ICYMI - ahead of this weekend's India-Pakistan T20 cricket match, our Avaes Mohammad writes about the new 'British South Asian Bridgers project' supporting those individuals working to bridge divides within and between South Asian communities in the UK .

Our @sundersays.bsky.social on BBC News discussing Jim Ratcliffe’s use of ‘colonised’ to talk about uk immigration

Our @sundersays.bsky.social is talking to BBC News Channel at 9.30 discussing Ratcliffe’s comments and language on immigration

It is important to recognise that "Immigration has been too high/was unsustainable high in the last parliament and needs [needed] to come down" Is qualitatively very different in language, ethos to "Britain has been colonised by immigrants" Colonised? "Yes, we've been colonised". [Mistaken stat]

I am writing (for next week) about what happens after the settlement consultation closes tomorrow. - does govt make significant reforms/changes, or minor amendments? - Does govt push ahead quickly, with changes this April? Or slow down? Stagger elements? - will MPs get a voice/vote or not?

A new 'British South Asian Bridgers Project' is bringing together and supporting the ‘bridging’ voices who are working to build inter-community connection, and defuse tensions, among the UK’s largest ethnic minority group. [1/5]

Starmer's future remains uncertain – but "it may be a few months yet before we find out who governs Britain for the remaining three years of this parliament," writes @sundersays.bsky.social for @easterneye.bsky.social www.easterneye.biz/keir-starmer...

'UK expands Hong Kong visa scheme in wake of Jimmy Lai’s prison sentence,' reports @theguardian.com. Adult children of BN(O)s who were under 18 at the time of Hong Kong’s 1997 handover to China will now be eligible to apply, independently of their parents. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/f...

300,000 children in the UK would face "prolonged insecurity" as a result of the government's proposed changes to settlement rules, finds new @ippr.org analysis www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

"It is welcome, if overdue, that the PM has set out a positive vision for cohesion... What needs to follow is a clear plan to turn these words into sustained action," writes our @sundersays.bsky.social www.britishfuture.org/pms-welcome-...

The PM will give a speech today about community renewal, tolerance and social cohesion, linked to the new Pride in Place programme. Thread from our @sundersays.bsky.social here with more details: bsky.app/profile/sund...

Government response to pressure over settlement reforms. Might indicate some openness on those already in the UK, particularly those "halfway" to settlement, where current proposals could turn 1-2 year wait into 12+ years www.ein.org.uk/news/ilr-ear...

An insightful thematic review of how to portray modern Britain to ourselves shows how the BBC could rise above the crossfire of culture wars & tokenistic tick-box diversity when trad elites check their privileges more than they share power. My Eastern Eye column www.easterneye.biz/bbc-diversit...

"No, the public is not irredeemably ignorant," writes @sarahoconnorft.ft.com – citing data from our @britishfuture.bsky.social immigration attitudes tracker on misperceptions about immigration www.ft.com/content/320c... @financialtimes.com

BBC News reports on plans to widen community sponsorship schemes supporting refugees in the UK www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

An energising day in Westminster yesterday with many @churchillfship.bsky.social Fellows on how to understand & shape debates about migration+cohesion in volatile times: thanks @bekelewoyecha.bsky.social @jacquibroadhead.bsky.social @emilyagraham.bsky.social + Rosie Carter for insights + inspiration

As the Hong Kong BN(O) visa scheme approaches its fifth anniversary, our @heather-rolfe.bsky.social looks at the lessons to be learned from the scheme in how the UK can support new migrants. New blog for @ukandeu.bsky.social: ukandeu.ac.uk/lessons-from...

Our @sundersays.bsky.social welcomes London Mayor Sadiq Khan making "a more confident case for controlled immigration – and the economic and social contribution that it can make,' in his @easterneye.bsky.social column www.easterneye.biz/sadiq-khan-l... @london.gov.uk

EU Commission to open proceedings against Grok on Monday, reports Handelsblatt reut.rs/4bC7dlx

London Mayor Sadiq Khan says Labour's approach to immigration should focus on "compassion, control and contribution". In a speech to @thefabians.bsky.social conference, he criticised govt proposals to restrict settlement & citizenship, saying it would harm integration labourlist.org/2026/01/lond...

How do efforts to build community cohesion respond to today's febrile geopolitical and national context? This week's @sundersays.bsky.social column for @easterneye.bsky.social www.easterneye.biz/trump-greenl...

The Windrush Day 2026 Grant Scheme is open - applications close 10 Feb. Details: www.near-neighbours.org.uk/windrush26-h...

New 2026 thread to retest in real time if X reporting system *mostly* ignores/protects unlawful racist abuse reported to it Criteria: direct racist abuse @ people that would be unlawful on the bus + is unlawful online + that broad consensus (9/10 people across parties) would agree should be stopped

Lovely story about a Bradford sewing group bringing women from different backgrounds together and combating loneliness and isolation.

“It is not ‘censorship’ to insist every website operating in our country does so within the law.” Our @sundersays.bsky.social argues in @easterneye.bsky.social that govt must reject Elon Musk’s ‘pick and mix” approach to the law and Make Social Media Lawful Again. www.easterneye.biz/technology-g...

We've launched an investigation into X over Grok sexualised imagery. We've opened a formal investigation into X under the Online Safety Act, to determine whether it has complied with its duties to protect people in the UK from content that is illegal in the UK. 🔗 www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safet...

Breaking: Ofcom launches probe into Elon Musk's X over Grok deepfake images www.mirror.co.uk/news/politic...

Spain has reduced small boat crossings by 46% by combining diplomatic deals with source countries, expanded legal routes and enforcement. Could the UK learn from them? @theipaper.com reports: inews.co.uk/news/world/e...

Our @sundersays.bsky.social spoke to David Cannadine about the Union Jack for BBC Radio 4's 'Materials of State' series. Listen back here: www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Liz Kendall to give a Commons statement today on online regulation. She wrote this Telegraph piece, calling this a tipping point. I'd like to hear govt + the regulator show that they are taking the full range of unlawful content seriously - not just one strand www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/01...

Our @sundersays.bsky.social on Labour's core dilemma: "how to defend a rule-based world order once the most powerful states barely pay lip service to international law." @easterneye.bsky.social www.easterneye.biz/trump-maduro...

Commons women and equalities committee to stop using X amid AI-altered images row www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Government demands Musk's X deals with 'appalling' Grok AI deepfakes www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

89% of Brits feel the country is divided, according to a new global poll. But most of us agree that "most people can be trusted" - higher than the global average. inews.co.uk/news/politic...

Will the government reduce its reliance on Elon Musk's X?

Vile abuse enabled by Elon Musk's Grok platform has been shared on X by Bella Wallerstein, in which users to post then Grok sexualises an AI image of her outside Auschwitz gates as a concentration camp victim. She tweets "this place is beyond saving" [Her post + one image] x.com/BellaWallers...

Reuters on Musk's non-comsensual sexual harassment bot. So far only the Indian and French governments appear to have made significant interventions challenging this: yet dozens of other democratic countries have relevant laws & powers, including UK & EU member starss www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

"The only safe prediction may be to expect another volatile year in domestic and global politics," writes our @sundersays.bsky.social for @easterneye.bsky.social on what 2026 has in store www.easterneye.biz/uk-politics-...

Our @sundersays.bsky.social talking to @shelaghfogarty.bsky.social on @lbc.co.uk at 1pm about Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice refusing to condemn Reform mayoral candidate who said David Lammy should “go home to the Caribbean”.

'Shabana Mahmood's control challenge won't tackle racism on its own,' writes @sundersays.bsky.social for @easterneye.bsky.social www.easterneye.biz/shabana-mahm...

‘Ministers finalising definition of anti-Muslim hatred’, reports BBC www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Daniel Kruger claiming he hadn't seen this call from Reform's Mayoral candidate for David "Lammy must go home to the Caribbean" so didn't know what "context" it might have been in your make it less racist

There were 2 Labour Cabinet Ministers last week on TalkTV Harry Cole slot which plans to invite back an overt racist who'd ban the Home Secretary, Lord Chancellor, Leader of the Opposition & Deputy Speaker from parliament & all blacks, Asians, Jews, Hindus, Muslims & Sikhs from the civil service!

An attempt to remove the stories of Black GIs from a second world war cemetery in the Netherlands ran into stiff resistance ✏️ Gordon Darroch

"Migrants who came to the UK on skilled work visas in 2022-23 will make a net contribution of £47bn to the public finances over their lifetime, according to new estimates from the government’s Migration Advisory Committee." Not surprising, but some observations (1/n) www.ft.com/content/10da...

"We can take some solace in the fact that this offer to import the Trump and Vance doctrine into our own politics is something we will get to decide for ourselves at the ballot box." Our @sundersays.bsky.social letter to @thetimes.com on Trump's fears for Europe's 'civilisational erasure' [1/2]

"Keir Starmer has called on European leaders to urgently curb joint human rights laws so that member states can take tougher action to protect their borders and see off the rise of the populist right across the continent," reports @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/law/2025/dec...

"The 61-year-old political leader obviously cannot change how his 16-year-old self behaved... What Farage can control in 2025 is what he does or does not want to say to those directly involved, or the broader public." @sundersays.bsky.social @easterneye.bsky.social www.easterneye.biz/nigel-farage...

A mission for 2026 ... "A shared pride can unite Eng­land – in a way that prejudice never could. We should show how to use the moments of next year – not just the World Cup, but St George’s Day too to show how an inclusive pride can defeat prejudice and help to bring our diverse country together"

With the World Cup draw today, @sundersays.bsky.social @easterneye.bsky.social column reports from the Lionesses game at Wembley. "It would be hard to find a more inclusive pride and patriotism than the way in which the Wembley crowd were cheering on the Lionesses" www.easterneye.biz/lionesses-su...