Reposting this old article, because it seems to me that this phenomenon still sits at the heart of the western world’s problems, and has, if anything, got worse since the time of first publication. @bylinesnetwork.co.uk

Also: wish political correspondents wouldn’t look so gleeful about it all. Their exciting day at the office is everyone else’s actual national turmoil. Not a good look. An example of how we need to think about the stakes, not the odds.

Watching this live, it seems fairly obvious that Emily Thornberry thinks McSweeney tweaked clerical processes around the US Ambassador appointment to favour Mandelson. Ed Davey has said publicly the incoming US administration wanted Mandelson. Again it seems, lack of political instinct from Starmer.

UK - the sick man of Europe. Frankly, I’m not surprised www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

This is from the Prime Minister of Poland, one of our NATO allies and arguably our most dependable partner in Central-Eastern Europe. Donald Trump is destroying our long-standing alliances.

Totally this. Too often we assume digital exclusion is about age. Well, the digital revolution was kicked off by people now 70+, grandma can probably manage an app if she can see the phone. We don't think nearly enough about digital exclusion caused by disability, affordability & language barriers.

Especially for my US followers - are you getting this type of news? If this stock market activity goes on for an extended period of time it is likely to crash the world economy - which is a desired outcome for many disaster capitalists. 😳

This is *exactly* what we were saying for years on edutwitter and we got told it wasn't true and that SEND parents like strict behaviour policies. Good to see some evidence about the situation.

Having a wonderful time in various European cities. Wonderful seeing groups of school pupils at galleries & key sites enjoying their learning. Interesting that none are wearing uniform, no ties, blazers, branded socks,stripes down trousers. Well I never !

You know the best way to kill AI? Don't use it. Don't buy it. Don't share it. Don't give the people who use it your labour or your money.

‘But it’s not just about the most powerful people in the world. It’s about the people who are the most powerful in your neighbourhood, your school… if people can join the dots between, say, Epstein, Harvey Weinstein, Jimmy Savile, the Rotherham & Rochdale gangs, they might stop it when they see it’

#O2 are promising to ring me back today 😳 They locked my app & online account 4 weeks ago & still haven’t been able to unlock it ! Total shower & abysmal customer service. @ofcom.bsky.social

The finest take down of the institution of monarchy and "class" and the grasping, greedy, venal, entitled, and very stupid people it enables that you will read today or any day. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...

As an afterthought, I also don’t think that we’ve maybe thought hard enough (thru a 21C lens) about a emotionally delicate 19YO being enticed into marrying a much older man, whose affections were elsewhere, for breeding purposes, leading to a series of consequences that eventually led to her death.

This is an absolutely huge jump in oil prices. It's also why Europe needs to get off fossil fuels asap (beyond climate change impact). We can't be beholden to this.

Just as a point of interest - how many people reading this previously knew about the UK WWII debt that was fully paid off, with interest, 60 years later?

Best commentary yet on the ‘special relationship.’ If we don’t abide by international law, we have nothing. Quite so. And especial 👏 to @lewisgoodall.com -every word.

The ragged trousered philanthropists 2024 yorkshirebylines.co.uk/politics/the... - definitely worth a read 😊

This is an important ‘think piece’ for those contemplating the cultural problem we currently need to face in the UK. Whatever led a woman to write an article like this? It’s not just about her; it’s about the culture in which she, editors & readers believed this to be an acceptable approach to take

Left: Gillian Keegan having a melt down over Keir Starmer accepting free glasses and suits on #GMB this morning Right: Gillian Keegan was silent over Boris Johnson's £840 a roll wallpaper, and she did not criticise him over party gate either

We *told* them all this when they introduced the policy! I'm not surprised at low take up if schools are only taking from 3 years old because it's the funding for 9 months to 2 years that is new and driving demand. schoolsweek.co.uk/school-nurse...

I'm working online this morning with colleagues in the north west to explore the subject of self-regulation in the classroom. I was just thinking how much zoom has changed my work with teachers (a lot less travelling!) and how it wasn't even a thing just a few years ago. #EduSky

I genuinely don't understand why some MATs employ highly qualified teachers and then tell them exactly how and what they must teach, even down to the exact timing of lessons. I couldn't work under those conditions and I'm sure a lot of other people feel the same. #EduSky

I’ve got a better idea. Why not have a major section called ‘pastoral’ with these two factors as subheadings. ‘Relationships with families’ could be another one. Any suggestions for others #EduSky?

bsky.app/profile/theo... All of this but is anybody questioning why so many people want to do this? Specifically images of children? Has it always been this way or is it a recent thing?

Zahawi is having to clean up some of his tweets this morning 😂

At a time when billionaires and oligarchs own the majority of our press, when local journalism is in decline, and social media is rife with misinformation and abuse, there has never been a greater need for citizen journalism Who funds us? No one...except you. Become a friends of Bylines supporter:

And here’s the recipe for the homemade instant pancake mix! www.nigella.com/recipes/home...

I’m going to try to post more on here - because the other place is awful.

I really wish the government would start posting on here. It's very frustrating not having access to updates because I don't want to look at the toxic, bigoted, racist, CSAM site. A lot of edutwitter is here. Where is the DfE please? @ofstednews.bsky.social @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social

#OtD 10 Jan 1918 200 housewives marched through Barcelona calling textile workers out to strike against high cost of living. Strikes, demos and attacks on shops and coal yards continued even after a new military governor declared a state of siege stories.workingclasshistory.com/article/8194...

There is lots of evidence that MATs cost more including this excellent sourced report from @warwickmansell.bsky.social www.campaignforstateeducation.org.uk/case-report

That’s true but there’s no indication that any practical start has been made. & for the reasons you state, that means it’s not going to happen by 2034. We’ve an epidemic of junior mental health issues *now*. A decade is a generation’s passage through the education system 5-16. So when? 2040? 2045?

An important article and not behind a paywall.

Can I ask everyone a question? I’m working on a chapter/article about psychological origins of storying and realise I have a major difference with the 20thC theorists. Anyone ever dream about fictional mythical beings or classical religious figures? No details required, just yes or no! #psychology

What the psychologist wants us all to know about teenage boys. Such an important article. People forget the natural phases young people go through. Probably because many people have zero meaningful contact with children and young people in everyday life these days. www.thetimes.com/article/e51b...

Something that always strikes me about these reports is that parents withdraw their children when inflexible systems are put in place and they can't cope. So in the end it becomes a way of removing learners with higher levels of needs, whatever the original intention. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

A thread from this morning about inflexible systems. 🧵

Maybe have a look at the salaries of the CEOs and business managers at all non-LEA schools. #EduSky

This practice, for example, is a form of abuse, particularly when used on children from chaotic, neglectful and/or abusive homes. A newly qualified teacher should be aware of this. So the CEO named here being appointed Chief OFSTED inspector was frankly gobsmacking. @bphillipsonmp.bsky.social

@bphillipsonmp.bsky.social needs to join the dots on this one. We have the most significant, deepening youth mental health crisis since records began. Of course children need sensible rules and guidance. But that shouldn’t involve shouting at them and humiliating them.

The people who complain about 'gingerbread people' are the same people who want to refer to themselves as a chairman even though they're a woman. It's such a regressive, patriarchal way of thinking. I've just used 'chair' of committee for the last 16 years because it doesn't actually need gendering.

No Prince Philip either

❗The success of one of the highest-performing schools in the country has been 'achieved at too high a cost for some pupils', a safeguarding investigation has found schoolsweek.co.uk/mossbourne-s...

This is the construction of the world economy and alliance structure as an ongoing set of dodgy gangster-style business deals. What was agreed at Yalta after WWlI was somewhat similar, and gave us many of the problems we are dealing with now. Civilisation at a crossroads. Which way do we go?

We need to scrap SATs! Primary assessments are making kids sick with worry, stressing out parents and causing active harm, particularly to SEND pupils. Govt must listen and rethink these counterproductive tests.

‘Children with SEND just have to survive school.’ How have we got here, #EduSky? And what are we (urgently) going to do about it? All of these children featured should be able to have their needs met, and thrive in mainstream state education.

Left: Luke Johnson, Chairman of Gail's Bakery, who was pro-Brexit, criticises Labour for not understanding the private sector and how wealth is created Right: The thing he voted for, Brexit, costs the UK £90 billion in lost tax revenue every year #BBCQT