iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 25/09/2026

Enjoy how this ranges from "I recognise at least one of those" to "Guessable from name/ethnicity clues" to "Literally just two interchangeable men/women" MP Chain 🏛️ I recognised 3️⃣3️⃣ MPs in a row. How long is your chain? toys.jamesomalley.co.uk/mpchain/

toys.jamesomalley.co.uk

MP Chain — How many MPs can you recognise?

Pick the named MP from two portraits. One wrong answer ends your chain.

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Annalisa Nicholson @apuddleofmuddle.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

✏️ Mark your diaries! Next month @cemskcl.bsky.social, Kerry Apps, Hannah Dawson, Catharine MacLeod, & ME will be talking about Restoration women, their libertinism, their consumerism, & their contact with the expanding world. Book here & spread the word 🌍 kingsearlymodern.co.uk/events/world...

kingsearlymodern.co.uk

Worldly Women at the Court of Charles II: Exile, Excess, and the Expanding World — CEMS KCL Blog

Join CEMS for a conversion on women and the Restoration, featuring Dr. Annalisa Nicholson, Dr. Kerry Apps, Dr. Hannah Dawson, and Catherine MacLeod.

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Paul Seaward @pseaward.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

“There is so much to do with illegal waste disposal, organised criminality and the failure of agencies to apprehend these issues that it’s just depressing and extraordinary,” one insider says.

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Matt McManus @mattpolprof.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

My review of @hdrochon.bsky.social's deeply researched and intriguing "Elites and Democracy" for @theunpopulist.net www.theunpopulist.net/p/can-elite-...

theunpopulist.net

Can Elite Rule Be Reconciled with Democracy?

A liberal theorist offers an intriguing if imperfect framework for an age-old question

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 07/09/2026

90 years ago, Parliament responded to the rise of Oswald Mosley's Blackshirts by passing the Public Order Act, which banned political uniforms, private militias and the threat of force for political objects. The debates make very resonant reading today. Here's the Liberal Robert Bernays. (Short 🧵)

You cannot conduct a fair match when one side is playing with a ball and the other with bombs and, if democracy is to survive, it must be conducted according to definite and recognised rule. One of them is that no political party should resort to any weapon other than reason and argument. The introduction of private armies, as I see it, strikes at the root of democracy. I know it is contended that the Blackshirts are not armed and, therefore, are not an army, but I do not think that argument can be upheld. … Uniformed men in military formation suggest, and are meant to suggest, the idea of force. It is no argument to reply that at this or that demonstration no force is intended. It is an inescapable fact that a uniform in politics symbolises force, to be used either now or in the future.

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Parliamentary History Journal @parlhistjournal.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

Are you an early career researcher with an interest in parliamentary history? We are inviting submissions of 10,000 words, including references, for our annual essay prize, worth £500. The deadline is 30 Nov. 2026. More details here: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1750...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Parliamentary History

Click on the title to browse this journal

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Jack Kessler @jackkessler.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

As of the last election, the effective personal tax rate for the median earner fell to its lowest point since 1975(!) No other country generates more in tax as a % of GDP without also asking more of "working people".

linestotake.com

Tax Middle Britain

A bigger state cannot be funded by the wealthy alone

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ashley fairbanks @ziibiing.com · 03/09/2026

feeling unexpectedly emotional as we visit saerbeck, a town of just 7200 in central germany that formed a climate municipality. they produce 4.5x the electricity they need, and have developed a whole array of climate solutions. one of them? a climate action curriculum that starts in kindergarten.

lady presenting about saerbecks climate curriculum

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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

I recently saw some century-old election leaflets published in Yiddish for the Jewish electors of south Dublin. I imagine the same happened in the East End of London and parts of Manchester and Leeds, and the same sort of people objected to it as do now.

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Brodie Waddell @brodiewaddell.bsky.social · 03/09/2026

Ooh, and I see it's already received a critique! Thanks to Keith Livesey @marx61.bsky.social for the thoughtful engagement with the essay and recent #PowerOfPetitioning scholarship more generally: keith-perspective.blogspot.com/2026/08/a-ch...

keith-perspective.blogspot.com

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Credit to Rishi Sunak, incidentally, for sticking around when so many predicted he'd be off to the US. Given that we've had seven prime ministers in just over a decade, it's rather telling that Sunak is the only former prime minister still in the House of Commons.

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Met Office - weather and climate @metoffice.gov.uk · 01/09/2026

Summer 2026 is provisionally the UK’s warmest summer on record with the season’s mean temperature made around 130 times more likely due to human-induced climate change. Here, we delve into the numbers 🧵

Mean temperature for 2026 in the UK. The map shows widely above average temperature, particularly in the south.

Rainfall amounts in summer 2026 in the UK compared to average. The maps shows widely dry conditions, though the west of Scotland is slightly wetter than average

Sunshine duration in summer 2026 compared to average. The map shows widely sunny conditions in the season, with the south of the country particularly sunny.

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Andy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

@geofflean.bsky.social: We were warned. Four months ago top Himalayan experts reported the rate of ice loss doubling since 2000, with glaciers shrinking by a fifth since 1990. “This isn’t a distant problem” they said. “It’s happening in real time”. They predicted “catastrophe”.

icimod.org

Hindu Kush Himalaya glaciers losing ice at double the rate since 2000, new ICIMOD report confirm - ICIMOD

Kathmandu, 18 March 2026 – Glaciers across the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) are melting at an accelerating rate, with ice loss rates doubling since the year 2000, according to two new landmark reports th...

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Alexander Clarkson @aphclarkson.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

If YIMBYs and others who back expansion of data centres simply dismiss the growing unpopularity of their expansion as a mere irrational ploy by whatever they think are NIMBYs this week they will lose this and other battles, and lose badly

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Peter McCullough @mcculloughp.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

Congratulations to the wonderful Mary Ann Lund (Leicester) on publication of her second (!) vol. in the Oxford Donne Sermons edition. Fantastic textual and critical scholarship on his mid-career at St Paul's.

Looking down into a box of author's copies of volume 13 in the Oxford Edition of the Sermons of John Donne: Sermons Preached at St Paul's Cathedral, 1626-1628, in their trademark Oxford English Texts light blue dust jackets.

Tondo portrait in gold frame of John Donne when Dean of St Paul's; thick dark hair and beard and draped in what looks like a very un-clerical black satin toga, channeling Roman orator (latter day preacher). V&A and a contemporary copy in St Paul's Cathedral Chapter House.

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Paul Seaward @pseaward.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

edconway.substack.com/p/the-30000-...

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

In 2025 trade unions gave £4.9 million to Labour. Individual donors gave £16 million to Reform & £9 million to the Tories. In total Labour raised £10 mill, Reform £19 mill & the Tories £21 mill. If the *unions* are blocking a donor cap, they've lost their minds www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Andy Burnham has dropped his support for capping political donations, causing anger among activists and Labour MPs who have long campaigned for change to the way parties are funded.

The prime minister has decided not to back amendments to the elections bill, which would cap the amount a person or an organisation can give in a single donation, according to government sources.

The decision comes after a lobbying campaign from Labour’s trade union backers, who said amendments to the bill, which returns to parliament for its remaining stages next week, could undermine their ability to donate to the party. It is also a retreat from the support Burnham gave to the idea just a few weeks ago, when he emailed a campaigner for electoral reform to say he would support a donations cap of £500,000.

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UCL Constitution Unit @conunitucl.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Parliament under Andy Burnham: ten things to look out for this autumn Ahead of parliament returning next week, Tom Fleming outlines what parliament-watchers should keep an eye on, from lighter whipping of MPs, to revitalising modernisation, to the next steps of House of Lords reform. Read it 👇️

blogs.ucl.ac.uk

Parliament under Andy Burnham: ten things to look out for this autumn

As Andy Burnham’s new government prepares to face scrutiny from MPs for the first time, Tom Fleming outlines ten key issues and questions facing parliament in the weeks and months ahead.

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Dr. Genevieve Guenther (she/they) @doctorvive.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

"This disaster will bring up the issue of Loss and Damage that Nepal has been raising in international climate negotiations regarding the economic impact of the climate crisis especially in vulnerable mountain countries." nepalitimes.com/central-nepa...

nepalitimes.com

Central Nepal flood, the day after

Satellite images show the glacial collapse on the North Face of Langtang was in Nepal itself

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Camille Thomas @camthomas.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

It started, as all serious scientific thinking does: in a bar. I was reflecting on the nature of time, the essence of life, and our place in the Universe. (I was drunk.) this is what came out... agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... #Geoscience #EarthScience #Geology #DeepTime

agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Geological Reasoning Across Incompatible Timescales

Click on the article title to read more.

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Philip Amies @philipamies.eurosky.social · 25/08/2026

E. O. Wilson, a timeline for those without a biology education. 1967, co-author Robert MacArthur, The Theory of Island Biogeography r/K Selection Theory, Species-Area Relationship, these were fundamental elements in my biology education.

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Paul Seaward @pseaward.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Fifteenth century bureaucracy just as confused by two people with the same name as today, even without AI. And living 200 miles apart.

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Friends of Friendless Churches @friendlesschurches.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Opposition to the unsympathetic conversion of listed churches is a central part of our mission at the Friends of Friendless Churches. We believe that such conversions almost always destroy the aesthetic value of these precious buildings and removes them from the public realm. 5/6

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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Exeter has a 'green circle - a 12 mile walk around the outskirts of the city, passing through it's many lovely parks. There have been fires in two of these in the past week - here's Mincinglake Valley Park this morning.

A person walks along a path, either side of it is burnt vegetation and there are clouds of smoke.

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Dr Rebecca Warren @drrjwarren.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

And for many years people said 'flooding suggests rivers need to be straightened.' Now we are realising the opposite is necessary. Strange how short-term solutions often turn out to be a bit shit. Even stranger how foreign-owned 'newspapers' love a good populist headline.

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James Murray @james-bg.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Wrote about the deafening silence on our summer of climate impacts from Labour, the Lib Dems, the Greens, business leaders, and even some campaign groups. The dominant climate discourse from the past week has been from those who want to ditch net zero targets and trash decarbonisation policies.

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Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

I was struck by a piece on Radio 4 the other day, asking whether Burnham would be more "pragmatic" - meaning "positive" - about drilling in the North Sea. It was simply taken for granted that drilling was the "pragmatic" option, while opposing it was dogmatic or ideological.

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Alasdair Cameron @alasdaircameron.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Thoughts on wildfires, floods, food supply and rewilding.

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Dr Liam Sims @liamsims.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

Yesterday revisited the wonderful Kedermister Library, founded in the 1630s by Sir John Kedermister (seen here in his memorial) in St Mary’s, Langley Marish (Berkshire). Last time I was there must have been 15 years ago with @katiedflanagan.bsky.social! Also rang on their lovely bells 🔔

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Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun @eaterofsun.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

File under "Still don't like the look of this" (Posted one week on) climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_dai...

Plot of daily sea surface temperature between 60ºN and 60ºS from Climate Reanalyzer grabbed on August 3rd. Day for day the temperature has been at a record height siince June 3rd. The as yet provisional data for the past couple of weeks reaches 21.16ºC-- just a smidge below the all time record of 21.17ºC set in early 2024, when an El Nino event was at its peak. It fell a little after that, but is still trending up.

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Prof Tracey Hill @tracelarkhall.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

I have stumbled on the largest surviving set of medieval parish glass in England. Stand by!

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Hetan Shah @hetanshah.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Significant new report from @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social & colleagues makes the case that the UK has a mismatch between highly centralised institutions of spending control and increasingly fragmented systems of public service delivery (more so if devolution) www.nuffieldfoundation.org/news/opinion...

nuffieldfoundation.org

The myth of Treasury control: What’s wrong with the UK’s public spending system and how to fix it - Nuffield Foundation

The long-standing model of centralised Treasury control over public spending has inadequately adapted to the realities of public service delivery.

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Prof Bill McGuire @profbillmcguire.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

Not so much the elephant in the room, as the brontosaurus I have yet to hear the new PM mention the word climate, or even comment on the raging fires across the channel www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.com

Ella Baron on Andy Burnham’s plans for youth employment – cartoon

The PM says he is committed to diversifying Britain’s higher education offers with industrial training – ‘hard hats rather than graduation caps’

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

In July 1625 Parliament was adjourned away from a plague-ridden London. Dr Paul Hunneyball explores the crisis facing Charles I that prolonged Parliament's deliberations, necessitating a safer meeting place at Oxford University.

historyofparliament.com

Legislature meets library: Parliament at Oxford in 1625 - The History of Parliament

As part of our Parliament away from Westminster series, Dr Paul Hunneyball of our Lords 1558-1603 section explores the factors which led to England’s oldest

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

🚨New Article🚨 In the mid-17th century, aristocratic obsessions with family honour meant that Peers often worried about their sons failing to live up to their expectations. Dr Alex Beeton has explored the case of 1st earl of Bollingbroke and his particularly wayward son.

historyofparliament.com

A Disappointed Father: The 1st Earl of Bolingbroke and His Son - The History of Parliament

One such example was Oliver St John, 1st earl of Bolingbroke. A major landowner in Bedfordshire and neighbouring Huntingdonshire, Bolingbroke was strongly

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

🚨New Substack🚨 As former Mayor of Manchester, Andy Burnham, prepares to become Prime Minister, @jhdavey.bsky.social has been thinking about other moments in Britain’s past when Manchester — and the surrounding area — played a pivotal role in shaping the political agenda.

historyofparliament.substack.com

Manchester and the Politics of Victorian Britain

In recent weeks, domestic politics has been dominated by a politician from Manchester, which got me thinking about other moments in Britain’s past when Manchester — and the surrounding area — played a...

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History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

🚨 New Article🚨 Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hundson, was Elizabeth I's closest living male relative. But as Dr Andrew Thrush has explored, there are some who claimed he may even have been Elizabeth I's half-brother, with a plausible claim to the throne.

historyofparliament.com

Elizabeth I’s half-brother? Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon - The History of Parliament

It has long been known that Henry Carey, 1st Lord Hunsdon, was Elizabeth I’s closest living male relative. However, it is less widely known that he may also

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UK Parliamentary Constituencies (since 1885) @parlconst.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Stanley Jackson played in 20 cricket Test matches for England, captaining them in 5 (pictured here to the right of W G Grace in 1899). He became Conservative MP for Howdenshire in a 1915 by-election, remaining until appointed Governor of Bengal in 1926. In India he survived an assassination attempt.

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EMILY WILSON @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

I wrote about the Nolan Odyssey for the LRB. I'll summarize some of my main points below, in case you don't feel like reading all that. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

lrb.co.uk

Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man

As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...

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finrodsauronverynsfwprivatefolderdonotlook @yungdreyfusard.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

archival photo of the Synagogue in Checiny, Poland, made 1638, paintings possibly from 1905

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John Oxley @joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 28/07/2026

I love those moments in bookshops when you encounter a Special Interest you had never even imagined before.

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