In politics, we’re torn between ideals and practicalities, aspirations and realities, the world as we want it, and as we find it But one day a manifesto comes along that reconciles both in every pledge. A rare moment of clarity and hope

Delighted to read this! Was unable to attend the launch due to a school trip yesterday but every page I’ve skim read this morning is a winner! And ALL beautifully organised. Thanks to all involved!

University tuition has ended up stuck in a very problematical corner. It's a massive failure of regulated market policy. Easy to blame successive governments but, yet again, it's a victim of the British disease of wanting nice things but wanting someone else to pay for them.

"It really showed me the racialised dynamics of policing" Runnymede’s Sophia Purdy-Moore talks to Richie Brave about disparities in stop & search, how those in safeguarding positions can function as police in young people’s lives, and what communities really need to be safe on the Unpacked podcast.

What Inclusion Does to “the Rest of the Class” theeconomyofmeaning.com/2026/01/02/w... ICYMI

Starting in 45 minutes - tune in live at 13:15 to hear our experts discuss Andy Burnham's preparations for No.10. Submit your questions to our panel via Slido www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/event/andy-b...

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It's not easy being meme-d. #Oh-Gee-I-See-Algae 👀

Introducing the Physics Teaching Resource Finder. Over 5,000 ideas for teaching, sorted by topic. Please share if you find it useful! 🙂 #iTeachPhysics #Science 🧪 www.drjonesphysics.com/physics-reso...

Latest post covers the continuing pressure on Crimea and fuel shortages in Russia, Moscow’s anxiety about Trump tilting away from them and back to Kyiv, and Putin’s determination to insist all is well and that his forces are on the advance. (£/free trial), open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/h...?

A local election seat in Halton was won by one vote for Labour a few weeks ago. The same ward just had a by-election. Very different result…

Extraordinary credit to Sadiq Khan for pushing through this deeply controversial policy. This is what can happen when politicians are prepared to stick to their principles.

The weather isn't the only thing making Farage sweat today 🥵

With hardly any media coverage one of Britain’s few world-leading sectors is, right now, being decimated. The university funding model does not work and anti-immigrant hysteria has deprived the country of the means by which we met the shortfall: international students.

This is the key. One moment it's a gift. But he quickly deflects to how much someone else is paid as a salary. We should make up more an more ludicrous reasons he was given the money that he then has to deny by telling us what he was really given it for.

Credit where credit is due, Finally Sally Nugent asked Nigel Farage real questions about £5m on BBC breakfast. His answer literally is "No one cares". WTAF. (I've speeded it up to 1.3x to fit within the BlueSky video limit)

This is great. He's getting absolutely hammered on this and every answer he invents is worse than the one which preceded it

The social media ban doesn’t have to stop every under 16 from using social media - if it stops most of them using it, and causes those who still do to use it less, that's a big win. 10 responses to common objections to the ban. www.edrith.co.uk/p/social-med...

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I completely agree here. Watching how some older people are affected by SM is shocking… And while I am delighted we are moving more to ‘norm’ to be off phones and more parents are supportive of school phone bans… this really is avoiding the hard stuff. This does not fix the problem!

My nephew is in the process of moving his family to Canada 🇨🇦. He has been enticed by the prospect of a better life for him and his children. Like many countries Canada has been listening to expert demographers who understand what’s happening. Our 🇬🇧 problem is that it’s not just one small family.

RIP Roy Hattersley. A pragmatic style of politics in unswerving service of radical, egalitarian ends. A rare blend then, which would be rarer still today. www.thenewworld.co.uk/matt-kelly-r...

Gift link has run out but we've intervened at god level and made it free to read as it's a year old. www.ft.com/content/3862...

This is exceptionally good, even by Sam’s exceptionally high standards.

New post from @ldfreedman.bsky.social Ukraine's progress and Russia's failed offensives means that Putin is losing his best chance for a ceasefire. And dissent amongst Russians is starting to rise. (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/p...

It really isn't great that both the US and Russia are run by delusional old men.

New post out: "The gap that never closes" I've spent much of my career trying to reduce the rich/poor gap in education. Nothing's worked. Which has led me to the conclusion that we're thinking about inequality the wrong way... (£/free trial) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

A few people campaigning / focus grouping in Makerfield have told me that even Reform supporters have brought up that Farage going against the wishes of Nowak's family made them uneasy. So these statements are both brave and important.

A whole 12% of voters think Brexit has been a success. And just 25% of Leave voters. Sigh.

You know that moment when an idea is both brilliant and deeply inadvisable? Well, Steve’s having five of those at once. Shenanigans incoming.

Sent her the screenshot to amuse her tonight. She’s just told me that these literally got her into reading!

Blast from the past! My 19 yo loved these and we thought they were hilarious!

The top blog this week was a special one by Craig Barton about AI and diagrams for our maths teachers, with over a quarter of maths-Tappers tapping! 📚

We’re just normal men

Just in case you didn’t realise Michael Spicer is here.

A weird thing in The Big Report is how it's really clear that kids with good gcse grades appear best prepared for work but then implies these courses aren't good preparations for work.

This chart is bonkers. I think there's two possible explanations for why the UK runs so far ahead of other European countries – neither of them good. And the annual April price jump speaks to a wider issue. For more detail, see my column in this weekend's Observer. observer.co.uk/news/busines...

BREAKING: we just won our Kennedy Center case! Both the renaming & the closure of the Kennedy Center are enjoined Kudos to our wonderful client @repbeatty.bsky.social & my colleagues @democracydefendersaction.org & Washington Litigation Group This is a 1-2 punch against Trump's corruption

Yesterday I was at the glorious Lyme Regis Museum, making some 'ferocious fish' . . . we had a very busy day with families wanting to get out of the sun, and so ended up making over 130 of them! Here's my example, made from one paper plate. 😮😁 www.darrellwakelam.com #edusky #UKEd

This is an absolutely fascinating long interview about Iranian contemporary history since the Islamic Revolution. Essential background to what is going on inside Iran, and to the deal that may or may not be approaching. Highly recommended reading.

'In the end, “leave us alone…” isn’t far away from “…to manage our own decline.”'

As Sam says this was a fascinating interview to conduct. By going back to the origins of the 1979 revolution and what has happened since they provide essential context to current events.

The fact that some people were trying to argue after this that he hadn't done that badly when his wife thought he was having a stroke shows how powerful partisanship can be.

“At Jodrell Bank, someone decided it was time for a nice relaxing cup of tea.” - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. 💫 Happy #TowelDay to all those who celebrate, celebrating the author Douglas Adams and his iconic stories (of which we are proud to play a small part in)! #DontPanic

Impressive 😊🏅

The best thing about my Russian hack story is that how the Guardian found out about the £5 million is completely irrelevant. But now people are talking about that instead of why I was given it, why I tried to hide it and whether I bought houses with it. 😉

Christopher Harborne is a new entry on the Sunday Times rich list top ten - worth £18 billion. He bought Reform for 0.1% of his fortune...

New post: "Seven things we learnt from the elections" We found out a lot about how multi-party politics is working in Britain over the last few days. I look at the implications for all the main parties + the broader challenges for our system. (£/free trial) samf.substack.com/p/seven-thin...

How I'd Start with AI as a Teacher in 2026 - 3 prompts for total beginners to get you started youtu.be/OhSrZ1KIjhg #ai #edusky #education #teaching

New to the classroom? 🤔 We asked our community of 11,000 teachers for their DO's and DONT's in the staffroom... SAVE this one. You'll thank yourself later!