Building the union is critical. There is no shortcut to success without organising. I + 18 others pleaded at HEC to give us the time & space to organise to have a successful ballot in the spring. 20 members of HEC led by UCU Left bounced us into a costly ballot that did not have lay member support

Exciting news! We have transitioned off Substack and Wordpress and onto Ghost for both our website and newsletter. We're delighted to be on an open platform for our newsletter, which comes out every other Wednesday. You can check out our shiny new site via the same URL: ucucommons.org

Very glad not to be on Substack any more! And having both the website and the newsletter in Ghost will make life so much easier.

We have a shiny new handle! 😍

Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer decided to fund their budget on the backs of working people earning as little as £12,570 a year instead of the centimillionaires and billionaires, and the big banks who were spared a windfall tax This was a regressive budget further squeezing already squeezed people

Sign away, folks. Let's find out how many Russian assets there are within the РЕФОРМА SK party. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

I read “It is hard to imagine that taking place in Britain” initially as “thank goodness”. Then I realised that Phillips *wants* this for Britain! He wants a Britain where visible minorities live in fear of abduction and deportation? WTAF?

Labour budget process illustrated

The Labour Party's future here. Vote the Red Tories out. www.politico.eu/article/dani...

Labour MP says only way to unite UK over immigration is by leaning into Reform narrative.

After 3 successful days of strike action, @sheffielducu.bsky.social members are back at work for a day before we go out again. We may be working today but are not mitigating our own actions! We have already brought management back to the negotiating table. Stay strong and we win! 💪

Oh

Another reminder that the State of Israel is a terrorist state. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Dear Labour Party members and voters in Wales Do you want to support a party that isn't cheered on by *checks notes* Tommy Robinson? There's a home for you in @plaidcymru.bsky.social Join us! Vote for a tolerant, progressive nation, and send a message to Starmer, Mahmood, Farage, & the far right

This statement not acceptable and I suspect not sustainable. Large majority of public support principle of asylum, support letting people stay permanently. Majority for that among Labour and other progressive parties’ voters is overwhelming. The Reform voters this is aimed at will never vote Labour

www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/softwar... Kudos to the Python Software Foundation for refusing a $1.5m NSF grant which would have forced it to compromise on its DEI commitments #wellintended #wellindented

China’s CO₂ emissions have been flat or falling for 18 months — a stunning milestone as solar & wind power surge. With 240 GW of new solar added this year alone, the world’s largest emitter may have already peaked — years ahead of 2030. #EnergyTransition #BESS #Solar #Lithium #LFP #EV #Disruption

Bore da pawb, if you’ve not done so already please consider signing. We are so close to the 250 target to get it considered by the Senedd petitions committee. Still yet to hear on my UK petition 🤔 Anyway, please sign and share. None of that fascist shite here!

Broken clock strikes again. Fox "News" is correct in this instance, Democrats caved with absolutely nothing to show for it. They might as well have rolled over and let the Republicans pass their plan the first time around and nothing would be different. www.foxnews.com/politics/sen...

Love it.

I love that Zohran did not praise Cuomo in his speech. You absolutely do not have to say nice things about bad people. We should normalize that in “polite” politics: Praising bad people is not actually “civility.”

I know this thought would be so radical, it wouldn't even have occurred in the minds of these highly paid CEOs, nor the firms they pay millions for "consultations". But here's a suggestion they can have from me for free: PAY YOUR JUNIOR WORKERS MORE!

Tests don't improve literacy. And being 'ready to take on unions' really translates as 'I'm trying to pander to some parts of the electorate by needlessly fighting with those who actually work in the sector'.

My fellow Cymru, please sign. Na i ffasgyddion yng Nhgymru 🖕🏼

I've complained to the BBC and you should as well: www.bbc.co.uk/contact/comp... The BBC are promoting a fascist takeover of the UK. We have to tell them that this is not acceptable.

The BBC are pulling out all the stops to usher in fascism First they tried to boost the narrative of Reform inevitably. When that failed, they are now disguising Reform activists as academics The BBC are not a public broadcaster. They are owned by the far right.

In Caerphilly & in the Netherlands, people are showing time & time again that we are not condemned to a future where the far right is ascendant Despite wildly disproportionate media coverage for the likes of Farage & Wilders, they have been rejected at the ballot box news.sky.com/story/nether...

Happy Hallowe’en! #UKHE

Remember guys, @pcsunion.bsky.social staff at the BL are on strike for the next two weeks. Please don't cross the picket line to go to reading rooms, attend exhibitions or anything else. They've endured so much on low pay since the cyberattack in 2023 and the least we can do is have their backs now.

When the Tories were in power, Labour said that Wales was due its share of HS2 funding Now with Labour in power, they say that Wales should be "grateful" for the crumbs they give us To Labour, Wales is a colony & we are their subjects who should shut up & "be grateful" youtube.com/shorts/5_lY2...

I'm going to bed very proud of the people of #Caerphilly and our country tonight Cymru am byth 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿❤️🌼

Llongyfarchiadau Lindsay Whittle & @plaidcymru.bsky.social 🏵️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿🥳🎉 This result is proof that hope & positivity will win over hate & division ❤️ Deform threw the kitchen sink at this seat & the people of Wales made sure that they still came up empty handed! Can the media stop worshipping Deform now?

Yet another wonderful citizen of Caerphilly tells the hate monger from Reform exactly what he thinks of him 👏👏👏 www.instagram.com/reel/DQHoXxE...

Lam misrepresented her past statements in order to make her policy look less serious - “it’s only about criminals”. Exactly what Tory thinktanker Gavin Rice did when I criticised this policy on Twitter. She isn’t called on it. This is how we can end up with mass deportation by accident.

Canvassing in Caerffili for Lindsay Whittle. I was motivated to go by Cole, his mum, & the people of #Caerphilly who held the fascist from Reform to account at the debate Great knocking talking to people today. People in Caerphilly knew it's a two horse race between @plaidcymru.bsky.social & Reform

What's the difference between this Labour government and one run by Nigel Farage? Keir Starmer seems to go out of his way to pander to the far-right on every conceivable issue They're never going to vote for you, man

Absolutely agree. If the PM forces the police to allow these racist football hooligans to attend, he and his Labour Government will own responsibility for whatever acts of violence and thuggery they engage in against the people of Birmingham news.sky.com/story/politi...

From Wikipedia: [In Amsterdam last year], "the evening before the match, Maccabi Tel Aviv fans were filmed pulling Palestinian flags from houses, making racist chants such as "death to Arabs", assaulting people, & vandalising local property." Banning these racist hooligans is in the public interest

Just one of the amazing people of #Caerphilly who put the hate monger Llyr Powell and the fascist Reform party in their place www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c9...

I'm not a Labour member or Labour supporter, but Bridget Philipson represents the status quo of Starmer, Reeves, & their red austerity policies If you think the status quo is working in the UK, then clearly we live in different worlds

As a Labour Party member, I just voted against Bridget Phillipson for deputy leader not least on the fact she's been horrible for post-16 education. Not even trying a little bit. #UCU

Lindsay Whittle from @plaidcymru.bsky.social is being amazing on tonight's #Caerphilly debate And Deform's Llyr Powell is getting his rear end handed to him by the good people of Caerphilly Welsh voters showing the far right the contempt that it amply deserves

At last night’s online Live event Dyfrig Jones and Jo Grady discussed the scandal of vice-chancellor pay when university staff are struggling How can it be right that bosses are earning 16 times more that the lowest paid staff #WeAreTheUniversity

UCU hasn't focused on university governance, but it should. Like their Australian counterparts, British universities are "profoundly undemocratic." @markpendleton.bsky.social is right we should learn from those in Australia who are taking the fight forward on this! ucucommons.org/2025/10/03/s...

@plaidcymru.bsky.social members - join us at the Undeb Plaid Cymru fringe discussion! We'll discuss AI, its impacts on workers, & ensuring safe and democratic development. All Plaid Cymru members who belong to any trade union are automatically Undeb members & you are welcome to take part in our AGM

The first issue of our fortnightly newsletter has landed! Featuring @markpendleton.bsky.social’s discussion paper to this Friday’s HEC, @hagenilda.bsky.social’s plea to Frances Corner’s successor and other interesting links and news. #UCU #UKHE #AcademicSky ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

Me, in February: the Trump Admin is going to try to force the EU to withdraw or weaken CBAM and the CSDDD. www.gla.ac.uk/explore/glas... The FT this morning: www.ft.com/content/678f... The planet cannot afford for Brussels to give Washington what it wants here.

#ucu: statement from @drjogrady.bsky.social on the Manchester synagogue attack: www.ucu.org.uk/article/1421...

On Yom Kippur many Jewish people in Britain have their phones off to mark the holy day. As it ends at 723pm, some will hear the tragic Manchester news for the first time. At that time, please join many of us to send a message of solidarity to British Jews.Thanks Together coalition for proposing.