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Daniel Jones

@narson.bsky.social
1.5K followers 1K following 306 posts

Historian and archivist. Working on far right and antifascism post1945, research/archive ethics and pedagogy. Work and teach at an English university. Liberal, nerdy and often under attack from his cat.

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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Horrible news that JLR are to make 4000 job cuts - and right Government steps in to try and do something. Though we’ve seen a many times that in job losses in Higher Ed, and Government (and all parties) say nothing and do even less.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Now, the Tories might be right that this scheme is bad. But, framing it as something they had no part in - or not admitting to that - doesn't quite feel genuine. All parties do this, of course. This is just today's example. And I wish they would all stop.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
The scheme was, as I understand it, planned under the last Government - the Conservatives. It is a result of long term failure to build or renew the prison estate while also trying to use prison sentences and larger minimum sentences etc as a signal for 'tough on crime'.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
One big enabler of extremism is a perception of normal politics not being genuine or honest, that they can't be trusted - and in so doing, people look to alternative narratives. This is a good example. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Early release scheme could still see dangerous criminals released, Conservatives warn
The warning comes after the prime minister said some prisoners serving indefinite sentences could be freed to increase prison capacity.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
It baffles me. I'm watching academics who I respect leaving the profession, I'm watching ECRs getting pushed out because it is close to a desert out there, and I fear the end of my own teaching may be on the horizon. Pay is so far down my list of concerns when I'm worried about what I do after HE.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I mean, I'm all for the intellectual discussion of whether this is due to management's previous decisions (in many universities I'm sure it is!) - but being right doesn't really save us now. If we really must strike, to do it over pay is the wrong fight while we have so many departments closing.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
I...seriously doubt it will. We have had quite a few strikes over recent years to no avail. And now many of the changes are because of circumstance. We have to change the underlying maths - or we are going to lose entire swathes of the sector. Pay is not the fight, that is.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Oh, it does seem my union is absolutely in another world. Bonkers. Striking over pay right now? We'd look utterly insane.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
So his government will drive practical education into the ground too? Odd message.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
UK Gov again trying to do research and HE on the cheap. When they hit science like this you can imagine how far they go with humanities etc. we cut research and HE, the basic fuel for the engine of regional growth, and wonder why our economy is sputtering… www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands
Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 21/07/2026
Is my union really suggesting we reject a pay offer that includes joint campaign with employers to save post-18 education along with other vital work to address precarious employment that has become a trap for ECRs, and go on strike?
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
And I was wrong apparently! And happy to be so.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 07/07/2026
I can’t see the Greens, especially under Polanski, not standing against Farage. Hope they prove me wrong, but alas I don’t think they will.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
A diversion from my usual talk about archives, history and radical politics - but I can't help but think at the price point they have had to release the Steam Machine at, Valve would have been much better off just saying they wouldn't release it at a price they were not happy with and shelving it.
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Rachel Moss @menysnoweballes.bsky.social · 15/06/2026
Now on a related theme we have @narson.bsky.social : Nostalgia for pre-Modern White America: The Fiction of Tito Perdue. Perdue is a novelist in the picaresque tradition, and he is also a proud member of a neo-Confederate movement.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 27/05/2026
It is a sad statement on modern Britain that we now have political parties arguing over who has the best and most coherent policy to forcibly deport people.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
The EHRC guidance appears quite callous to be honest - bits that boil down to 'trans people can just use disabled loos' are just horrendous. I expect MPs to enter their objections against this - especially Lib Dem MPs - but it says something that I hold little hope.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Just struck me that if Starmer goes, Ed Davey ends up being the last of the mainstream party leaders from the dissolution of the 2019-2024 Parliament standing. Dear God.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
I'm pretty impressed we went from the 1989 no-chance stalking horse to the 1990 Men in Grey Suits in three days. We really are so much more efficient these days.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Also rather concerning, if they do oust Starmer...well, even if they don't TBH, does he have the resolve and strength now for the EU Reset Bill? Easiest economic win is moving towards re-alignment - and Labour have few paths to economic wins if they keep to their fiscal rules. Utter madness.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Based on our political history? Very rarely. You should see the old Harold MacMillan party political broadcasts I show my undergrads.....like a damp catfish hanging out with his awkward friends.
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Chris Kempshall @chriskempshall.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
‘Yes, breaking news here. Wes Streeting is apparently keen to make his case to Labour Party members to become the next Prime Minister. A spokesperson told me his message is: ‘what if the ongoing drift to the right was continued but orchestrated by a goblin from the film Labyrinth?’ A strong pitch.’
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
'How can Labour somehow manage to make this worse?' 'What is a bloody stupid idea?' etc etc.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
Labour is being rather foolish, to put it mildly. A circular firing squad that will fuel factionalism, will entrench the narrative from the left and right of the old system breaking, and where they don't have a popular successor. They need better comms, ditch economic red lines, and get on with it.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 11/05/2026
My contributor copy arrived today - really excited to read the other chapters! And do the usual thing of avoiding reading the chapter I did with the amazing @siobhanhyland.bsky.social - any brilliant bits Siobhan gets the credit, any bad bits I’ll take the blame!
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 04/05/2026
Could you kick your payment processor? Seems like they have fallen over! (Valve side is working just fine from the looks of it)
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Extreme Right Research Network @errnetwork.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
In case you missed it, a couple of weeks ago a blog went up from @pnjackson.bsky.social on our site - looking at how the extreme right make use of dogwhistles, hiding their messages within what may be common language that for them has layered meanings. www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo...
northampton.ac.uk
Extreme Right Explainer: What is an extreme right ‘dog whistle’? | UON
Use of coded and ambiguous language, hidden messages and multiple layers of meaning are common features of far and extreme right politics, past and...
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Extreme Right Research Network @errnetwork.bsky.social · 15/04/2026
The latest blog is up! Following on from Prof. Paul Jackson's look at dogwhistles, Dr Dan Jones talks about how the extreme right have engaged with environmentalism - using mainstream language to cloak concept-dense narratives. www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo...
northampton.ac.uk
Hiding in plain sight – the extreme right and environmentalism | UON
The environment has moved increasingly into a mainstream debate over the last 30 years, so it is not a surprise that the extreme right have sought to...
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Extreme Right Research Network @errnetwork.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
Today our seminar is by the great Kate McCoubrey, exploring the Women's Division of the British Movement and activity in the Welsh Borderlands. You can read her great recent (open access) piece at compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirec...
compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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Daniel Sugarman @danielsugarman.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
The Jewish News, which I am proud to work for as Deputy Editor, has published an editorial on this week's Iftar prayers in Trafalgar Square www.jewishnews.co.uk/voice-of-the...
Excerpt from the article:

"The question here is not really one of whether such prayer is in fact an attempt to “dominate” – or the more obvious explanation, that during Ramadan one breaks ones’ fast by eating very briefly just before and then more properly after the evening Maghrib prayer (yes, like our own Maariv prayer). Rather it is about whether one has the right to publicly express their religious identity in this country. In this specific instance, an event to mark a key event in the Islamic calendar had been openly and legally booked for Trafalgar Square. Muslims present had every right to pray as a part of that."
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Extreme Right Research Network @errnetwork.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
The last few days to get an abstract in for our conference on the 12th of June, run in collaboration with CST's SAFE team. Emotion, Nationalism and Extremism - Contexts and Responses. In person at Northampton, deadline for abstracts 15th March. www.northampton.ac.uk/research-blo...
northampton.ac.uk
Call for Papers and Presentations – Emotion, Nationalism and Extremism: Contexts and Responses | UON
University of Northampton, Waterside Campus 12 June 2026 This one-day conference will bring together academics and practitioners to consider the...
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 12/03/2026
The legacy of Churchill is complex (in ways the debate around him usually isn't) - but there are a lot of incredibly racist and problematic things that make championing him an uncomfortable choice for a liberal leader. Perhaps Ed is a true fan of Churchill, but it feels like cheap jingoism.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 08/03/2026
It's certainly been a year so far in terms of my health, a very long year. But finally got my heart whibbles treated, and of course it is far worse for many others right now. And I'm writing again - heart made it hard to work, and I'm very grateful for the patience of editors!
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 27/02/2026
Good news that Reform lost. And congratulations to the Greens, who are now ahead of the DUP in MPs. Much like Orpington, I suspect the biggest message is for the ruling party - Liberals thought Orpington meant a breakthrough, but 1964 taught them that it would be a marathon, not a sprint.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 23/02/2026
Last week we said goodbye to antifascist legend Gerry Gable. Was really honoured to be there, and more than a little emotional. I’d known Gerry for about 15 years, and he has had a profound impact on my life, as he did for many others. Miss you Gerry - and rest well. You deserve it.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
It is a solid package - the stuff from Brown etc are great too. And a full run of Searchlight from the newspapers through to the start of 2018.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 12/02/2026
Ooh. You have the Gale Radicalism and Extremism package? That’s not common in UK HE. Some fantastic things in there - also some of the oral histories.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
Last year Lenny Zeskind, this year so far Gerry Gable and now Chip Berlet. It feels like we are losing a generation of activists whose lessons we seem not to have yet fully absorbed.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Can safely say that I can't imagine a situation I'd allow it for my archive while there is breath in my body.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
As for what? Well. Opposition through democratic power still held. Don't be afraid of the insurrection act being invoked - Trump relies on the threat of extreme act to force compliance with only unacceptable acts. If the courts and congress allow it, then the system is already broken.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
An American friend commented that they were worried that the prospect of a civil war seemed possible. I wonder if it is not scarier to imagine a world where we continue to see this unfortunate slide without some kind of opposition? Most of the time in history nothing happens. Now? Something has to.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
So why do I say all this? Am I just being a boring academic who studies fascism/antifascism? Well. I stick to my view that Trump isn't a fascist (not that I think it will help me get a US visa anytime soon!). However, I increasingly struggle to imagine what would be different if he was.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
In this way the democratic inertia is overcome, and the state succumbs. Much of the established power tends to refuse to be the one that crosses the line of the old rules-based system, allowing fascism to flourish. Of course, we only have a few examples of fascism doing this through history.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
First, it will seek to install leadership of state bodies based on ideology not capability. It must then subvert the mission of the state organisations that it can, and destroy those it cannot. It will also establish parallel para-state bodies that will, like a parasite, slowly engulf the host.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Fascism is a revolutionary political faith, but it is one that can come to power through democratic means. When it emerges into a state already formed, it has a state with its powerful institutions intact - but also the democratic inertia built up over decades and centuries of rule of law.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Another day, another defection, another tapping of the sign. The most successful democratic party in the west hollowed itself out and seems to be at risk of sinking over the past decade - are there enough moderate mainstream Conservatives left to right the ship when the loons fly off to a new lake?
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
'The technology must be used because otherwise the boom [or bubble] fails' is such a bad argument. Why does it need wider adoption? It has specific use cases where the cost is worth it. Beyond that? Get back to developing actual artificial intelligence. And for God's sake, employ ethicists.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 17/01/2026
If the US treats its allies as hostile powers, it may find that those allies no longer think it is safe to have signals and air bases of the US on their land. The US is a huge power, but its ability to project that power has long relied on bases across the world.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
I mean. Forever true I guess.
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Daniel Jones @narson.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
The hollowing out of talent in the Tories post-Cameron and the promotion of people of dubious quality has left them exposed to these 'former minister' defects stories. They had many ministers who aren't serious people - and now they go where unserious people go. Reform. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Former Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi defects to Reform UK
Zahawi, who was chancellor for two months when Boris Johnson was prime minister, is the latest former Tory MP to join Nigel Farage's party.
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