‘President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock told the opening of CSW that the backlash against women’s rights “feels as though we are forced to fight the same old battles again and again, battles from 80 years ago”.’

www.timeshighereducation.com/news/uk-univ... yes, but ... if we were market stall holders.. you said we could only sell apples for 50p. and it didn't matter how much inflation was, 50p was the price. but you also said we could sell peaches for as much as we like, because the price of apples was.. 1.

A lot has bothered me about the reporting of the Kanye West banned. Firstly how it has been framed as all about it the Jewish community - but we should all be against Nazism! This country fought Nazis. Songs called Heil Hitler should not just be for the Jewish community to object to. And secondly…

Well, isn’t it fun waking up and checking if someone has started World War 3 overnight. I love 80s retro, but this is too much.

Article in the Guardian on increases to police-recorded stalking offences almost completely fails - apart from a passing reference - to discuss changes to police recording practice. The giveaway is the huge jump between 2020 and 2021.

As someone currently drowning in things I said ‘yes’ to, there is lots of great advice here that I wish I’d thought about a few months ago!

Kitten is going to the vets for his neutering operation today, so neither cat can be fed until he’s safely in the cat carrier. Not a happy house this morning.

The book banning school in Manchester has now been named, the Lowry Academy. Some of the books have been returned to the shelves but not all. Glad to hear CILIP are supporting the librarian ://www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/greater-manchester-school-library-censorship-who-is-accountable/

Our Chief Executive, Fiona Rutherford, warned MPs that restricting jury trials could mean more defendants cross-examining victims in court. Thousands more cases will be heard in magistrates’ courts, where free legal support is harder to access - forcing defendants to act as their own lawyers.

Could a Reform UK government govern by “executive order”? Or pass an “Enabling Act”? I discuss this for @instituteforgovernment.org.uk

This story is absolutely horrifying.

I’m a vegetarian married to a meat eater, I buy veggie burgers, sausages, bacon etc yet he has never eaten a veggie alternative accidentally. Hmm. Must be because he’s not a moron. This EU rule is so ridiculous it sounds like it was made up by an anti-EU columnist.

My cartoon for this week’s @newscientist.com

Three cheers for @robertshrimsley.bsky.social. Am reading and listening to too many self-styled fans of liberal democracy saying, in effect, 'let's park international law for the moment and talk about....'

1908: the Lancet, one of the most respected scientific journals, calls for 18 age limit on reading in bed amidst a moral panic surrounding children becoming "addicted" to novels, which were "designed to keep kids hooked" and destroy their attention/mental health

“Passage”, 2007 by German installation artist Cornelia Konrads #womensart #Spring

This is very good from Sadiq Khan. Unfortunately it comes on the same day the Home Secretary is talking about being happy to sacrifice ‘bourgeois’ votes. Labour treat a huge block of its voters with contempt, then whine when they vote elsewhere. They are so disappointing.

Well, after yesterday’s brief period of hope, the news today is so dismal and depressing that I’m going to drink coffee and play No Man’s Sky, and dream of going to other planets.

Good to see Labour have thought long and hard about why progressive voters are abandoning them.🙄

Thank goodness McDonald’s are not getting rid of the mcplant. I waited decades for a decent vegeburger from them and my child would starve when out with friends without it 😂

I can say from personal experience that Putin is threatened by strong women. As I argue in a new piece in @foreignaffairs.com, he and his fellow autocrats have reason to fear us: Defending women's rights and combating authoritarianism is the same fight. www.foreignaffairs.com/united-state...

Wrote this for the last Winter Olympics - would genuinely still love to have Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski providing real time sports commentary on my assorted mundane dysfunctions #Olympics originallittleoldlady.com/2022/02/25/j...

Mary Beale (née Cradock) (1633‍–‍1699) was an English painter who specialised in portrait painting. She was part of a small band of female professional artists working in London #Womensart

There was an Outer Limits episode, I think, about people who were on an alien planet where it never stopped raining. It drove them mad. Feels like that a bit recently.

I never really sign stuff. But this was different. It's not about trying to facilitate or block a particular party's route to power. It's about an electoral system that's unsuited to the political realities we face today and risks giving us government after government with no convincing mandate.

This was a good quick reaction from the PM instead of days of dithering. Maybe a sign of hope after McSweeny’s departure? Or am I just fooling myself?

My favorite artifact in the "you don't need AI to do art" discourse is, of course, screenwriter Dan O'Bannon's sketch of the facehugger to explain it to Giger.

NEW BLOGPOST: Palestine Action: What just happened? A look at some of the legal principles at play following yesterday's verdicts. thesecretbarrister.com/2026/02/05/p...

Lord Forsyth of Drumlean has taken over the role as Lord Speaker. So what does the Lord Speaker do? Read our explainer to find out more about the role and how it is elected www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainer/lo...

Odd to see use of the Parliament Acts described as “unconstitutional”, even “unprecedented”. It’s not unconstitutional for the Lords to vote against a Bill. Nor is it unconstitutional for the Parliament Acts to be used to pass a Bill approved by the Commons alone. That is actually the constitution

The list of people consulted seems to be missing one group - teenagers. Snapchat is how teens communicate. Ban it and you will destroy support and friendship networks.

Since y'all asked nicely, here's my complete history of Robin of Sherwood. One of the finest TV shows ever made. Hugely influential. Most modern cinematic/TV Robin Hood tropes trace back to it. As Herne would say: "Nothing is forgotten. Nothing is ever forgotten." authory.com/JohnBull/Not...

Feeling virtuous, as I just resisted the temptation to dump the Christmas tree lights in the box in a tangled mess. I hope Christmas 2026 me is suitably grateful.

Over Christmas I read a book I thought would be a fun cozy read but was so bad. All in present tense which my brain just rejects- it’s not edgy or modern, it’s just bad writing. I don’t know why I finished it other than bloody-mindedness. Now I’m reading a Terry Pratchett to make it up to myself.

Happy New Year everyone. This is the bit I love - absolute silence on the road outside.

One of our Christmas presents arrived a little early this year.

“one hoggeshede bookes” is basically what I’m hoping to get for Christmas.

Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.

Christmas card writing today - having a flashback to ‘70s childhood trauma of the box of different cards for the class, and having to decide who got a cute one, and who got the photo of baubles. And then the pain when you received a bauble card.

An excellent piece by Yasmin Khan in @theguardian.com – and I’m very relieved the preposterous case against her has been dropped. www.theguardian.com/food/comment...

I feel so much pain for whoever sent the budget details out too early from the OBR. The horror they must have gone through when they realized what they had done. Real ‘there but for the Grace of God…’ time www.theguardian.com/business/202...

Magistrates convict a higher proportion of defendants than juries, so I hope they are also planning to build more prisons.

I’m reading Dame Elizabeth Lane’s autobiography Hear the Other Side. This remarkable woman was not only the first female High Court judge, but she also hired the first female judge’s clerk (on Lord Denning’s recommendation) and was the first female Bencher of an Inn of Court.

I think I am playing Elden Ring and then looking for help online too much, as my iPad now auto corrects any misspelling beginning with E into Erd Tree. My emails are not going to make sense 😂

New post: Tyranny, anarchy and the rule of law: Reflections on a major report by the Constitution Committee publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/20/t...

17 hours left and we just hit £9k! Please keep sharing and pledging! www.kickstarter.com/projects/fli... You are all wonderful and I can't wait to make this book for you!

New post The legal and constitutional implications of the asylum white paper: Some initial thoughts publiclawforeveryone.com/2025/11/17/t...

I’m sure I read in a chancellor’s memoirs (maybe Roy Jenkins or Ken Clarke’s) that he wasn’t even allowed to walk to Parliament for the budget statement in case his demeanour gave a clue about the budget contents and set the markets flapping. Maybe we should go back to that.

I read a book in the ‘80s about a man who didn’t want to be part of the UK having nuclear weapons, so he declared his house and garden a separate country. After the past week’s government announcements, I think I’d like to do that.

There’s a line in the Slough House book Real Tigers - it’s not the hope that kills you. It’s knowing that it’s the hope that kills you that kills you. Kind of how I’m feeling about the government this morning.