The truth: we need migration. The problem: too many politicians are terrified to say it. Why? They're led by a) toxicity of the charlatans & b) wealthy media organisations who demand these useful distractions rather than us talking about inequality. Reject it. Draw the line.

Thrilled to have @carolinehaskins.bsky.social on the show to talk Palantir! It’s been wildly successful under Trump, so it’s time to get a better idea of what it’s actually up to.

Good to see the new Independent Anti Slavery Commissioner Eleanor Lyons challenging damaging, unevidenced claims. The number of claims rejected as 'bad faith' in 2023 was 13. 13. That's all. A miniscule & entirely manageable issue, not the basis for ripping up human rights protections FOR ALL

The govt knows perfectly well that many people arriving from France have been victims of trafficking/ modern slavery en route- Libya being a particularly egregious location for this- & it’s completely dishonest to suggest otherwise, or strip protections from victims to serve its Reform-lite agenda

Also, the framing of this BBC bulletin is so bizarre- ofc people are being sent to France by plane- so the only purpose of saying they’re going back by boat can be to imply a humiliating “send-em-back-the-way-they-came” fate for these unfortunate people

Two countries dealing in black lives because small-minded white people with small hearts who need to get a genuine life have dressed up in white and red flags, got drunk and urinated all over the pavements of London and shouted obcenities based on lies.

How do social networks shape migrants’ platform work? Studying food couriers in Norway, Maizi Hua introduces “copy-paste paths” to show how migrants replicate strategies through networks, supporting mobility and integration alongside risks like peer pressure and exploitation. doi.org/10.1093/migr...

No Reasonable Grounds reconsideration for Modern Slavery claimants who the Home Secretary wants to return to France after change to statutory guidance yesterday. If the UK wants to remove you the decision was definitely correct, if not, the decision could be challenged.

The first attempt by the Home Office to get around that interim relief decision. Warning - contains rant about the Home Secretary. Stupid or disingenuous - you can decide!

No immigrant caused hikes in the price of energy, water, food, banking, insurance, internet; decline of manufacturing, lack of social housing; PFI; potholed roads; climate change; lack of skilled labour; crisis at universities. Neoliberalism did that Why is Labour not countering Reform narratives?

Another Home Secretary who does not care how low they stoop with illogical, unfounded claims to tarnish the humanity and morality of people seeking asylum who are judged for...trying to seek protection from persecution... which is what seeking asylum...um...is.

This is a very powerful read - if you want to hear what it feels like to live on our UK streets right now. As Alex @sturdyalex.bsky.social says, we hear daily about the 'legitimate concerns' of people against less represented groups, but rarely hear this bestforbritain.substack.com/p/my-place-o...

Many of those detained under this policy are survivors of torture and trafficking. Most would agree that torture and trafficking survivors should have their cases heard before they are deported. They are entitled to access to justice, just like everyone else. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Not that the ridiculous, pointless "One In, One Out" plan is just another Rwanda scheme, but "a second Air France flight departed from Heathrow on Tuesday without any migrants on board, according to reports". www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home...

Governments should not wait for international bodies to state the blindingly obvious before acting but now the UN has Labour must use every means at its disposal to stop the wicked genocide.

Benefit IS a POSSIBLE political & media narrative: 'economic narratives are split between those portraying migrants as a “burden” and as a “benefit”... These competing narratives heavily influence policy, especially labour migration, welfare access & integration' blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...

It is over for the genocide deniers. Even the BBC is now splashing on the UN commission of inquiry concluding that Israel has committed genocide. Those who supported Israel's onslaught: You backed a genocide. You will never scrub the shame away.

It’s being reported that Government are about to announce the furthering the use of Barracks to warehouse Refugees. Ignoring the findings of the National Audit Office report that these are significantly more expensive than hotels. But that’s just the financial cost www.nao.org.uk/reports/inve...

Meanjin is a literary journal which has nurtured Australian writing and culture for 75 years. It has been killed off at no notice by Melbourne University Press, who hold the copyright, so no one can resurrect it. 'Not financially viable'. The end. Blunt times.

#Education #PrimaryEducation #PrimarySchool people: does anyone have resources, research on #mentalhealth, social & educational impact of reward systems, points for everything, gameifying education, certificates weekly, monthly, annual rewards like days out that some kids are excluded from?

I'm biased, but our new Q&A on housing for asylum seekers and refugees is an incredibly interesting read. In the Q&A, we cover the following:

I'm very excited to share that the next SSAHE webinar will be a celebration of my new book - Borders, Citizenship, and Pregnancy - and of Bordering Social Reproduction by Rachel Rosen and Eve Dickson. Please register and join us online, 9 October, at 5pm #AcademicSky ssahe.net/2025/09/03/n...

I'd say it's shameful, but it's not as if he doesn't know what he's doing. It's incitement. But he knows that, too. Research for over two decades has shown how racist attacks increase in line with these kinds of soundbites from senior politicians. Appalling.

🚨 On Sunday, there will be a nationwide emergency alert test. 📱For those facing abuse or exploitation, a hidden phone can be a lifeline. Let's help ensure that hidden phones stay quiet. #Share this post to keep everyone safe on Sunday 💓 #EmergencyAlert #StaySafe #VAWG #ModernSlavery

Wall to wall grim, ineffective and just plain nasty. Not to mention a breach of international obligations.

Hyab laying out the need to recognise severe exploitation as structural, embedded in neolib labour markets & border violence 🙌 I am lucky I can report it works well as a deep in-person academic theory paper too, but check it out in social media friendly soundbites 🔥 @hyabyohannes.bsky.social

This is an example of so-called "labour" parties adopting far-right narratives, further deepening divisions and racism in our societies. Call them out. Stand against such a language.

Yes! Jens Lerche and Doreen Massey have been on to this for a while. It's an important critique of the orthodoxy that precarity is on the rise - perhaps the security late modern Global North social democracy claimed to offer for a time was the abberation?

"Sudden suspension or expulsion of account-holders from platforms they depend on for their income is like the wild west hire-and-fire of old, with one difference: It is automated." www.thenational.scot/politics/25336972.keir-starmer-wont-win-deliveroo-riders/ from @caileangallagher.bsky.social

The 'brave newer world of work' is working for a digital platform which signs deals with the government for non-human intelligence to share digital ID to cancel your income stream. What could possibly go wrong? How much of your private data does your employer have? Do they protect your data?

It seems timely with current policies that we have been part of helping creating this report, from the University of Birmingham, into experiences of irregularised migrant workers in the UK food delivery sector, as part of the Horizon Europe and UKRI-funded I-CLAIM project. zenodo.org/records/1577...

Destruction, Disempowerment, and Dispossession: Disaster Capitalism and the Postwar Plans for Gaza carnegieendowment.org/research/202...

Describing food delivery gig work for a digital platform which offers no work promise, no protections, no conditions, and no guaranteed minimum income as 'honest business' is a bold take. It's only illegal because the UK, unlike most states, makes it so #LiftTheBan www.bbc.com/news/article...

I see we can add reigniting the 'left behind' folklore, in ignorance of a still growing body of analysis & research in the wake of the Brexit vote - which complicated simplistic ideas of xenophobia being a function of post-industrial decline - to the list this Labour government's own goals.

Given what we know about AI reproducing existing racial bias, and the inaccurate and racist results of facial recognition technology, this has to be there with the worst proposals the Home Office has ever made, and believe me, the bar is high

University of Sheffield has focused much attention on climbing back into the QS100. Last week we learned the uni is also even more world-leading in complicity in death and war than previously thought. Last year, a report identified £100m research investment from arms manufacture research. Now this:

Helping to improve the sustainability of manufacturing (…checks notes…) nuclear warheads. Shameful if true. www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/exclusive-sh...

This only matters if government cares about the possibility that the risk will become reality. No indication so far that they do. Instead, Starmer clings doggedly to the doomed Reform Tribute Band strategy.

Interesting article from my colleague @hannahjlewis.bsky.social on the politics of victimhood in modern slavery and trafficking

Important ‪@hannahjlewis.bsky.social critique of the damage caused by the victim narrative in anti trafficking discourse, especially in the context of @helenbamber.bsky.social @ecpatuk.bsky.social & ATLEU finding in 2024 only 4% of non British nationals confirmed as trafficked were granted leave

One consequence of this is that many of those seeking money for anti trafficking work believe "fundraisers have to make to appeal to and thereby perpetuate the image of the ‘perfect victim’ to secure donations."

Also rescues which aren't rescues at all, as we see in #CountylinesCCE.

Why has victimhood endured for so long in anti-trafficking despite it being understood as dehumanising and damaging? And where do we go from here? My blog for @beyondslavery.bsky.social Open Democracy blog 10th Anniversary is now out! An honour to be part of a set of important interventions.

By @hannahjlewis.bsky.social. Informed Irish readers will recognise the “hierarchy of sympathy" in human trafficking. Physically abducted sexually exploited females sit at the top. At the bottom workers who don't get paid are "almost [an] illegal immigrant[s]" www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

“Put a man on the front of our magazine and our donations will drop.” On who gets to be a victim, and why anti-trafficking orgs haven't yet abandoned rescue narratives ✍️ @hannahjlewis.bsky.social www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...