It's great to see the @socialpolicyblog.bsky.social is now on BlueSky! Follow for insightful #SocialPolicy analysis from @socialpolicyuk.bsky.social authors and more!

New @resolutionfoundation.org @safety-nets.bsky.social report on the localisation of social security since 2013: Support delivered by local authorities isn't well understood but is an increasingly important part of the social security system: real spending on it is now 122 times higher than 2010-11

Reposting, just in case you don't yet know - next week, in Edinburgh, Prof Mark Findlay is talking on his book, Governing the Metaverse. Tell your friends, tell your students, tell it to that enigmatic stranger sitting in the corner... #Law #Regulation #Cyberspace #Metaverse

Historic shift in Copenhagen. After a century of Social Democratic rule, the city have elected its first ever left-wing mayor. www.dr.dk/nyheder/poli...

"Libraries and archives are the labs of humanities and social science scholars, and history is not possible without them." 🔥

Here is a sneak peek from our forthcoming special issue on "social policy implementation in Southern Europe and Latin America" where Llorenç Soler-Buades and Francisco Ferraioli argue that rescaling of welfare can introduce additional burdens for claimants.

UK universities are becoming “very concerned” amid growing speculation that chancellor Rachel Reeves will use next week’s budget to cap tax-free pension contributions – a move that could cost the sector £50 million. @twilliamsthe.bsky.social reports

I know it’s always like this. But one striking thing from the budget kite flying and kite pulling back in, is how major policy decisions are constantly being buffeted around by iterative forecast changes. All feels a bit of a silly way to be making major economic policy & political decisions.

📻 Sunday listening 📻 - Alexander Gallas on popular support for the Thatcher governments of the 1980s, Thatcherism as a "two-nations hegemonic project" and the debates between Stuart Hall and Bob Jessop on how to make sense of Thatcherism:

If you care about the future of University of Edinburgh, call or email your local MSP on Monday: Monday, 17 November: Call your MSP. UCU has prepared a briefing here, but you can also simply call and tell your story. These cuts will affect the whole city. www.ucuedinburgh.org.uk/lobby-your-m...

My new article on everyone’s favourite PM, Liz Truss, is out in New Political Economy 🧵

New Universal Credit statistics today show the % of claimants in the ‘no work requirements’ conditionality group has continued to rise to 49%, and the proportion in work has fallen to 33%. This is likely to be written up as ‘a rise in claimants not required to work’, but context is very important! 🧵

Mayfield Review rightly highlights employer incentives for more evidence & then action. But this is the bit that's absolutely crucial and has been ducked by governments for a long time. That must change for better living standards, inclusion &growth. 3/n www.resolutionfoundation.org/comment/from...

What an utterly terrible thing for Edinburgh Council to do. It's bad enough sharing space with black cabs but private hires are just bad www.edinburghlive.co.uk/news/edinbur...

Looking forward to speaking here on Wednesday: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spa-worksh...

We're hiring!💥 IPPR North are looking for a senior researcher who has big ideas for the future of our regions. Join us at this pivotal time for our economy and democracy. Based in Manchester, apply by 31st October. www.ippr.org/jobs/senior-...

Anyway, what the Government have done here on universities is put out a thinkpiece that's like a paper bag with 'policies' written on it - but with very little inside. All they've really done is press the button marked 'higher fees' without any sense of structural reform. (19/?)

Now available: www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/res... co-edited by policy group member Elke Heins, with contributions from policy group members: @haylesben.bsky.social, @chrisgrover.bsky.social @heejungchung.bsky.social @katyjones.bsky.social

This is just ridiculous.

I wrote about the stupid white paper. In summary, with these people in the driver's seat and apparently unbothered by consequences, we're so cooked.

Wow. Harvard nuking its PhD programs - Science PhD admissions reduced by more than 75% - Arts & Humanities reduced by about 60% - Social Sciences by 50–70% - History by 60% - Biology by 75% - The German department will lose all PhD seats - Sociology from six PhD students to zero

What a class act this government is. They're going to do a "task and finish" group on education cold spots while explicitly encouraging even more cold spots through policy incentives and funding changes! Genius. The work will never end for that Derby VC.

Edinburgh needs this!

If you know someone who is thinking about doing a PhD and who is interested in health then please share this advert with them. It is an ESRC funded PhD working on trade unions and health as part of a collaboration with me and the @tuc.org.uk @lsesociology.bsky.social www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse...

A much needed corrective by @chrisgiles.ft.com to the "welfare is out of control" narrative, drawing on research by my colleague @benbgeiger.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/ee67...

📣Upcoming event: "Immigration, Citizenship, and Social Policy in the UK" Hybrid, University of Edinburgh. Wednesday 29 October, 09:30 – 15:30. A one-day workshop on how immigration status shapes access to work, education, healthcare, housing, and safety. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/spa-worksh...

the Adeptus Mechanicus Tech-Priest whispers the final canticle to the LLM before pressing the polished plasteel enter key, invoking the Emperor's name while praying for a successful Generation

ICO orders DWP to "disclose the list of all AI tools DWP plans to place on the Algorithmic Transparency Recording Standards Hub" I.e. publish details of all the AI they are using unless there is a valid reason to keep it secret h/t @rightsnet.org.uk

📢💥NEW EPISODE📢💥 - @philbc3.bsky.social on the ongoing crisis of the Conservative Party and whether there is a way back* for the party that has dominated British politics for two centuries. *spoiler: there isn't.

If we are thinking about alternatives to intellectual property, Ireland's Basic Income for the Arts seems like a model worth considering. www.rte.ie/news/budget-...

There's also the vexed question of who counts as a "foreigner". Long-term Commonwealth residents? Irish citizens? No doubt Badenoch has thought it all through ....

Burnham's latest position is Compassite and opens up common ground with the LDs on PR and Europe, which could make a future coalition easier. But the LDs might need to assume a disciplinary position in relation to public spending, which is not a role the party is likely to find easy. 2/2

❗Job Opportunity❗ Postdoc on Studying Parliaments and the Role of Knowledge (SPARK), University of Edinburgh. 2.5 year post, examining your choice of parliaments between our UK and German country cases. Apply by 29th October: elxw.fa.em3.oraclecloud.com/hcmUI/Candid...

On the morning of Keir Starmer's conference speech here's a new post on an odd psychopathology in British politics - our main parties don't like the people who vote for them - the dreaded Professional Managerial Class. And so they are acting out like a divorced dad seeking cooler voters. 1/n

🚨We're hiring! 🌐Research Assistant/Associate to work with @verityharding.bsky.social on the AI & Geopolitics Project (AIxGEO) 💡Research Assistant/Associate to work with @ojgarling.bsky.social on our policy response & knowledge transfer activities 🔗 www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/about-us/car...

“using their university's approved or supported LLM tool, Copilot.” So much blandly corporate, so much bollocks.

Most people working in this area have known for years that DWP's figures on trends in out-of-work benefit caseloads are complete junk but have struggled to find more accurate figures. Ben has now produced an estimated time series and the discrepancy is huge. Nobody should be using these stats!

🚨 New working paper alert 🚨 Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️ In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...

Offering fascinating insights into one of the most unsuccessful episodes of British economic history, Tim Lankester examines the legacy of monetarism for the economy today. #UKPolitics #MargaretThatcher #Thatcher New in paperback:

The Starmer Disaster - free online seminar with @yasminalibhaibrown.bsky.social, Mark Perryman and me. Discussing the recent edited collection, The Starmer Symptom, edited by Mark, published by @plutopress.bsky.social. October 8th, 18:30-20:30, free. www.eventbrite.com/e/the-starme...

"Unfunded research" is a phrase I've started to hear a lot. It's misleading, because if it's on your contract, by definition it is funded. It's intended to make people feel guilty for not getting FEC grants.

The best chapter of "Abundance" is the one on research funding. Nobody really knows what works, but the approach of "more detailed pre-approval by funding bodies" has had a fair go and really failed to deliver the goods. And that's research that is.

My assessement of the Corbyn years. labourlist.org/2025/09/jere...

"those on the right-wing demonstration scene are often not of the maligned, silent majority which some implicitly lionise them as. The most prominent single social demographic which sets the tone of these affairs is in fact the lumpenproletariat" Aaron Wells on the class politics of hotel protests

I'm chuffed that the edited volume 'Conservatism, Christian Democracy and the dynamics of transformation' is now out, including my chapter 'Britain's social market moment', which includes the most interesting finding from my PhD thesis, the transnational influence of West Germany on Thatcherism.

it's not going to be the good aspects, is it 😒

An update from UCU commons on the HEC decision to run a national strike ballot immediately. The close nature of the vote (19-20) really emphasizes the importance of voting for HEC reps (there’s a ballot out now to vote for new regional reps!). ucucommons.org/2025/09/08/u...

Our latest @crsp-uk.bsky.social report for @jrf-uk.bsky.social, out today, paints a stark picture for households on low-to-middle incomes, for whom benefits and earnings still leave them far short of a minimum living standard. Hear more from @mattpadley.bsky.social below.

I want to be very clear: we tried to stop this. We urged HEC to look at context and evidence, we were ignored and accused of 'betrayal'. Our full @ucucommons.bsky.social HEC report is forthcoming. If you want things to change at national level, you need to VOTE IN THE ELECTIONS.