On the back of being quoted I was contacted by a research administrator at a different Uni. She wants to stay anonymous. She has worked on this call all weekend. She didn't feel able to say no. Nor did the researchers. Unlike them she will not benefit in any material way if her Uni wins this money.
Isn't it weird how those who keep telling us about "broken Britain" want to make us more like Donald Trump's deeply polarised America? ht @stephenkb.bsky.social
Well done to the majority of UK universities. It's about time government(s) and public bodies did the same.
The majority of UK academic institutions now no longer post on X - LSE Impact share.google/Uo7ZscsQl4tS...
This blog post by @davekarpf.bsky.social is really worth reading and reflecting upon.
I think this is broadly right. A key contradiction of online culture is 'everything-slop' vs 'niche-craft'. Niche was King in early online days (before corps took over). But niche is economically viable for many. Something similar is going on with political commentary (& I guess, everything else).
Matt Goodwin would now be the MP IF
- only white British people are British + could vote
+ tactical voting failed
But Hannah Spencer is MP because
- Greens won with BOTH UK-born voters + foreign-born
- Ethnic minorities UK-born+ naturalised Brits = equally British
- Reform's 29% was never enough
This story has been puzzling, because im still not clear exactly what is meant to have happened where, or why DV insists there was egregious family voting but the council seems so sure nothing was raised with them on the day (bar one concern, I’m told, which apparently turned out to be innocent)
Agreed. There's a shameful attempt being made by Reform and much of the tabloid press to delegitimise Muslim voting and to undermine trust in elections. We can stand resolutely against that, without ourselves undermining trust in election observers, who are a crucial part of the electoral process.
To be fair to Mr Farage, stopping the people who won’t vote for you from voting is quite good election tactics.
The rest of us need to to recognise this is the first step in delegitimising the election process. The “we did win this election” approach. /1
okay, here it is, the five key takeaways from this by-election:
1. Denton Kebab House
2. The Crispy Cod, Denton
3. Reddish Tandoori, Gorton
4. Cottage Chippy, Gorton
5. The Continental Takeaway, Denton
... so right in challenging this. Reform also said it was 15% of something. It wasn't, it was reported incidents at 15 polling stations. Journalists MUST challenge these things, and also inform themselves how UK elections are run to challenge this stuff. Our elections are incredibly well run, by...
The family voting thing is weird. As a Presiding Officer, it's really difficult to deal with. The only time I've been shouted out by a voter was stepping in to try and prevent it happening.
And parents don't take kindly to you saying they can't take their kids into the booth...
Labour's swing toward racism is perhaps the biggest unforced error in British political history; burnt their base to ashes and won them not a single vote on the right.
“We have this narrative that explicit misogyny is something from the ’50s and ’60s" said Lauren Aulet, a neuroscientist. “I think this made clear that explicit misogyny is still out there in science and in academia, it’s just perhaps behind closed doors.”
19thnews.org/2026/02/epst...
One in six couples experience infertility (that's couples, so not counting the single people who struggle). So that's at least one in six votes he's automatically losing.
Or maybe there will be a special 'it's not my fault' discount on the barren tax?
Bluesky is the new science Twitter, new study by @whysharksmatter.bsky.social and Julia Wester concludes!
"Results show that for every reported professional benefit that scientists once gained from Twitter, scientists can now gain that benefit more effectively on Bluesky than on Twitter."
Good impact narratives must connect to our everyday lives.
I mean, it's not rocket science, but it still seems to be for the majority of research (that is of benefit to the public)
@lseimpactblog.bsky.social
blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...
*PSA NEWS* 📢 We are pleased to announce a new partnership with The Conversation @uk.theconversation.com, with a commitment to working together over the next 3 years to achieve shared goals. The Conversation will be our media partner for PSA26 annual conference.
➡️ Full details
If you were looking for an exposition of what British values *could* be you could do a lot worse than Ian McKellen wielding Shakespeare like a rapier.
Individual journalists might thrive, but the press as a collective actor - and as understood in constitutions - cannot survive without a minimum of professional solidarity.
Don’t just ask the next question after yet another obscene attack on a female reporter.
Reminder that "jaywalking" was literally made up by american car manufacturers to shift the blame for accidents from drivers to pedestrians. "Jay" was a slang term meaning "idiot" or "rube".
Some initial reactions to the 'published on a Sunday afternoon' letter from the CEO of UKRI. 🧵
www.ukri.org/news/open-le...
are those freedoms in room with us right now
"The idea that trans inclusion at the ponds is somehow imposed against the wishes of users simply does not survive contact with reality. Londoners have looked at the evidence... and overwhelmingly said: this works, this is fair, and this reflects our values."
celord.com/2026/01/29/h...
@404media.co The fascinating @BBCRadio4 #Vastaamo scandal of therapeutic data theft @JennyKleeman is not a one off. Chat & Ask AI leaked data on #mentalhealth & #suicide.
www.404media.co/massive-ai-c...
www.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/ubertherapy
@brisunipress.bsky.social
From the Chartists to the suffragettes, and from the civil rights movement to the anti-apartheid struggle, every great protest movement has found strength in song.
There is extraordinary power in music. More than one injustice has fallen before a hail of ballads.
I know most people find procedure dull as dishwater but I honestly don’t think the media does the public any favours by continually describing the rules of our legislature as if they’re kept in a wizard’s tower guarded by an enchanted rat
“Why am I so sad today?” I ask myself after staring at my little handheld sadness machine and clicking all the sad little things that will definitely make me sad
work with me and @drdaveobrien.bsky.social as part of @creativepec.bsky.social! we're recruiting a postdoc to work on the arts, culture and heritage sectors using quantitative methods. please share, please feel free to email me directly with any Qs! jobsite.sheffield.ac.uk/job/Sheffiel...
