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Stephen Baker

@stephenbaker.bsky.social
675 followers 730 following 962 posts

Socialist. Trade unionist. Strummer of strings. Co.Down. Researches, writes & teaches. Radical whore of sociology. "...clean living under difficult circumstances." Proudly Paddystinian. Stiofán Mac an Bháicéara, for the avoidance of doubt.

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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Every year there should be a "Blue Bin Award" for pyrrhic victories. The equivalent of Dusty Bin, the consolation prize for losers on ITV's old 3-2-1 quiz show.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Form Tom Nairn’s The Break Up of Britain. Published in 1977. 2026. There are men in balaclavas on English streets.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
This is only going one way. High Spirts. It’s gonna end in a skelpin’
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
This was published in Éire Nua recently and gives a flavour of of the recent Public Media Ireland report written by Phil Ramsey, Roddy Flynn, Dawn Wheatley and myself "What would happen to the two largest cultural institutions on the island – RTÉ and the BBC – if Ireland were united?"
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
Féile an Phobail Media and Culture in a New Ireland St Mary's University, Falls Road Monday 3rd August an 1pm What a would a new democratic public media mean for culture and politics in a new Ireland?
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
This half time entertainment is only the second worst thing I’ve seen today.
A packet of Tayto Candy Floss flavoured crisps.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Dan, Dan, Dan…
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Clacton? Pick your fighter.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
@olamajekodunmi.bsky.social Phil Ramsey and I will be talking about the potential for a democratic public media in a new Ireland at Féile an Phobail on the 3rd August in St Mary's University College.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
There is only one man that I will tolerate in a tank top.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 12/06/2026
Contemporary men's wear is baffling.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
This wasn't a "Henry Nowak protest". It was a racist riot. The fact that the BBC can't tell the difference brings the corporations journalism into serious question... and not for the first time.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 28/05/2026
The Good Jobs Bill in NI proposes basic protections for workers. The DUP is threatening to veto the bill, it seems to please employers, who don't want to deal with unionised workers. Has there ever been a time when the DUP was anything other than a road block to a future we might flourish in?
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Got to laugh at this comment in the FT, welcoming the loss of an estimated 30,000 jobs in the UK university sector over the past three years, as if it's a blow against the "woke". That last sentence is quite the punchline. This guy thinks mass redundancies take place in a realm remote from reality.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 12/05/2026
BBC political coverage.
Screenshot from BBC News website
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Spending £45K on a publicity stunt is considered an investment in the higher ed industry. Paying a salary to academic to research and teach, not so much.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 26/04/2026
Shooter
Elmer Fudd
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
It’s almost as if Carlson has very limited political judgement and is a terrible judge of character.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
Ulster University plans to make 450 staff redundant. You can sign the petition objecting to the wrecking of a regional university. Use the QR code. That'll take you to the petition. Or click on the link. www.change.org/p/stop-redun...
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
If I still have a job next semester, these two front pages, reporting on the same story, will be the first slide in the Journalism and Society module.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
This is an extract from my own chapter in Notions: The Lives of Irish Working Class Academics
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
Lebanese artist Abdel Hamid Baalbaki’s (1940-2013) mural entitled ‘The War’ (1977).
Symbols, terrifying and surreal.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 01/04/2026
"I want you to lay down your life, Perkins. We need a futile gesture at this stage. It will raise the whole tone of the war."
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 27/03/2026
This was a fantastic project to be part of and the book a pleasure to help edit with @michaelpierse.bsky.social & @ionaburnellreilly.bsky.social. I'll say more about it soon. For now, working with and meeting contributors, and being given an insight into their rich and varied lives was a privilege.
Book cover. Notions: The Lives of Irish Working Class Academics
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 19/03/2026
Tom Georgeson. Astonishingly good actor. Loved him in Alan Bleasdale's Boys from the Blackstuff and GBH.
Tom Georgeson. Astonishingly good actor.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 13/02/2026
Here's a poll that suggest the Greens would do better. But carry on Polly. yougov.co.uk/politics/art...
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
Braverman to Reform. Haven't seen a team pick up so many has-beens in the transfer window since West Ham in the summer of 2024. Here's the meme again...
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 22/01/2026
Dear BBC, Please, I beg you, wise the fuck up!
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 20/01/2026
Listening to Trump speaking at the White House ahead of going to Davos. This energy...
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 19/01/2026
You know, the more I think about it, this guy, Graeme Hall, the "dog doctor" is the answer. Isn't he.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 18/01/2026
Andrew Rosindell quits Tories and defects to Reform UK And once more…
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 15/01/2026
Jenrick to Reform.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 12/01/2026
Former Tory Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi has become the latest senior Conservative to defect to Reform UK.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 09/01/2026
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
#WestHam calling…
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 01/12/2025
Two more Tory defections to Reform.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Billy Bonds
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
If it is any comfort to you, you can be this hysterically stupid and still make a comfortable living in the UK.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
It's heartbreaking. And yet, I get the feeling that we're expected to stand back and admire the mess made of the city.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 16/11/2025
Shabana Mahmood, the home secretary, says, 'illegal migration' is "tearing the country apart", as she prepares to unveil plans to make people granted asylum wait 20 years before they can apply to settle permanently. How will this policy bring the UK back together again?
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 11/11/2025
Instead of Keir Starmer… … how about we try Wes Streeting!
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 29/10/2025
Ards Historical Society’s Bully’s Acre exhibition in the Newtownards Tourist Information centre. The @heartsofdown.bsky.social Forgotten Famine film is the centrepiece.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 28/10/2025
Just voted in the @ucu.org.uk pay and conditions ballot. Voted YES. I’m sick of worsening pay and conditions. I’m sick of working in a constant state of crisis. I’m sick of the exploitative, careless leadership in this sector. I’m looking forward to fighting back with @ucu-ulster.bsky.social
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 27/10/2025
In the 90s Caroline Aherne ripped the piss out of this sort of nonsense. How this shit moved from Kilroy to news and current affairs is mind blowing.
Picture of Caroline Aherne as Mrs Merton, captioned “Let’s have a heated debate.”
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 01/10/2025
“Hidden” you say.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 22/09/2025
How it started and how it's going.
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Stephen Baker @stephenbaker.bsky.social · 17/09/2025
… and another Tory is confirmed as having joined (rebranded them self as) Reform.
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