Away from grants and targets, there’s some tricky HE regulation stuff still to work out. A degree-awarding provider went bust in a ‘disorderly’ way this summer. People have rallied around, but there’s not enough protection for students or for graduates. www.baptisttimes.co.uk/Articles/724...

Hugged a self-described racist jailed for inciting racial hatred at his party conference. Threatened to ‘don khaki’ in the event of Brexit being frustrated. Disseminated the racist lies of an alleged rapist & stayed silent as racists responded by setting fire to buildings full of foreigners.

"I hope Starmer wakes up tomorrow morning and feels ashamed about what he has done," says man who unveiled this poster the day Jo Cox was assassinated by a far-right terrorist.

How weird that this should have disappeared from the Telegraph archive...

Two more @reformexposed.bsky.social Councillors suspended in #Northumberland. www.bbc.com/news/article...

Bit of a busman’s holiday for me yesterday visiting some excellent Universität Zürich buildings - including the amazing terrace on the tower which had stunning views over the city - as part of the Open House Zürich weekend. Wonder how busy the monthly Careers Services drop in is? #UZH

Here's a #HigherEducationPostcard of the Polytechnic Institute, Kyiv, now the National Technical University of Ukraine "Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute" Sikorsky as in helicopters If you like this image, please retweet it - remember, BlueSky has #NoAlgorithm

Richard Tice with his Reform chum Nathan Gill, who has just admitted taking bribes for spreading Kremlin misinformation. What could be more patriotic than that?

I think my heartbeat is normal (ish) now. Massive effort to come back and win that game. Merino's value for moments like that is worth acknowledging, and Big Gabi is just a colossus. Made up for that 1st half error to win it. We've been overdue 3 points at their place, and it feels really good!

Huge win for The Arsenal, particularly after going behind in the first half, and feeling hard done by with VAR decisions. Sounds like they actually ‘had a go’ for a change in the second half. Can’t believe I’m not at work tomorrow in the Toon to make the most of it! #afc #coyg #newars

Joelinton has committed 23 fouls against Spurs in his Premier League career and been booked seven times. He's committed 21 fouls against Arsenal and been booked once. #NEWARS

So, Sunday Times runs with latest poll showing Farage winning if there was an election now. But makes NO mention of Reform’s collusion with Russia. And this is how democracy gets beaten to death in the dark. Voters are not being told the truth. Reform is given the stage but is NEVER held to account.

Why is it that the same media who can't wait to cover every brain fart that emerges from Farage's mouth seem uninterested in a scandal showing close associates of Farage taking bribes to spread Russian misinformation?

Newcastle says no to fascism. The far right brought a hundred or so with them, bussed from far and wide. This city turned out 1000s, from local communities, estates and streets. Geordies of all backgrounds coming together and outnumbering the purveyors of hate by some distance. Newcastle united.

While everyone is focusing on the Fabians the Co-Operative movement have free rein to plot their own conspiracies. Obvious black ops.

ARE YOU PAYING ATTENTION YET? www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

As Reform's Nathan Gill admits taking bribes from Russian 'secret service pawn' Oleg Voloshyn, here’s a nice photo of Nigel Farage with Voloshyn’s wife.

Ming Campbell was a dedicated public servant and a true Liberal giant. His principled leadership opposing the Iraq War was a mark of his morality, courage and wisdom. But more than that, he was an incredibly warm and caring friend and colleague. We will miss him terribly.

One stadium visited for a match last weekend (in Ulm), another seen getting to and from a visit to the Fernsehturm in Stuttgart #GAZistadion #Donaustadion #FloodlightFriday

Bolsanaro, Sarkozy… come on Johnson I’ve got you in an accumulator.

De Niro: "I gotta go. A couple cases of Tylenol fell off a truck and now I gotta figure out how to put autism in them."

Once again one has to wonder what it is about Sadiq Khan, out of the wide panoply of European social democratic and socialist big city mayors, that causes Mr Trump to have such an obsession with him?

I’ve never eaten kale and I don’t have autism, so clearly kale causes autism.

Why are the American president's claims about autism the first item on British news bulletins? He's not our president, the advice doesn't apply here and he's not presented any evidence to support his assertions. So why spread these claims? What make this the biggest story in the UK?

This is an extraordinary piece of telly. Utterly damming of the corruption of the last Conservative Government - and of our political and legal systems which have failed even to aspire to holding those chancers to account. Available to watch on ITVX. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Three statements of local ambition stand in Halifax, West Yorkshire: the Town Hall, the Borough Market and the Piece Hall. Such monuments of civic pride still bear the names of farsighted local leaders from past generations. 🧵 1/13

Ed Davey, "I'm afraid Nigel Farage should be apologising for helping cause this problem in the first place" "Before Brexit we didn't have a small boats problem because we had 27 return agreements with EU countries and we could return people" -Maybe we should call them Farage's Brexit Boats

It was pouring with rain in Stuttgart this morning, but fortunately this stunning building was just around the corner from the hotel, so time for a quick visit before heading out to the airport for the journey home. Breathtaking! #stadtbibliothekstuttgart

Retrospectively removing indefinite leave to remain would be immoral and economically damaging. It would tear families apart. Attacking it as ‘potentially illegal’ is completely beside the point. Argue with the (awful) idea. Don’t try ’well, actually you can’t do that’.

The true question right now is whether you believe in the moral character of the British public. If you do, you'll want to have the fight with Reform. You'll believe that the public will hate the idea of breaking up families, spying on & deporting people who've worked here for years.

Reform will apparently pledge today that they'd abolish indefinite leave to remain - including retrospectively, to people already granted it. Obviously this is a moral abomination but it is also a practical and legal impossibility.

I'll have more to say on Reform's proposals to scrap ILR at some point but for now I'll just note this - anyone telling you this is a popular idea doesn't know the polling. Overwhelming majority of public back giving people who work and pay taxes most or all rights after 5 years or less

Lib Dems: We have 12x Reform's MPs, can we have the same coverage? BBC: But Reform has 2x your poll rating. If there were an election tomorrow, they'd be running the country. Lib Dems: So you're putting their people and policies under scrutiny, right? BBC: Lib Dems: Right?

Tommy Robinson is a journalist in much the same way that a hamster is a bicycle.

Final match of our football weekend in Germany was a 3. Liga match between SSV Ulm and SSV Jahn Regensburg. Ended up 2-1 to the home team. Saw another sending off, our first pyro and first rain of the weekend! Overall 10 goals, 2 sendings off and one missed penalty. Superb entertainment.

The away team Mainz 2-0 up at half time at Augsburg, and it could have been four. Much more clinical than the home team. A drinks/cooling break needed in the 29 degree heat! Impressive bike park at the WWK arena. We didn’t make it through the VIP entrance! #bundesliga

Stephen Yaxley-Lennon being deported twice in 24 hours - first from Colombia, then from Panama - because he’s deemed a national security threat, just a week after he led a march calling for migrants to be deported, is the kind of schadenfreude we can all savour.

Decent start to German football weekend trip to Stuttgart, despite the flight from Edinburgh landing late meaning we missed the first 20 mins of the match at the MHP Arena. Disappointing result for St Pauli but their fans sang throughout creating a great atmosphere. Great experience.

Anthony Gordon's dedication to recreating all of Princess Diana's iconic looks is to be admired

It was never about “freedom.” It was always about who was in control.

Away fans at St James' Park discovering where their seats are located.

The Boys in Brown go to VfB Stuttgart on Friday (20.30 CET) looking to build on their most successful start to a Bundesliga season ever. In the run-up to the game, centre-back Hauke #Wahl took questions from the media. ⤵️ #fcsp

The last political column I was allowed to write in the @washingtonpost.com was a criticism of Obama. His people took issue with my piece, but we were respectful. Now he is tweeting in support of me. This is how free political speech and respect for debate *actually works*. Or used to work.

After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.

All political tribes can be hypocritical but the right's current level of hypocrisy on free speech is deliberate. It's an assertion of power not a blindspot.

This is the standard approach through history: The community of the free. We've always had people insist on liberty, but only for their group, typically white men with property. Progressive liberalism was about rolling out those rights for everyone, a process that is now being reversed.

NEW on Wonkhe: There's something for everyone in the latest rethink of the Teaching Excellence Framework, but - as David Kernohan suggests - bringing disparate approaches together can highlight fundamental weaknesses buff.ly/4Zb2KLO

The consultation on the TEF (and other quality interventions) is out this morning. TEF becomes risky - particularly if you get a ‘bronze’. Good overview from @dkernohan.bsky.social already up if you need to arrive in the office fully briefed on what OfS are up to.

British politics really needs to wake up to what is happening in America given we have imported a huge amount of its culture war politics. Maybe there are some clues about what would be on the cards here under a Reform government?

Silly Jimmy Kimmel. He should have just called for all homeless people to be killed and he’d still have a job.