href='#fn1'></link>
This article offers a normative-theoretical assessment of a key aspect of the continuing cultural conflict in Northern Ireland. The marching controversy at Drumcree has had a destabilising effect on ...
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Sarah Creighton @saraita101.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
So many former flashpoints in Northern Ireland are now peaceful. Residents and the Order have, to their credit, sat down and worked something out. Would have been great if Garvaghy was the same but unfortunately a section of unionism wanted this fight.
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Shauna Corr @shaunacorr.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Investigations into our chicken waste problem continue. With Lough Neagh high on the agenda this week maybe you’ll have a read of this very important work with @tbij.bsky.social Andrew Wasley @tommygreene.bsky.social and myself 👇 www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
thebureauinvestigates.com
The Muck Files: Dishing the dirt on the UK’s chicken waste trade
UK farm animals produce a monumental amount of waste. But where does it all go?
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Darach Ó Séaghdha @darach.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“The Commission has actually allowed fewer people than the Orange Order requested. A maximum of 35 people can take part, with no bands or accompanying supporters. Only one banner can be carried while the parade is on Garvaghy Road”. Real “one kick with a normal sized shoe” stuff. jrnl.ie/7173877
jrnl.ie
Why has the Parades Commission given permission to the Drumcree march after almost 30 years?
A procedural error by the Parades Commission reopened a dispute that had effectively been settled for almost three decades.
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Stephen Frost @sfrost.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Good read. “Even if the ethnonationalist right wants to project a future based on a kind of racial nostalgia, English history itself offers very little support for it. It is a politics with nowhere to go.”
theguardian.com
Of course you can be English if you’re not white. So why can’t the right leave the question alone? | Jason Okundaye
Even Jacob Rees-Mogg pushes back on defining Englishness in exclusively ethnic terms. But the endurance of this discourse is still deeply troubling, says assistant Opinion editor Jason Okundaye
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Jane @localnotail.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Come on down to the Council House for International Day of Birmingham, see the Re-Union Jack ♥️ #OneBrum Goldship have repurposed dozens of dirty & torn polyester flags removed from Birmingham's lamp posts to create a huge Union Jack, adorned with the names of people who have called Birmingham home
Photo of artwork description 
GOLDSHIP Re-Union Jack 2026

Repurposed polyester flags/Mixed media.

Re-Union Jack is an ongoing community art project conceived by GoldShip, the creative duo of textile sculptor Clare Elisabeth and event producer Sam Shipman.

Repurposing dozens of dirty and torn polyester flags removed from Birmingham's lamp posts, Clare and Sam, alongside countless contributors from the wider community, pieced them together to create a huge Union Jack.

The flag was then transformed over several months by countless more contributors into a visual celebration of the people and stories that have helped shape the West Midlands. Across its surface are the names of influential Midlanders, spanning from the Anglo-Saxon Beorma, after whom Birmingham takes its name, through to the present day. Each has a connection to migration, immigration or the positive influence of people who have made the West Midlands their home.

Together, these names reflect the region's extraordinary history as a vibrant melting pot of cultures, ideas, talent and communities - and the positive contribution that migration has made to its identity.

The flag has since been signed in black by many of the people whose names feature upon it as a collective endorsement of its message of unity, inclusion and community.Photo of huge Union (Jack) Flag on lighting truss in the hall of the Council House. 
It's glorious and bears many names upon it of the people of Birmingham 
Each has a connection to migration, immigration or the positive influence of people who have made the West Midlands their home.
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Laurence Cooley @lpcooley.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Yep: www.bbc.co.uk/future/artic....
bbc.co.uk
'Biological reality': What genetics has taught us about race
As US President Donald Trump takes aim at the Smithsonian Institution for "anti-American ideology", Adam Rutherford examines what the science of genetics has taught us about race.
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Laurence Cooley @lpcooley.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The full census category is "English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish or British" – but the understanding of ethnic group used in official statistics is pretty strange (e.g. "Black African" when Africa is highly ethnically diverse).
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Archie Hall @archiehall.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
3/ People can, I think, reasonably disagree about whether this is a problem. (I think it is.) But British voters hate it. Public First ran some polling for us, and found that approval of AI writing on the job is lower for politicians than any other profession.
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
There are so many crimes in this thread you have to wonder what the police and Home Secretary think they are doing at this point.
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Conor J. Kelly @conorjkelly.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thanks to @irishtimes.com for publishing this article by @dkennytcd.bsky.social and me on the criteria for calling a border poll. www.irishtimes.com/politics/202... #BorderPoll #Ireland #BorderPoll #SpéirGorm #NorthernIreland #UKPolitics #IrishPolitics
irishtimes.com
How would a Border poll on Irish unity get called in Northern Ireland?
The Belfast Agreement sets out rules for calling a unity referendum, but is vague on some details
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Belfast Telegraph @belfasttelegraph.co.uk · 22/09/2026
The owner of a cafe beside Lough Neagh says she has had her worst-ever summer amid the return of blue-green algae
belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Lough Neagh: Cafe owner ‘suffers worst summer’ amid return of blue-green algae
As locals around Lough Neagh face another season of business-disrupting blue-green algae, what efforts are being made to address the underlying causes of the pollution, asks Pavel Barter
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Nathan Cardon @ncardon.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
My new article in @modamhist.bsky.social is out now in first view and open access and is a preview of chapter 6 of the 'The World Awheel' (@columbiaup.bsky.social). It's a story of American mobility, femininity, and power in the spaces of European empires. doi.org/10.1017/mah....
A historic photograph of Fanny Bullock Workman wearing bloomers and standing in front of a drop frame bicycle on a dirt road. Image from the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, UK, courtesy of the MacRobert Trust.
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David Strak @davescamp.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
I wrote a bit about Birmingham and fascism. As I do.
interregnum.ghost.io
Authoritarian nationalism in the UK’s second city: Birmingham and the conjuncture of Not-Yet-Fascism
David Stark analyses the economic and cultural politics behind the war over flags that has erupted in Birmingham, and explores Stirchley is for Everyone's methods of community-based antifascist organi...
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Will Davies @will-davies.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It's time. Time to write about this style of writing. Which I've done here. substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com
What is LinkedIn?
The rise of mindful slop
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Martin Price-Phillips @mpricephillips.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Hear hear. RIP Joe Holyoak.
victoriansociety.org.uk
Joe Holyoak (1944-2026) - The Victorian Society
Joe Holyoak (1944–2026) was one of Birmingham’s most knowledgeable and influential architectural conservationists, whose association with the Victorian Society spanned more than half a century. An arc...
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Leah Feiger @leahfeiger.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
I want to talk to you about an article @wired.com's @telliotter.bsky.social published yesterday that should be getting a LOT more attention than it currently is -- It's all about how the US Census Bureau is overrun with staffers from a notable MAGA think tank.
wired.com
The Census Bureau Is Overrun With Staffers From a MAGA Think Tank
The US Census is home to vast troves of sensitive data on nearly every person living in the country, which is used for apportioning and drawing congressional districts as well as allocating federal fu...
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Donna Rainey @donnarainey4.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Terrible to see the river #Bann Kilrea, with all this blue-green algae coming from Lough Neagh. #ecocide
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Sinéad Gleeson @sineadgleeson.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
“If you live and work and pay taxes here, there’s an ever-tougher obstacle course. But if you’re Irish in a vaguely genetic sense, come into the parlour, there’s a welcome here for you”. @fotoole.bsky.social on the two routes to Irish citizenship and the racism therein. archive.is/dcddi
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Chris Hanretty @chanret.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
If you're a union member, and an external examiner at Brighton, you should resign. The game's changed, and you won't like what's coming next.
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Charlotte Lydia Riley @lottelydia.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Quite a few universities have used this tactic recently and I simply can’t understand how it is legal — do our contracts mean fuck all?
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Ben Rosher @benrosher.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
New paper!! Sean Haughey, Jon Tonge, and I draw on data from the Northern Ireland General Election Survey to chart a way toward some potential reforms that could enjoy popular and political support and (hopefully) improve the stability of the NI institutions. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Why Northern Ireland’s Institutions Need Reform | Government and Opposition | Cambridge Core
Why Northern Ireland’s Institutions Need Reform - Volume 61
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Daniel Wincott @danielwincott.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Delighted to see this paper out in the wild. Diolch yn fawr to the editors @bjpols.bsky.social to our anonymous referees and, especially, to my fantastic co-authors @jamesdgriffiths.bsky.social and @jaclarner.bsky.social
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Kirsty Grainger @kirstygrainger.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
That anyone should be sacked via Teams in a UK University is utterly shocking. What is our sector if it is not the brilliant people that work in it. If you don't understand that, and don't treat people with a basic level of respect then you should not be in the sector.
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Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
SVT’s exit poll projects a clear opposition victory over the governing centre-right coalition. The stand out is the far-right Sweden Democrats projected to lose 3% of their vote compared to 2022.
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Dublin City University @dublincityuni.bsky.social · 13/09/2026
Heatwaves are making toxic algae worse, but the real problem is what we are putting into our rivers and lakes. Piece by DCU's Dr Paul Leonard and Marta Albin for The Conversation UK. Read more: launch.dcu.ie/3V2VXIo #DCUResearch
Blue-green algae in Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland. Paul Leonard / Marta AlbinOne of the authors (Marta Albin) goes fishing in Lough Neagh for algae that was later confirmed toxic. Paul Leonard / Marta AlbinAlbin testing at the waterside in Northern Ireland, with Jacob Searle from Varicon Aqua who the authors worked with to develop the technology. Paul Leonard / Marta Albin
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Sadiah Qureshi 🦈 @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Given recent news, now would be an ideal time to listen to this 3-part BBC Radio 4 series on the history of British Facism led by the brilliant Camilla Schofield. Her book on Enoch Powell is also excellent and worth reading. www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...
bbc.co.uk
BBC Radio 4 - Britain's Fascist Thread - Available now
Available episodes of Britain's Fascist Thread
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Ben Williamson @benpatrickwill.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
At our T&F journal we now sometimes get obviously AI-generated papers that we reject only to see submitted again after being "humanized" (whether humanly-humanized or bot-humanized, who knows) 😬 It's like being at war with our own publisher over what constitutes academic writing, bot or not 🤖
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
NEW Why holding a placard is a terrorist act, while causing disruption in a balaclava is not The mess caused by ministers and the police not taking terrorism law seriously By me at @prospectmagazine.co.uk www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th...

Recent events in England now reveal the practical difference between terrorists and protesters. It would seem that terrorists peacefully hold placards and get immediately arrested, while protesters wear black uniforms and balaclavas and disrupt infrastructure and do not get arrested.

How did we get into this mess? How have we placed ourselves in the position where terrorism legislation is used to detain and prosecute peaceful protesters, while those adopting the terror tactics of private armies seem to be free to do as they wish?

The reason is that for some time British politicians have not taken terrorism legislation seriously, and that ministers have got into the habit of misusing terror laws for easy targets.
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Lee Hurley @hleehurley.com · 10/09/2026
Absolutely fascinating watching the confusion in England as to why masked men are allowed to march wherever they want and intimidate whoever they feel like while the police and politicians do nothing. *waves from Northern Ireland*
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Phil Rocco @philiprocco.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Today, the Trump administration proposed a draft rule (which we've known was coming for months) that, among other things, would take the unprecedented step of excluding a large number of noncitizens from population data in violation of the text of the 14th amendment. Two thoughts on this: 🧵
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Hansi Lo Wang (he/him) @hansilowang.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
BREAKING: Trump admin proposes major #2030Census changes that would reshape voting maps, including no race & ethnicity questions and excluding non-U.S. citizens without a green card from a count that 14th Amendment says must include “whole number of persons in each state” www.npr.org/2026/09/09/n...
npr.org
Trump officials propose sweeping changes to the census that would reshape voting maps
A Trump census proposal would stop asking about race and exclude millions of U.S. residents from a count that the 14th Amendment says must include the "whole number of persons in each state."
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Dr Anna Hájková @ankahajkova.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
What news from Birmingham! c.org/8kPxghfpSp
c.org
Firma la petizione
Stop redundancies at the University of Birmingham
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Some may say the judge should have accepted the Council case on the nod. But if any order for an injunction was appealed, the appeal court would reverse the order if the application was weak. So better for the judge to send Birmingham council back to substantiate its evidence for the application.
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