Citizens of a #democracy are meant to have a say over how it is governed. But authoritarian actors have grown bolder & major democracies have turned inward. What #constitutional frameworks are resilient? @tomginsburg.bsky.social @uchicagolaw.bsky.social @tarunkhaitan.bsky.social @lselaw.bsky.social

"Deported" is a very interesting way to say kidnapped, imprisoned illegally, abused, then released. 🤔

It’s getting daily more difficult not to post political comments. So much to condemn, globally and in the UK. I was born just after WW2, in 1948, and I’ve never been so disgusted by successive UK governments as now. The latest under the duplicitous control freak Starmer is a kind of culmination.

Labour MPs who voted against welfare cuts concerned over the govt plans to change the assessment for universal credit disability benefits. Could trigger another mass rebellion. Why no focus on corporate welfare - bailouts, £895bn QE, subsidies, tax abuses, no end to profiteering.

UK workers using food banks, bosses feast. Melrose CEO, 1,112 times the average employee wage. Tesco, 375 Person, 355 Compass, 330 Marks & Spencer, 261 British Associated Foods, 218 Sainsbury's, 195 Can't rebuild economy/society without equitable distribution of income and wealth.

#art by Sliman Mansour Temporary escape, oil on canvas, 2018 #Palestine

Proofs of my book on Margaret Archer arrived this morning.

So new police powers to sanction repeat protesters and ban demonstrations. In a nutshell, the Zionist lobby has instructed Starmer & Co to outlaw pro-Palestine protests. The awful synagogue attack has been weaponised to this end. So predictable!

NHS increased use of the private sector under Labour govt. Private sector delivered 22.1% of ophthalmic, 20.5% of orthopaedic procedures. Numbers of NHS patients treated by private sector up by 10%. With profit margins of up to 40% money buys less. More efficient to expand NHS capacity.

Check Al Jazeera for world news.

Katy Sian has published an article exploring the silencing of Palestine in Western universities and its implications for decolonizing the curriculum in ‘Race, Ethnicity and Education’. #Decolonizing #Palestine

Some of the most committed and bravest protesters against genocide and in favour of Palestinian rights are Jewish. Respect to them.

Research assessment: a round-up Excellent survey of the assessment landscape by @hollyelse.bsky.social in @nature.com, including our recent work @rorinstitute.bsky.social with the Global Research Council. www.nature.com/articles/d41... @alexrushforth.bsky.social @prussianhippie.bsky.social

So has Trump backed Netanyahu into a corner?

'The #UKgovernment launched #NHS league tables to boost transparency.' 'But they risk distorting priorities and disadvantaging hospitals serving complex populations. Rankings must adjust for context and be paired with targeted support to succeed.' @europeans.today www.europeans.today/2025/10/03/n...

The duplicitous Starmer would have believe that anti-genocide = pro-antisemitism. Challenge this crude Zionist propaganda whenever you can.

Next RC28 Spring Meeting will be 20-22 May in Seville. Submissions until 10 Dec here: eventos.upo.es/137585/detai... If you're wondering if this is your conference, have a look at what we publish in our journal Research in Social Stratification and Mobility: www.sciencedirect.com/journal/rese...

“9 out of 10 young adults living with parents in the UK would face costs of nearly half their income if they moved out” This has been signed off by every government that handed our housing system to profiteering landlords while robbing a generation of stability and independence.

Is the Government going to announce an end to the two-child limit this autumn? Fully scrapping the policy would be the most targeted and cost-effective way for the Government to meet its aim of reducing child poverty. @ruthcurtice.bsky.social explains ⤵️

Elite school students end up in better universities than expected, based on their grades blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

Pro-Zionist lobbyists, including the UK government, taking full political advantage of the awful events in Manchester.

So many citizens go onto the streets to oppose the Israeli Nazis while our western govs cop out in noisy silence. Thank you to all protesters.

Very sad to hear that Claus Offe has passed away.

(2/2) Zionist supporters of Israeli policy will use any evidence of antisemitism to rationalise and justify their ongoing slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. Starmer predictably showing more concern about the Jewish community than about the Palestinians.

(/2) The murders in the Manchester synagogue are horrendous. All forms of racism, including antisemitism, must be rejected. We must distinguish between being Jewish and being Zionist supporters of Israel’s genocide in Gaza. Antisemitism in the UK is growing as a result of the genocide.

Follow thread.

Very glad to hear the Pope call for action against climate change. If you oppose urgent action, it's probably because you have your snout in the trough (Trump, Farage, Badenoch).

“I’m feeling sick from fear about this transition from Employment Support Allowance to Universal Credit. I’ve lost several hundred pounds” This is one of hundreds of stories from my research into financial hardship and the welfare system with @jrf-uk.bsky.social

📢 I've decided to do regular 2-3 mins video updates of latest authoritarian antics of Trump administration on YouTube & TikTok. Have been inspired by reading how many people get their news there and how dominated it is by the right. www.tiktok.com/@profchristi... www.youtube.com/@ProfChristi...

BREAKING: Israel has intercepted Global Sumud Flotilla vessels Alma and Sirius, according to activists onboard. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/356qba

Do you agree that Michelle Mone should not be allowed to participate in law-making process in the UK by being a member of the House of Lords? Sign our petition 👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻 @cbffjuk.bsky.social

Are you a UCL Sociologist? Apply to join UCL Sociology Network's Coordinating Group. Contribute to the Network’s wide-ranging programme of activities and share news of important sociological developments tinyurl.com/2ut5dttz

The new 10 Year Health Plan for England is ambitious, yet in many ways, familiar. Members of the The BMJ Commission on the Future of the NHS discuss the evidence (or lack of) behind the plan, and what it might take for it to be successful @marydixonwoods.bsky.social www.bmj.com/content/390/...

102,000 hairdressers in England with 40,000 salons 27,000 GPs with 6200 Surgeries 31 million people visit GPs every month a similar number have haircuts You can see the problem @rthonwesstreeting.bsky.social judging by Wes’s trim he is going to the hair salon a lot more than his GP unlike many

It’s interesting that although I’m 77 next week, nobody on my full commuter train out of London would even ponder offering me a seat. It’s ok, but it’s very different from my experiences a decade or three ago.

Gov to reintroduce maintenance grants for some poorer students, but not if they want to study the arts and social sciences!

Democracy is on dangerous ground when its fundamental rules become the main point of political contention. This is where we are today. The truth is that the institutions, not just the players, need to change. muse.jhu.edu/pub/1/a...

Apart from the unnecessary hardship this will inflict on individuals, this will be bad for integration and social cohesion, bad for the economy, and will increase irregular migration. [And, as @robfordmancs.bsky.social has shown, it's hugely unpopular and out of step with the British public]

Why do we tax earnings from employment more than income from rental properties? Adam Corlett explains why we should start making tax more consistent 👇

Please do sign this - petition.parliament.uk/petitions/73...

"Ending the housing crisis requires attacking one of the foundations of neoliberal capitalism: the idea that we are all little, budding capitalists just waiting for the opportunity to invest in financial markets." graceblakeley.substack.com/p/building-m...

When Trump calls climate change a "con job," he is representing his fossil fuel billionaire friends, not science.   Climate change is REAL. It is an existential threat to the planet and future generations. We must transform our energy systems away from fossil fuels.

There's a really nice new study using phone data from Americans who relocated from one city to another to look at the effect of walkable environments on physical activity. E.g., people move TO New York and walk more, they move FROM New York and walk less www.nature.com/articles/s41...