Happy Easter everyone!

Ongoing decimation of British universities part 252: Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email. Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk

Shameful to see university managers resort to P&O-style tactics. 😡

A peace prize for insecure cats!

My dad abhors any negative comments about immigrants. Asked him recently why he’s so strong on it: ‘Because we’re always happy to take the rich and clever ones. Which means it’s not about disliking immigrants. It’s about disliking the poor and vulnerable. And that’s a bad human instinct.’

Kelly v Leonardo - the best bit Para 367 www.gov.uk/employment-t...

The sheer scale of media outrage this week about plans to lift hundreds of thousands children out of poverty, by taxing millionaire homeowners, tells you everything you need to know about the real priorities of the British press www.adambienkov.co.uk/p/the-real-b...

The last safe day to vote is Wednesday 26 November. The ballot closes Friday 28 November. If you haven’t voted, do it now. If you have, talk to colleagues, ask if they’ve voted. Post your ballot today. We are the university.

🤩 Now there's a thought....

These are HEPI estimates of the 20 institutions affected: I think this illustrates the impact if the tariff is absorbed in full by institutions. What share of the 6% tariff different universities may try to pass on to fees - or the impact might be on demand if they did - is not publicly known.

“Got the big calls right”. The f**k he did. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...

Coppi reminding her Human that it's time to get that ballot in Please post your ballots soon and when you have let a rep know #WeAreTheUniversity

Defamation supremo - with expertise in the UK and US - Mark Stephens on whether Donald Trump has any real prospect successfully of suing the BBC. video.snapstream.net/Play/3TA70Va...

The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.

Chuck Schumer Helps Pull Democrats Back From Brink Of Courage

Isn’t the time limit for bringing libel claims in England 1 year? What’s it in the USA? The Panorama episode was aired Oct. 2024. #bbc #newsnight

This guy literally laughed his head off when he was asked if he was a faithful and these muppets still didn’t get it 🤣🤣🤣

Horrific, stupid news from @uniofnottingham.bsky.social — they are closing their music department. Apparently they all found out suddently in a meeting yesterday. It is one of the best music departments in the country — solidarity with my colleagues and their students www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Had a job interview Wednesday. "We'll call you by Friday", they said. They didn't call 😟 Sad for me, but great for you, employers of the world! Don't miss your opportunity to hire an awesome and talented dude! www.linkedin.com/in/linkedind...

Unprecedented, potentially unlawful retrograde proposals made by @solentuniversity.bsky.social If you have a vested interest in HE, this concerns you. We must stand together to resist these outrageous proposals. #HE #TPS #LGPS #Pension #post-92 www.ucu.org.uk/article/1423...

SouthamptonUCU members say #WeAreTheUniversity at our start of term social last week. #UCU

Adobe reader is now completely enshitified. Completely unusable.

so fed up of British journalism and its West Wing brained obsessions

Vote Labour, get Reform. And that’s probably true even if Labour do get in.

Malicious communication arrest around the Windsor Castle projection on the castle walls. 4 adults arrested in the building opposite. Are the Thames Valley Police taking the p*ss? What about free speech?

UPEND THE ESTABLISHMENT, by voting for a party composed entirely of rejects from the oldest party in the country that was in power for 14 years. 😂 Reform UK increasingly look like the Tories just ran off stage, then ran back on wearing a comedy glasses-nose-moustache disguise.

Far right protest today: 29 - police officers injured 9 - protestors arrested Proscribed group protests: 0 - police officers injured 1,600 - protestors arrested We have Keir Starmer and Yvette Cooper to thank for this absurd anomaly

Hat tip @clownf1st.bsky.social

No one wants choice in public services. They want the one nearest them to be good.

What this means is that government and UUK want to impose contract changes on vast swathes of academic staff to reduce research time, and ultimately make vast numbers of staff redundant. Join UCU if you are not already a member www.ucu.org.uk/join

NOTHING will prepare you for this 45-second story arc. From "I'm just doing this because I love the flag, it's totally grassroots, and I'm not part of anything political"... to who actually gave him the flags the night before. Anyone who believes it is an innocent movement needs to see this.

Absolutely astounded that the UCU and Unison branches at Kent and Greenwich were not consulted, and that staff only found out about the merger this morning via BBC news and Kent Online. Solidarity to all colleagues.

🌍✊ The Green Party stands with UCU members. @zackpolanski.bsky.social (Leader of the Green Party) and @carladenyer.bsky.social (former Co-Leader) are backing our campaign for fair pay and conditions. We are the university. We are the movement. Vote YES. #WeAreTheUniversity

Excited to discover that all the higher ed consultancies and think tanks seem to be discussing the future of higher ed without actually talking to any staff

Love how this is wrong in like 4 discrete ways

Statement by the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention about the EHRC. www.lemkininstitute.com/_files/ugd/c...

Right wing media has had it in for Angela Rayner from the start - they couldn’t bear a working class woman being so powerful & dynamic. She made a mistake and has paid heavily for it. Very much hope she’ll return at some point in the future - our politics desperately needs more voices like hers

Nigel Farage, whose party recently put a teenager with zero work experience of any kind in charge of an entire English county, accuses the government of appointing people "with no knowledge" or experience in charge of Government departments

Catching up on the news. Apparently the Home Sec. is encouraging people to hang flags off motorway gantries and proposing to put those fleeing war and persecution in warehouses, and the PM is interfering in an active police investigation. Do I have that right? #NormalIsland

A reminder that if we hope to ever rebuild an economy that works for everyone, we need a much stronger labor movement.

Probably get barred from entering the ‘land of the free’ for retweeting this. Ah well.

This imagery is the kind of thing you see in video games to let you know you’re in a totalitarian city or country.

Just voted for @matthewbarnard.phd in the UCU casual vacancy election for NEC/HEC. (Voting closes Thursday 18th September so you probably need to get your votes posted by Monday 15th to make sure they arrive in time.)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozOj... @unisouthampton.bsky.social

I've written a short post on the specific way academics experience alienation at work. I also argue we must champion the inherent worth of what we do as well as its profitability. blog.matthewbarnard.phd/a-world-with... #ucu #academia

I am one of the 14 authors who chose to leave the Polari Prize, and I find myself frustrated and saddened at the way this entire story has been represented. 1/

14 of 24 authors have now withdrawn. First Book: Curtis Garner, Jason Okundaye, Sacha Coward, Sanah Ahsan, Amy Twigg, Mae Diansangu, Eleanor Medhurst, Ciara Maguire, June Thomas Main: Olumide Popoola, Robert Hamberger, Andrew McMillan, Rhian Elizabeth, Jane Traies Judges: Nicola Dinan, Bob Hughes