Good that UK govt wants to lift 550,000 children out of poverty. BUT 16m people, including 5.2m children, live in poverty. 24m people live below socially acceptable living standards. Can't end child poverty without tackling parental poverty. Can't do that without reforming capitalism.

You can do this right now: Think of a person who wrote a paper you love, whose work influenced or helped you, or has made your professional life better. Search up their email address. Shoot them a quick email of thanks. It means so, so much. This is a rough time of year, share some joy.

There are 54 pieces in a Jenga set. Instead of picking just one as being the problem (staff strikes), what about the other 53? Some of which will be about underfunding, or the inefficiency of private providers and quasi-markets, or ineffective managerialism, or out of date training pathways

Private equity curse. Company on Burnley bought by PE to cut staff by 90%. Loyalty counts for nothing. Typical PE business model - cut staff/wages, high debt, asset stripping, price hikes, sweat assets, profit shifting, tax abuse, extract high returns, move on to the next victim.

Ongoing decimation of British universities part 252: Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email. Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk

How getting home from work felt tonight #Edinburgh

The folks at the @uoe-sps.bsky.social "Centre for Doctoral Training in Designing Responsible and Trustworthy in-the-world NLP" made me into a little supervisor flyer: media.licdn.com/dms/image/v2...

- Student feedback = we want more face to face time with academics -colleagues = we want more of an intellectual community & seminars together - Professional service colleagues = we want more meetings with academic staff - Phd students = we want to know & see academic colleagues more

BLOODY AI,a thread:so, I saw a picture online of the Towers of Perugia by a Renaissance artist, Benedetto Bonfigli whose other work I know a little bit. Here is the image 1/n:

“What I see as a labor economist is we have starved everything to feed one mouth,” says Ron Hetrick, Principal Economist at Lightcast. “These are now three years that we have foregone development in so many industries as we shove food into a mouth that’s already so full.”

So...my undergrad thesis student is doing a quality analysis of studies found in meta-analyses. She identified a few and we contacted the authors to request their effect sizes and other variables for the studies in their papers. Here's what happened: scientiapsychiatrica.com/index.php/Sc...

Yup. You guessed it. NONE of the 45 references are real! In journal, Scientia Psychiatrica, is out of Indoinesia, other papers seem legit. Editor did not respond to my email inquiry. This is the AI age we live in.

Ultimately punitive welfare is self-defeating. And the evidence absolutely shows this. It creates a work revolving door and has negative health effects. We've been doing this for more than a generation now. It's delivered nothing and has corroded individual trust in the system.

No one does vintage Christmas decor better than an Irish airport #corkairport

📉 This morning, the government published its full Child Poverty Strategy, setting out plans to reduce hardship for children growing up in the UK by the end of the parliament. It's a crucial commitment to delivering on one of their central manifesto promises.

The Reform Party just received £9million. From a single donor. What does this donor really expect in return? Likely wants reduced regulation, tax rebates for uber-rich, poorer working conditions, more privatisation. (Doesn’t suggest party of the working people). www.reuters.com/world/uk/nig...

@clemmiehilloconnor.bsky.social and I are very chuffed to be published in Policy & Politics. We found it to be a very good experience with detailed peer review and a really helpful and guided publication process. Chuffed to be listed alongside lots of great work.

"Academic mothers are bound not only by notions of good academia but by conflicting societal ideals of good motherhood" link.springer.com/article/10.1...

"What’s missing from this is any sense of statecraft, of mobilising the Treasury and the Bank to reach a new accommodation with markets". www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

So, no funding to attend academic conferences, limited heating, no printers, can’t pay tutors, no phd scholarships, not enough front line staff, pushing academics to take VR or drop paid hours, cutting academic staff who bring money in?!But there’s money for this?! www.theferret.scot/consultancy-...

I heard a story about a female academic giving a paper at the IHR who, after receiving a long and aggressive question from a senior male professor, simply leaned back with her hands behind her head and replied “Oh, do fuck off.”

At today’s autumn budget, chancellor Rachel Reeves scrapped the two-child benefit limit, which was first introduced in 2017 by the then Conservative government. Our senior reporter Isabella McRae and campaigns manager Rhianon Steeds explain what scrapping this measure actually means. 💻

We break down exactly how the end to the two-child limit on benefits will impact low-income households in the UK.

🧵1/ Rachel Reeves has delivered the 2025 autumn budget, setting out the government’s economic plans amid Westminster theatre over a pre-speech leak. If you’re wondering what the budget means for you, Big Issue journalists have you covered. Thread below. ⬇️

Navigating social security can be daunting. Here's what you need to know about what benefits you could claim.

“Specifying an extreme wealth line would facilitate measurement of a growing democratic, environmental, economic and social problem – and spark debate about how to tackle it” – Tania Burchardt @ingridrobeyns.bsky.social and @michaelvaughan.bsky.social in our latest blog post

More pictures from Holyrood rally @ucuscotland.bsky.social

This week I should be teaching, writing research grants & reports, sharing research evidence, supervising phd students, supporting UG & PG students, REF impact coordinating, responding to media requests, & developing new research networks. Instead we are on strike at Edinburgh Uni.

When you ask your students how they felt doing a participant observation task on your methods course: lots felt “creepy”

In today’s episode of Edinburgh Uni’s “let’s make random cuts here there and everywhere without any kind of strategy or comms process”… our printer has disappeared 🙄

Just as I finish all my midterm marking where I point numerous students towards IAD resources, I read that the department has been axed. Ouch 😩 thetab.com/2025/10/31/e...

The number of people aged 16-24 who are not in education, employment or training in Britain is now close to one million. RF Senior Economist Louise Murphy breaks down what we can do to help these young people back into work or study. Read the full report here: buff.ly/s3jjW8h

🌟PSA PRIZES🌟 Nominations for Academic Prizes are now open! 📢 We invite prize nominations outstanding Research, Professional Contributions and Teaching & Learning. 📆 Deadline for nominations 1 December 2025 ➡️ Full details, eligibility, guidelines and forms online

TBH I know nothing about wikibooks but am a little tired of the inequities in the publishing world. So I read this, and am sharing as other academics might find it informative too. blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

Help write women onto Wikipedia this Halloween! Learn how to edit and PUBLISH a new 50-100+ word article about women missing from our search results. As you'd expect for Halloween, our focus list included Scottish women accused of being witches. All welcome. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/help-write...

Anas Sarwar @ipprscotland.bsky.social event outlining the need for governance reform in Scottish health services and more use of Scottish economic levers

Next session at the @ipprscotland.bsky.social focussing on the health of Scotland’s democracy

FM John Swinney responding to Emma Jackson (Citizens Advice Scotland) question about growing needs in Scotland & improving collaboration. Swinney saying he welcomed the #Scotlanddemandsbetter march over the weekend

Attending the @ipprscotland.bsky.social event today. An excellent opening from @stephenboydippr.bsky.social reminding us on democratic threats & need for more policy innovation & now @graemeroy.bsky.social outlining fiscal pressures

‘It’s been a cesspit, really, my life’: war photographer Don McCullin on 19 of his greatest pictures

Thousands march in Edinburgh calling for poverty action. 16m Britons live in poverty. Average real wage stuck at 2008 level. Regressive taxation. Poor ignored, don't fund political parties, bribe legislators, hand freebies to ministers. 1% have more wealth than 70% of the population combined.

"Workers rights bill and living wage rise will lead to a jobs bloodbath", says Daily Mail. Apparently making workers insecure/poor is the way to economic growth Silence on fat-cattery, food bank queues, 34% of universal credit claimants are in work Light years away from Cadbury/Quaker capitalism.

Big Brother HMRC cuts child benefit for 35000 families based on incomplete travel data. HMRC trawled through travel data, interpreted it incorrectly. Since 2016 it has powers, subject to conditions, to remove money directly from people's bank accounts. What could go wrong in surveillance society?

Private rent in UK now swallows 44% of the average wage. Monthly cost jumps to record £1,385 outside London, £2,736 in the capital. Lack of social and affordable housing, no rent controls, as govts appease corporations and the rich. Profiteering creating poverty/despair, stifling economic growth.

Listening to Darren Mcgarvey who is eloquent as ever about the problem of reactionary politics and elitism #scotlanddemandsbetter

An open-ended academic job in social policy being advertised in 2025? Can it be? For many ECRs looking for a role, this one might be for you: jobs.lse.ac.uk/Vacancies/W/...

Now available: www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/res... co-edited by policy group member Elke Heins, with contributions from policy group members: @haylesben.bsky.social, @chrisgrover.bsky.social @heejungchung.bsky.social @katyjones.bsky.social

500 employers fined £10m for failing to pay the national minimum wage. 42,000 workers repaid more than £6m. Roll of exploitation includes Holland & Barrett, Centrica, Adecco, Avis, Euro Garages, Genting Casinos, Go Outdoors, Mitchells & Butlers. Some have a history. None forgot to pay execs.

We're hiring!💥 IPPR North are looking for a senior researcher who has big ideas for the future of our regions. Join us at this pivotal time for our economy and democracy. Based in Manchester, apply by 31st October. www.ippr.org/jobs/senior-...