Shabana Mahmood asks MPs to stop mentioning Tommy Robinson's name (in relation to his support for her policies) as "he doesn't even think I am English. I find that offensive."

Labour MP Brian Leishman: "The Government has surrendered to... the vile rhetoric of Reform. Does the Home Secretary not see that removing the legal obligation to support asylum seekers who will be otherwise destitute, is as far away from Labour Party principles and values as we can get?"

Or what Labour voters have to say about these matters. So if you're not doing it for Reform voters, and you're not doing it for Labour voters ... who the fuck are you doing it for?

Shabana Mahmood on the BBC this morning talking about desperate people fleeing war and persecution as being given a "golden ticket" and "handouts" and saying she's got a "moral mission" to take them away from them Indistinguishable from the rhetoric of Reform www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/shabana-ma...

At some point, for the love of God, will someone ANYONE at long last take the council funding crisis seriously?!? Because THIS is what will break down a society, not some poor soul escaping incredible dangers, arriving on our shores.

A very insightful article on the recent threats to UK modern languages: www.timeshighereducation.com/opinion/late... Support the petitions to stop the closures at Leicester and Nottingham, to sign click here: www.change.org/p/save-moder... www.change.org/p/stop-the-r... #languages #mfl

Petition started by students in Modern Languages at the University of Leicester. The department has been told it will close despite its stellar NSS record and brilliant teaching and research - the same devastating short-term thinking as elsewhere. Please sign and share www.change.org/p/save-moder...

SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten. "I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA

In response to some of the comments: If you agree with *all* the reporting of a news organisation that is both independent *and* non-partisan, then it's very unlikely to be independent and non-partisan. This is true regardless of your politics. Agreeing with all its reporting is the wrong test

I agree that the BBC should apologise to Trump for being misleading. Right after Trump apologises for the 30,573 false or misleading claims he made during his first presidency, or for each of his current daily average of 21 new lies per. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/False_o...

The first day is now over but…more tomorrow!! What’s on your list for Tuesday? 🤔 #languages #leedscityoflanguages @lcsleeds.bsky.social

Quick thread on the BBC and the political and societal significance of recent developments: One of the main reasons the UK has historically been so much less polarised than the US, is that Britain has a shared source of information, consumed and trusted by most people regardless of their politics.

Picket demonstrating feeling about announcements of cuts to courses at University of Nottingham @uonucu.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk

The University of Nottingham has announced the suspension of all Modern Languages and Cultures (MLC) programmes from September 2026. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Dear GOD if you want to save money in the asylum system 1. LET ASYLUM SEEKERS WORK 2. FAST TRACK STATUS FOR EVERYONE FROM CLEARLY UNDAFE COUNTRIES like Sudan, Syria, etc 3. Run an asylum accommodation system that is NOT FOR PROFIT #r4today

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Truly awful news. Ruthless, short-sighted and ill-informed. I remember working at @uniofnottingham.bsky.social about a decade ago and the University taking great pride in being one of the biggest languages departments in the country… Where’s that pride gone?! www.bbc.com/news/article...?

This is horrifying! I have a degree in German and Russian from Nottingham. And I went there because it was in many respects a leading light in modern languages. This is incredibly short-sighted and idiotic.

Well this is awful news: tinyurl.com/yr65mjkx 'All modern language and music courses are being suspended for new students at the University of Nottingham.' Nottingham friends: please be assured that we will join you in protesting against this decision in the strongest possible terms. Solidarity.

Compulsory team teaching on every module is perhaps the biggest ever threat to the quality of teaching in UK universities. It causes chaos on the ground for timetabling, ruins course coherence and turns lecturers into permanent supply teachers. It is pedagogically incoherent… 1/

Reminder: we're still looking for paper and panel proposals for our section "Feminist Theory: Between Hope and Disappointment". Interdisciplinary approaches and a wide range of contexts welcome! #cfp @mmrovlje.bsky.social @deryaozkaya.bsky.social

Much solidarity with professor Laura Murphy. Can we now have an overhaul of the funding system so we don’t expose our research infrastructure to interference by foreign powers please? Thanks.

What he said: 💯 🎯

Does #German really sound aggressive? Why do some people find the sound of #French romantic and sexy? And how about the friendly-sounding Geordies? Join us for a public lecture by Prof Sascha Stollhans. 👉 Find out more: leedscityoflanguages.leeds.ac.uk/events/talk-... @saschastollhans.bsky.social

Dr Pete Watson discusses the various meanings, symbolisms and power of football in Colombia over the last decade, from the 2014 Men’s World Cup to the 2023 Women’s World Cup and asks: “What power does football really have?” More info on: leedscityoflanguages.leeds.ac.uk/events/talk-... #languages

Interested in Spanish? Look at the upcoming events that our partner, Instituto Cervantes, is offering! 🖥️ Online Taster Classes 🏫 Face-to-Face Taster Classes 📝 Spanish Level Tests And a wonderful concert with Luma Trio! Book your tickets 👇: leedscityoflanguages.leeds.ac.uk/events/conce... #Spanish

Webinar: Oracy is for everyone, by Prof Stephen Coleman. For teachers & youth workers. Oracy is about enabling every young person to leave school with the confidence to speak for themselves so they can flourish as human beings.  Booking required: leedscityoflanguages.leeds.ac.uk/events/webin...

The UK Linguistics Olympiad is a national language-analysis competition for students in KS2-KS5. Free to enter, the UKLO contains language puzzles that provides an opportunity to apply formal reasoning from STEM subjects. This online session for teachers will outline how the UKLO works. #languages

Fancy a taste of #Portuguese language? Join our free online Portuguese taster session. Booking required: leedscityoflanguages.leeds.ac.uk/events/disco... Session organised by the Camões Centre for Portuguese Language at the University of Leeds and delivered by Carmem Mackle (Lecturer in Portuguese).

Have you heard of a 'Somali village' in Bradford? Come and explore a disturbing yet surprising form of cultural encounter. Talk: Racial hierarchy in Edwardian Yorkshire: Bradford's Somali Village of 1904, by Prof Fozia Bora  #Somalia #Bradford #Culture #History #LeedsCityofLanguages

Today, @sarahhudspith.bsky.social reflects on Dostoevsky Now and the preservation of its content on Bloggers Karamazov: “The full joining of Dostoevsky Now to its big brother Bloggers Karamazov feels to me like the most natural, organic solution.” bloggerskaramazov.com/2025/10/27/a...

In 2020, during lockdown, photographic artist Alan Ward bought 7 German negatives from the First World War. This workshop will present some of Alan’s work and the responses of the inhabitants of Grandpré. Free. Booking required: leedscityoflanguages.leeds.ac.uk/events/inter...

It shouldn't take an FOI request to see grant success rates. UKRI has a duty of care to researchers to supply this from the outset. We are judged, compared, promoted (or not) according to unbelievably bad odds.

1993: Stephen Lawrence is murdered by racists. 1999: The MacPherson Inquiry recommends recording of non-crime hate incidents. 2005: After the Discrimination Law Review, non-crime hate incidents begin being recorded by UK police. 2025: Mainstream transphobia ends a harm reduction policy that worked.

Quite a bodying, here, for the UK, from the Commissioner for Human Rights, Council of Europe. 🏮 He points out the Supreme Court ignored human rights (which breaches its legal obligations) 🏮 He says, in effect agreeing with Lucy Powell, Parliament should be involved... rm.coe.int/letter-to-pa...

We wondered last week whether @drjogrady.bsky.social would listen to @ucu.org.uk members, agree to unconditional talks & withdraw the threat of deductions for taking ASOS. So we asked her. She didn’t reply herself, but SMT’s response, regrettably, was “no”. uniteucu.wordpress.com/2025/10/10/b...

Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.

Because of the unforgivably appalling decisions of the Charity Commission, these hate groups, Sex Matters and LGB Alliance, are funded from your taxes.

Just to be clear, an English degree - learning to critically assess texts - is actually one of the most dangerous for people such as Badenoch. An educated population, able to bring hundreds of years of context to statements in a dawning age of AI slop and attention-seeking dishonesty is also vital.

"I'm here to talk about what others won’t. To tell the truth about what makes our country great and what makes it not so great. While others thrive on creating scapegoats, I am here to tell you a different story." www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

This is really excellent from @lewisgoodall.com. A 'proper' analysis of Starmer's speech and general approach. open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...

🚨 Call for Papers 🚨 The BASEES 2026 Annual Conference will be held at the University of Birmingham, 10–12 April 2026. ✨ 📢 Deadline extended. 24 October 2025. Join us in Birmingham!

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.

this new @carolecadwalla.bsky.social stuff is terrifying

New! Cassetteboy vs Keir Starmer. This took absolutely ages, so if you'd like to buy us a coffee at ko-fi.com/cassetteboy we'd really appreciate it. Thanks!

Krishnan Guru Murthy, "Isn't it a bit insulting to say to an Indian doctor who is working 60-70 hours a week that in order to get settled status he's got to volunteer?" Rachel Reeves, "We want people to contribute if they come to our country" Labour have gone utterly bonkers

When I was a teenager there was a bus direct from my hometown in Germany to London - we had a British army base, and this direct bus connection was one of the benefits of that. One summer I went on that bus to go volunteer in an old people's home in Southend-on-Sea. I had just turned 18 and was... 🧵

What does this quote (in my reply) mean? In the UK, if you pay your taxes you don't need to also 'contribute'. Compulsory community garden service or choir joining‽ You can even do something anti-society like joining the Tories if you want. Immigrants shouldn't be held to higher standards than us.