@citizensuk.org great to meet with Pope Leo today. Over 30 years of organising across the UK, fighting for justice and the common good. Powerful moment of recognition and encouragement from Pope Leo.

Brighton, you never disappoint…

@localauthority.news logoauthority.web.app/full-results

I am reading the new book by the Facebook / Meta whistleblower - Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. Interesting bit where she says that the big tech bosses all push their products on other people's kids but refuse to let their own kids use them.

The Tour de France, on 13th July, will ride down the road at the end of our field in France. Can’t wait! 🚴🇫🇷 @le-tourdefrance.bsky.social

In a nutshell, why not much changes within our society… Too much performative nonsense. 😉

Walking into a library as a 2-3-year old is magical. Even more magical as we teach children how to read. Imagine not giving that same magic to children as they want to impact society. Often, we ignore the need to teach children how the world works, baking political apathy/inefficacy into them.

Le Pen found guilty. This makes me joyful.

Spent parts of the weekend with Muslim family members who live in the US. Saying that they live in fear, due to Trump’s policies, would be a massive understatement.

We should shout much, much louder about the importance of ‘voluntary association’. Coming together for no other reason than to create bonds of solidarity and community is so important. People who decide to build relationships in their ‘free’ time are heroic. They make our planet human.

@michaelt1979.bsky.social Caught up with a very excited Merlin today! Thanks for all you’re doing. M loving being at EPJS!!

Spending a lot of time in Oxford these days, building power across the huge gap that separates ‘gown’ and ‘town’. Good to see some powerful links being built to reshape the city more equitably. The ‘banlieue’ kid in me can’t wait to get those Cowley kids to fight for what they deserve.

My new favourite summary of what it means to ensure that people are in the driving seat.

One of the key reasons why we’re developing a new alliance in Oxford fundamentally interested in building power to take on those that need to understand what accountability is about.

Running to Mars… @rochestercathedral.bsky.social

Enjoyed meeting with @churchofengland.org Directors of Education, reflecting on their mission to ensure YP flourish, whilst also arguing that flourishing is rooted in collective power. If we can’t shape what happens in our lives it’s hard to imagine how we can truly flourish. @andywolfe.bsky.social

Nothing says ‘Welcome Back to the UK’ from a lovely week away better than a Bus Replacement Service. 🥰

Oh dear…

Not surprised that many across the edu sector are disappointed with Ofsted’s changes. We need to move away from pontificating on what we’d like to see and spend more time building power through action. Consultations without actions rooted in accountability are like blowing sand against the wind.

Good day in Oxford today!

I fear there is deep truth here.

To a year focused on justice!

I love how unions in France encourage people to vote via advertising on baguette wrappers!

A très bientôt ma belle. 💙🤍❤️

Context does matter. Not as an excuse, but as a place to fight from. I’ll never forget the disdain some of my teachers showed when I didn’t have proper shoes on as a child. I wish I’d had the guts to tell them that it was ‘because they didn’t have any at the clothes bank!’.

It’s been good fun…

A key reason to ensure that we strengthen our institutions. Institutions build and sustain communities, in an increasingly-fractured world. amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Let’s hope the French postal service is not on strike over the next couple of days…

Found the place where we’ll live if we ever move back to France… just need to get used to calling pains au chocolat ‘chocolatines’!

Sliding down Europe’s biggest sand dune…

Une belle journée… 💙🤍❤️

Here we come 💙🤍❤️

Great to receive a copy of @alibody1.bsky.social’s latest book! Flicking through it right now and enjoying reading about Citizens UK’s work with young people! @mrjlauder.bsky.social

Wonderful to be able to read @leoracruddas.bsky.social’s speech at the last @cstvoice.bsky.social conference. Gutted I wasn’t able to attend but very grateful for the ‘shout out’. Looking forward to 2025, Leora. So much to build together. cstuk.org.uk/news-publica...

It’s well-known that unaffordable and inadequate housing is a major contributor to child poverty. Point made again by @resfoundation.bsky.social in a report launched today. Great working with edu leaders in Brighton to tame unscrupulous developers. @leoracruddas.bsky.social @hannahfearn.bsky.social

Re-reading Alinsky. Kinda relevant… @mrjlauder.bsky.social @jonnyuttley.bsky.social

We’re looking for someone hungry for change. Someone who knows how to build power and who takes civil society institutions seriously. 3 days a week. 💴: £37,056 per annum, full time equivalent (£22,233.60 per annum, pro rata) 📍 Reading app.beapplied.com/apply/baykb5...

Beautiful Kings Cross St Pancras this evening…

Anyone know if the Labour candidate for the Hull and East Yorkshire Mayoral contest has been selected? @jonnyuttley.bsky.social @samfr.bsky.social @mrjlauder.bsky.social

The reason I love travelling on Eurostar is not the simplicity of city centre to city centre travel, the lack of fuss at check in... No, it’s the pleasure of watching people interact as queuing systems are thrown out of the window. A dance of diplomacy and hard stares between different traditions!

Off to sunny Brussels to work with the mighty @debrakidd.bsky.social @melchambers.bsky.social and team. Looking forward to a busy day tomorrow!

1,400 young people in Brighton doing some listening this week on the need to regulate social media companies. Another 6,000 doing the same next week. Taking this to other cities soon. Let’s begin! @mrjlauder.bsky.social @jonnyuttley.bsky.social @lizrobinson.bsky.social @leoracruddas.bsky.social

Looking forward to training leaders from across Milton Keynes tomorrow.

Who am I not following that I should follow? Education, civic leadership, hope. That’s what I’m interested in, mostly. @leoracruddas.bsky.social @mrjlauder.bsky.social @raesnape.bsky.social

Fun day out today…

Really interesting article.

Just watched ‘It's All Over: The Kiss That Changed Spanish Football’. Very powerful. Testament to what can be achieved when taking collective action. m.imdb.com/title/tt3361...

Experimenting. Hoping it’ll be a good addition to my breakfast tomorrow morning.

Something mad hit me today! Buying school shoes the Saturday before the start of term! 🤯