Also looks like they took out the colonnade - which was originally built under Thomas Jefferson (along with its counterpart on the west side).

Utterly amazed that the BBC Radio 4's You and Yours had an economist on who started raving about some conspiracy that world banks are planning for zero or negative growth, in service to a globalist agenda. Barmy, and most likely antisemitic.

Watching Polanski back peddle on PR…yeesh. Disappointing, but not surprising.

BBC now running stories entirely predicated on talks with Zia Yousef, whose position now is....running an internal policy group within Reform? Trying to think of the last time the head of the Lib Dem Federal Policy Committee or internal figures from other parties were used as the basis for a story.

Maintenance grants should never have been eliminated. Bringing them back is good. But not by taking from other parts of the sector, not by assuming government knows best for what adults should study, and not while allowing the sector to shrink in a way that most harms those eligible for grants.

Delighted to get my author copy of this - including my chapter with @siobhanhyland.bsky.social on some of our wellbeing approaches from the @searchlightarchive.bsky.social. A fantastic first book from the annual conferences of @uninorthampton.bsky.social’s Centre for Historical studies.

The Express asked us about awarding the Patsy Carlton Prize to Cllr Chris Northwood. We responded: "This prize acknowledged an exceptional woman in Cllr Chris Northwood. The message it sends to women members and voters is that the Liberal Democrats honour and value all of our women members."

There seems to be a decent amount of 'Reform could win the next election' fever going around. I have to say, I think that is deeply unlikely. But, we could see a hollowing out of the state below Parliament as they do well in local elections. And we should talk about that more.

About to do my first tv interview about non archive stuff. Argh

Historians of political ideas or movements seem to often be politically active themselves (perhaps not a surprise!). But often also seem to be the most despondent about their party. I wonder if historians see flaws more readily, whether we dream of purity, or if we are just a moody bunch of gits.

Always good to have email confirmation that UCU’s Higher Education Committee are still no closer to briefly flirting with reality. Huge sums wasted on a national pay ballot, and work on casualisation, precarious contracts, work loads and equality likely tossed to the side.

On a more serious note, it is good to see pro-trans stances generally winning out in the Green Party - though unfortunate to see one of their new deputies now minimising transphobia and providing support to anti-trans MPs. Shall hope it was a misstep rather than a hidden flaw.

So the Greens have gone for a leader who wants to push their party to be more radical and populist, who is a former Lib Dem. I mean. I wonder if anyone has tried that before, and if so I wonder how it went....

The campaign by those on the right to grant special clemency for what she admitted was a criminal act, often while campaigning for harsher treatment of others, is the only attempt at "two-tier justice". The adoption of these radical and far right talking points by the mainstream is deeply harmful.

A little story from the @searchlightarchive.bsky.social - with a huge thank you to Jen and the press team at @uninorthampton.bsky.social. A letter from Otto Frank to Maurice Ludmer, then editor of @searchlightmag.bsky.social. www.northampton.ac.uk/news/a-fathe...

Thankfully, it isn't me.

That reminder that pay was one half of the negotiations - employers have offered work on precarious contracts, workload and equality issues. These are winnable fights. Pay, sector wide, in this climate? I doubt it. And trying for the latter costs us the chance at former.

Reports that the governments solution to uni collapse will be a kind of clearing to find students new courses. That will be a nightmare - ignoring credit transfer etc, many universities are already struggling for teaching space. Taking out a whole uni worth of estate … just fund the sector properly.

The suggestion migration has made cities no go areas, the linking of migration to crime, the use of inflammatory combative language that risks violence, the conspiracy claims, the idea of the state apparatus prosecuting them for speaking ‘truth’, claims of being a true voice of ordinary people…

Judging from how bad this list of careers that AI will replace from Microsoft is, I wonder if they used their janky AI to make it. Historians number two on the list, really? Good luck with that given the paucity of digitised sources.

With Farage spreading nonsense about the police bussing in anti racists, you are left with wondering if it might be that he either doesn’t care if he stokes tensions that lead to violence (like last summer), or if it could perhaps be a deliberate choice. I’m not sure I can believe he is just - fool.

Was very sad to miss the UON Centre for Historical studies conference on marginalisation - sadly I was having rather painful liver issues and was bed bound. And I once again missed @liamliburd.bsky.social! Hope everyone had a great time, and will make it up to all.

Out this morning & Open Access! 📢 My new article in Public Archaeology on the entanglement of archaeology, the far right and ancient genetic studies, using the British National Party as a case study: ‘In Our Blood’: Archaeology and ‘Indigeneity’ in the British National Party’s Magazine Identity'

A conference Monday and Tuesday and then I’m on leave! Not sure I’ve needed it more than I do this year.

All credit to the BBC for making sure their online story on benefit cuts highlighted that PIP is given to those in work as well as those out of work. For many it supports the choice to stay in work while handling complex conditions, making work pay. The very people the Gov says it wants to help.

Periodic PSA 🙃: Reminder that whenever you "discover" something at the archives, it's been made available to you through the physical and intellectual labor of archivists.

Republicans taking an axe to the US Higher Ed system is awful. Also highlights abject failure of British HE policy. UK HE should be poised to try and take up the international student market sections the US is retreating from - but we are instead actively hostile to that market, and are not prepared

Big spending review today - not really holding my breath for any HE boost, seems all the parties are content to let the system collapse (or at most try to look away and pretend they have never heard of higher education). Just hoping nothing to make things worse!

As the US goes down an ugly path, it feels like one of those times people should be reminding themselves that it is perfectly fine to refuse to follow illegal orders.

The idea that organisations can champion sustainability or green credentials while also promoting AI is something for the birds. It doesn't fit. Systematic use of generative AI has big environmental impacts - if your org doesn't need it, just don't use it.

Our @errnetwork.bsky.social event Addressing the Extreme Right event has kicked off with world expert in fascism Roger Griffin talking to us about defining extremism.

Great to be at the @errnetwork.bsky.social Addressing the Extreme Right Threat workshop day. @pnjackson.bsky.social just announcing our new website, soon to have podcasts. Running a @searchlightarchive.bsky.social stall, including some classic copies of @searchlightmag.bsky.social

Fancy a last minute trip to Northampton on Friday to discuss combatting the extreme right? We've got a couple of travel bursaries left - if this would help you attend do get in touch, we'd love to have you here.

Finished the draft of an article ready to go to editors yesterday - a month late. But it feels good to be able to at least send it off after some reference fixing and get some feedback on it. This year has certainly been…well, feels like about two years crammed into it.

Just a week until this event organised by @pnjackson.bsky.social @menysnoweballes.bsky.social and myself. Still a few tickets left, and time to alter the catering, so do get in touch. We also have a couple of £75 travel bursaries left if it helps people attend.

This daily coverage of Reform pledges by the media is absolutely bizarre and out of kilter with coverage they provide other non government parties. The media builds Farage up each time, they know he gets eyes on pages.

We have 4x£75 travel bursaries available for PGRs, ECRs and precarious researchers for this event. Just drop an email to [email protected] if you would like more information. And you can book until early next week, but we are getting low on tickets! Link in original post.

I'm glad the NHS is running so well that this is the priority. This and attacking Trans people for no reason. There is nothing going wrong. No huge waiting lists, no issues. And certainly not trusts "pausing" care for entire swathes of the population. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Could the press please remember they have 5 MPs? 5. 5 MPs. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A long week but made it to the weekend so I can focus on some writing that is overdue!

GREAT news - we have a slight budget surplus on this event so we are able to offer 4 x £75 travel bursaries to PGRs/ECRs/other precariously employed researchers: so if you'd like to join us in Northampton for the day, contact @narson.bsky.social on [email protected].

I see the government is recommending unis do more on student mental health support. I do think unis should have good additional support, but also can I recommend the government - which runs the NHS - should first fix its mental health support and diagnosis provision before anything else?

As we get Conservative/Reform claims that this new EU deal ends the fishing industry lets look at numbers: Since 2019 the fishing industry has already halved under existing Brexit arrangements. Down from c.12k in 2019 to c. 6k today.

Did you know that May is National Local and Community History Month? At HWO, we LOVE local and community history all year round! In this article, Ian Willis reminds us of the importance of local history as a powerful tool for place making and the construction of identity. www.historyworkshop....

If you believe as the tabloids do that a youth mobility scheme - similar to arrangements with Australia etc - somehow undoes all of Brexit then, well, you never really believed in the Brexit you so love now, did you? How can it be so great if something so small undoes it? (It doesn’t)

On the 6th of June we are hosting our first summer workshop - a day of talks from academics, practitioners and cultural figures to explore the extreme right and their impacts. Tickets are free, lunch is provided, and it should be a fantastic day. Register at shop.northampton.ac.uk/product-cata...

My unpopular HE take: The University of Warwick is named like a Ryanair flight. it should be the University of West Coventry.

Three of the big issues facing the UK that Gov hasn’t addressed are HE collapse, care provision and local authority funding. This white paper will make all those issues worse or detonate them, in the name of chasing votes. This is how governments lose their way.

Just out! Our peer-reviewed critique of the Cass Review has been published by BMC Medical Research Methodology. Please read and share. We show that the Cass Review is fatally flawed and should not be the basis for policy or practice in transgender healthcare. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

"Further reforms are needed to fix the foundations of higher education, and universities must do more to make their finances work" says the Education Secretary, who is apparently unaware that she is the person almost entirely in control of Higher Ed, the economy of unis, and thus their finances.