Shamima Begum was the beginning of something in so many ways, one of which was 'the last government's inability to just do its job properly (in this case by passing legislation that would have allowed it to prosecute her here at home) and instead going 'no option but to undermine all our rights'.

BRIC has hosted many work-experience students from nearby schools over the years. Here Nicholas from Devonport High School for Boys is shown in the MRI control room. Thanks to @mattroser.bsky.social, one of our neuroscientists, for leading these events! #students #Plymouth #PublicOutreach #science

The UK will celebrate net emigration and depopulation come 2027. And by 2028 it will start to realise, with an ageing society and low growth, what a really silly thing it has done. The right will go "pro-natalist", the centre-left will be completely stuck.

A good-ish weak for Europe, a great year for China and an outstanding year for the Trump family. Plus marketing God - lessons from the remarkable success of the Alpha course. My latest on the Year of the Dragon open.substack.com/pub/nixons/p...

A quick explanation of how this borrowing to assist Ukraine will work. "Enhanced cooperation" means EU law is being used, but some Member States opt out. The process has been applied a few times before, but never before re the EU budget. 1/

After years of campaigning, the UK is set to rejoin Erasmus from January 2027, reopening opportunities not just for university students, but for apprentices, schools, adult learners, and communities across the country. A hopeful day, and a hard-won one.

'The so-called ‘hero voters’ Labour targeted in 2024 did not actually turn out for them in any great numbers. So not only are Labour fighting the last war, they are fighting it with a battle-plan that didn’t actually work. It’s Labour’s very own winter invasion of Russia.' 👏 @benansell.bsky.social

Uk to rejoin Erasmus scheme - set to be confirmed formally tomorrow www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...

This should be a wake up call to Keir Starmer. Trump is not a reliable ally. Trump wants to weaken Europe and carve up Ukraine while cosying up to Putin. Britain and our allies in Europe must stand together against his threats and bullying.

EU Commission proposes two options in legislation to support financing of Ukraine ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

Big - Brussels proposes to use “emergency” powers to ram through Russian assets loan to Ukraine and bypass potential sanctions vetoes, in what would be an extraordinary moment in EU legal evolution as.ft.com/r/0c2cd7f4-b...

'Low research intensity institutions are most exposed, with 95 per cent in deficit or reduced surplus, while high research intensity universities fare slightly better at 79 per cent. Arts and music colleges also show significant vulnerability, with nearly nine in ten reporting financial strain.' 1/4

‘I can categorically say that stories being told about me from 50 years ago are not true’ - a statement from Nigel Farage tonight on claims he racially abused fellow school pupils That firm denial tonight is different to what he said in interview with BBC Wales Political Editor Gareth Lewis 👇

We should be encouraging foreign students to come here and spend their money in our university towns and cities, not penalising them for doing it.

People should know that foreign student fees cross-subsidise inadequate home student funding very heavily. There are no free lunches in British Higher Ed.

45 years ago I made a pitch for the Director-General job. Didn’t get it – mind you, I was only 13. But I did get a reply from Ian Trethowan, who was DG at the time. All these years later I’m proud to work for the BBC.

The other striking point was the speech lingered on Europe's role, with heavy emphasis on the importance of European support For all the talk of Europe being sidelined, it's to us that Kyiv is looking

Look, I've flipped the classroom, closed feedback loops, innovated assessment methods, done breakout sessions, faciliated peer-learning seminars; but sometimes, just standing up and talking at students for 2 hours about a subject passionately works just fine!

This is Zelenskyy's "if necessary for years, if necessary alone" moment. A chapter in history that will be remembered both for the shame of Washington's betrayal, and for the dignity, bravery, defiance and resolve of the Ukrainian people in the face of it all.

It would be helpful for journalists to ask Nigel Farage what steps he has taken to find out whether other Reform politicians have accepted money from foreign powers.

My message to Rachel Reeves ahead of the Budget: Don’t just blame the Brexit damage, fix it.

public service posting

The debate on evidence accumulation in decisions continues, well done to @laurencf.bsky.social and @danfeuerriegel.bsky.social for this inspiring preprint validating our earlier work on neural correlates of evidence accumulation in value-based decisions.

Meanwhile, universities are in financial trouble, with domestic tuition fees not rising enough to pay for growing costs, and government bearing down on international students - an important source of export revenues for many smaller cities.

New essay out today by me and @acjsissons.bsky.social - ‘Getting Britain out of the hole: a plan for the economy’. You can read the whole thing here getting-out-of-the-hole.uk A chart mega-thread follows 🧵

The Labour government has released to the media more details of its asylum reforms - to be released on Monday. Their premise: UK attracts asylum seekers because it is too generous + reducing pull factors will change that. There is a lot of overspinning from this govt www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Salami slicing your way to fiscal headroom introduces more tax complexity, likely means poorly targeted measures increasing deadweight costs, raises uncertainty (where might they look to tax next?), and reduces flexibility going forward (pulling all but the obvious levers sends a signal in itself).

The great thing about delaying hard decisions is that you never have to make them and it all turns out fine in the end (Ed - pls check).

Right call by the BBC, to apologise but not pay a penny of the British public’s money to President Trump.

New thing! The @carefultrouble.bsky.social Careful Consequence Check is now live and free to use. Based on research with the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, this practical tool will help you answer the question "is my AI product creepy and weird" www.careful.industries/consequences

Taking lessons from Denmark is as much about "vibes"rhetoric as policy details. Much UK political briefing and media reporting is simplistic with claims that don't stand up re what happened in Denmark, and esp its transferability See Commons briefing commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

I would go further - why not have very small rises in fuel duty every month, or even better, say that fuel duty rises by 0.1p every X days? @resolutionfoundation.org

Me at the Treasury Select Committee yesterday, calling for a fairer, more economically efficient property tax, to replace stamp duty and council tax. Thanks to @fairershare.bsky.social for funding the research, and giving me academic freedom to write it. x.com/i/status/198...

A recent report of a brain injury during a clinical trial using transcranial ultrasound (TUS) has prompted the case reviewers Kim Butts Pauly and @efouragnan.bsky.social to make their concerns public. If you are interested in TUS read their letter here: www.elsa-fouragnan.com/blog shorturl.at/SUmix

📢 Submissions are now open for the 2026 Autobiographical Processing & Psychopathology Conference, at the University of Plymouth 🌊 on 23rd - 24th June 2026 🎉! 📌Visit the #APP2026 website for more details: www.plymouth.ac.uk/whats-on/aut... 📬Join our mailing list: stats.sender.net/forms/bqxQO0...

I’ve written to Keir Starmer, Kemi Badenoch and Nigel Farage urging them to condemn Donald Trump’s attack on the BBC. The BBC belongs to Britain, not Trump. We must defend it together.

Kent County Council is getting underway. Slightly odd arrangements in place where usual press seats have been closed, leaving us in the public gallery, which has 14 seats. Far more than 14 people are here, leading to several journalists and others being left outside of the room. But we’re in.

Today marks 75 years of the European Convention on Human Rights. The product of high aspirations & the ultimate step in taking seriously the idea that every human being should be treated with equal dignity 🧵 #ECHR #ECHR75

People deserve to know that chewing gum contains plastic. In fact, just one piece of gum can release up to 250,000 microplastics into your body in an hour. That’s why I’m calling to clearly label gum as containing plastic. It’s time to make this information visible on every pack.

Ever heard that we only use '10%' of our brains? That's just one neuromyth – and there's loads more. But why do these myths persist? Find out in our #BlackhamLecture with Professor Paul Howard-Jones. Book now. 19 November 2025. humanists.uk/events/black...

Hugely important case this, with many dimensions not picked up here. A compelling reminder that 1st-rate research is not the preserve of the Russell Group. And writers of the recent post-16 education & skills White Paper need to read it to grasp the complexity of how university funding works. 3/3

Almost as if you shouldn’t allow your research infrastructure to be dependent on the manipulatable income stream of students from foreign powers? Put universities on stable funding so they’re not beholden to this kind of manipulation.

A pioneering service at University College London will support thousands of people diagnosed decades before old age, combining science with emotional support

It is excellent that the Conservatives are readopting a core principle of no retrospective changes. It is a big policy change. The media shouldn't collude in attempts to misinform the public that this was all some big misunderstanding while their policy hasn't changed

My co-authors have yet to move to Bluesky, so I'm pleased to announce our latest work has just been published in @nature.com Neuroscience. Amazing work led by Junheng Li, revealing that falling asleep follows a predictable bifurcation pattern #neuroskyence #sleep www.nature.com/articles/s41...

New preprint! ADHD-like traits don’t just affect inhibition or learning — they reshape their interaction. A key problem in neuroscience is studying functions in isolation, but cognition emerges from their interplay. doi.org/10.1101/2025... #neuroscience #learning #PsychSciSky #neuroskyence

Love this. Would you prefer a copy of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in place of a Bible in your hotel room?

Nothing here is moving

For your enjoyment (by @jagarikin)