Kicking off Monday at Labour Party Conference with a breakfast panel on mental health with @manmetuni.bsky.social’s Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor, Prof Deborah James

Lots happening this year for Man Met at Labour Party Conference!

Anyone at Lib Dem conference this year? Give me a shout if you fancy a pint and a chat!

The world "Habemus Papam?!" The chorister who's nicked off with the thurible:

I realise this isn't the story (Habemus Papam!) but I was suddenly reminded of the social media fame that a seagull garnered during the last Conclave

Sharing this because so much nonsense is written about Eostre. This is a great article, and the blog is great. (And - name dropping - I sat next to Ronald Hutton at a conference once. Lovely man. His books are the gold standard.)

It’s been a while since I worked in health policy, but then question of what is going to happen to ICSs in the latest revamp of the NHS has been bothering me. Interesting to see discussion of it here

Not just SpAds. Years ago I was able to give my now husband a tour of the Houses of Parliament. Towards the end he leaned over and whispered “who are all these children?” referring to all the parliamentary researchers walking around. To which I responded “they run the country”

I’m just sat here minding my own business on the bus and unbidden into my head pops the memory of the weird part of the lockdown when there was a debate *among Government Ministers* about whether a scotch egg constituted a substantial meal

Ah "probably" the kind of word markets just love.

It’s hard now to comprehend the levels of hysteria and hostility directed at #Eastenders and the actors (Michael Cashman and Gary Hailes) for allowing gays to be seen on TV. Questions were raised in Parliament; some MPs demanded the BBC lose its licence. It was courageous. #LGBTHistoryMonth

In honour of #EastEnders 40th anniversary, here’s its first gay kiss, which sparked tabloid outrage at the time. Brace yourself, it’s a bit racy!

Ugh, Piero della Francesca sliding into my DMs again with his unsolicited diptychs.

So one of the things that I can’t quite get my head around is *how many eggs are Americans eating!?*. I realise I’m probably an outlier not liking eggs on their own (as an ingredient- grand). But are they all eating like five a day, or something?

Historians Politely Remind Nation To Check What's Happened In Past Before Making Any Big Decisions theonion.com/historians-p...

Just reposting this again. Parliament is a *really* peculiar institution. And this can create issues for understanding who is in control. This becomes clearer if we look at the Restoration and Renewal of the Palace of Westminster.

How long until there’s an Antipope in Pittsburgh or somewhere similar?

Been thinking about this speech a lot lately. One for all those happy to burn the rule of law because it's their side doing it this time. youtu.be/PDBiLT3LASk?...

Delighted to be in Parliament today to talk to MPs and peers about the value of degree apprenticeships at the APPG for Apprenticeships’s Annual Fair for @manmetuni.bsky.social

I am begging you people who claim to be smart to read one (1) history book.

Love this thread. My absolute favourite thing in any museum of the ancient world is when you happen upon a letter or a carving or a past time that makes you go 'oh, right. We're still the same dumb monkeys'. I find it magical and oddly comforting.

Explaining to our son that you only press the red ‘help’ button on the tram in an emergency. He nods, looking serious, and says “like tigers…or leopards on the track”. Not my first thought, but yes, that would certainly qualify as an emergency.

Not to mention the diminution of the power of the Tribunes of the patrician people in favour of the patrician class in the Senate, which feels prescient. Though Sulla is not the late Republic figure I associate Musk most with. That would be Crassus, one of the richest men in history

Deleted my Twitter (X) account. Been putting it off for a while but couldn't in good conscience stay.

Sweet God in Heaven

I didn’t talk about faith on social media often. Perhaps I should. But even assuming a closed reading of the passage, this is an *insanely* wilful misinterpretation. And then there’s *literally all the rest of scripture*.

I’ve just seen a picture of Mark Zuckerberg wearing a T-Shirt with “Carthago delenda est” emblazoned on it and I can’t help but wonder what Cato would make of him

I am so DEEPLY ANGRY at how clever this is.

With five or six party politics in every single seat, and many slim starting majorities, patterns of tactical squeezing will likely determine dozens of results next time. This is not something MRP can capture well even close to elections. Zero chance it is being captured now.

Ah we don’t need an MRP on a Saturday night four and a half years before an election now do we

Didn't have the yanks being scared of the night's sky again on my bingo card, but I shouldn't really be surprised.

I am *begging* Acast to switch out the advert for adult maths education in Caerphilly in its podcasts. I’ve heard it about a gazillion times now and every time it gets more grating

Aside from all the other observations (you still have lunch even if you get someone to bring it in; who defers to *steak* etc) can we just pause on word choice. Why go for moist when soggy is right there?

Well this is grim

This is what I keep coming back to. This isn’t a new constituency. It’s one that went back into the Conservatives in the wake of Brexit and Johnsonism and the re-emerged post-Covid

Is Reform really a new phenomenon? How is it different to the previous incarnations? There were 4.3m voters for UKIP, now 4.1m for Reform.

YMCA is a gay song. It's a camp classic. The song and the whole aesthetic of the band deliberately targeted the gay market from the get-go. Sue me. www.starobserver.com.au/news/ymca-wr...

This is an extraordinary picture

The truly impressive thing about this is Dan Hannan was a MEP when the Conservative Party was still in the same European Parliament group as Fine Gael

So it looks like we’re doing this Choral Advent calendar again, this time on Bluesky! Each day I’ll post a carol or piece of music associated with Advent or Christmas, with a little explainer. Hope I don’t scare off too many followers…

Well. That was unexpected

Really interesting report from the House of Lords Built Environment Committee on the need to look beyond retail to save the high street, which one of my Man Met colleagues, Dr Lucy Montague, supported as a special adviser www.mmu.ac.uk/news-and-eve...

As attempts to overthrow a democratically-elected government on the 6th of January go, a debate in Westminster Hall is at the less dramatic end of things. (Assuming Jamie Stone doesn’t lead the debate in a QAnon Shaman outfit.)

If I did a sort-of daily advent calendar of my favourite Christmas carols and advent music from this Sunday, would I completely lose all the followers I've managed to gather thus far?

much love for the 'don't know' crew who must be wondering what that tree is doing in their living room

NEW: Rory Stewart & Amber Rudd back cross-party campaign demanding major political reform @appgfairelections.bsky.social is calling for an overhaul of the electoral system as part of a package of measures to restore public trust in politics Story 👇 www.politics.co.uk/news/2024/11...

I can well believe it. Our foster carer did an amazing job with little man but it was clear she and her family received little to no support from the system through transition (she didn’t have a named social worker at the linking meeting!) and she really struggled. She’s no longer doing foster care