Sam Grinsell

Today's think piece seems designed to pit ECRs against mid-career colleagues but really, as Dr Davies points out, the sector is in freefall. All of us are in danger!

Bridges across the Tyne, photo by Sally Ann Norman.

“The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality.”

James Baldwin

i don't suppose I'll get anything here, BUT if you know of anyone currently offering free therapeutic support for gazans in the uk (scotland), i'd be grateful to hear about it

I do think, on a sort of human, moral level, I can't understand how you become like this?

This level of clawing, grasping greed that leads you to betting on the lives that you are about to end.

Bob Dylan writing Masters of War, unable to conceive of anyone more despicable than those profiting from making weapons of death...

Insiders betting on the places they're about to bomb, "hold that thought for me would ya Bob?"

Love it when an Onion article has been relevant my entire adult life

Dear @lucympowell.bsky.social,

I have enjoyed our exchange of letters about which of our parties is best placed to stop Reform. Hannah Spencer MP and I trust that you agree that this question has now been resolved once and for all.

Thanks,
Zack Polanski

Hannah Spencer walking into Westminster, sucking her teeth, tutting, and muttering "tell you what, you've had some cowboys in here."

There's an old two part documentary about Richard Attenborough on the iPlayer and one of the most wholesome bits is him chatting to (and about) his brothers. They all express this great energy for public service and improving the world, models of what a more positive kind of elite might look like

okay, here it is, the five key takeaways from this by-election:

1. Denton Kebab House
2. The Crispy Cod, Denton
3. Reddish Tandoori, Gorton
4. Cottage Chippy, Gorton
5. The Continental Takeaway, Denton

@zackpolanski.bsky.social : "Once again Reform are spreading misinformation & smears, and the press & the media seem to repeat them.. its really important that the media.. take responsibility so when Reform or Farage says something they don't just keep repeating it"👏👏👏

Absolutely. Grim but accurate. A lot of men don't seem to understand the connection between talk/banter/jokes and actions

That thing Orwell said about England being a family with the wrong members in charge definitely gets at something one often feels in Britain and I'd say England especially. Ordinary folk can rekindle your faith in humanity but the public elites are almost entirely despicable

Honestly this little anecdote is for me just emblematic of something I really believe: the British public are genuinely much nicer and more decent than either our political or media class are themselves, or would have you believe.

Apologies to all of Hannah's customers!

Something exciting is happening. Be a part of it ⤵️

We're now going to get wall-to-wall coverage of the Greens, get them on every single discussion programme, have university managers preemptively reach out to them and adhere to their demands, and basically organise society to make a declared-inevitable victory reality, right?
That's how this works?

The Tories losing their deposit is possibly the funniest thing to happen thus far in 2026

AND the worst Tory by-election result in their history

obviously today is a huge embarrassment for Matt Goodwin and for Reform, which is something that we absolutely ought to celebrate, but we must also remember it's a huge embarrassment for Morgan McSweeney and Maurice Glasman and all the Blue Labour weirdos, and that's important to celebrate too :)

quite funny that he just states the obvious to bad faith questions and they keep acting puzzled

Whenever UK politics floods my feed, it reads to me like:

"Angry Fay Defeat Poshies and Gray Cloaks in Smashing Lower Stabbington Faff-Election"

I vastly prefer this to USA news naturally

Gorton & Denton by-election, 2026 Source: Britain Elects SIAIS r EFTIES Green GAIN from Labour 40.7 28.7 25.4 1.9 1.8 Grn 427.5 Ref 414.6 Lab 725.4 Con 76.0 Lib 72.0 1.4 Oth 78.9

Starmer:

“If you don’t like our policies you can leave.”

Voters:

Happy for @greenparty.org.uk victory but most of all relieved that Goodwin lost. Vital for the country that voters have other choices beyond dysfunctional establishment parties or a far right rump of ex-Tories dressed up as outsiders

Matt Badlose

The interviewer sounded surprised too. Asked whether he discussed such things with his brother, who has very different views. David said that's the only topic he never discusses with Jonathan

Dear Mr Kirkdale bookshop keeper, It's me, the boy who asked to put the "One Piece" book on hold. How's your day been so far? Well for me, I'm getting thro teeth out at the dentist, not because their rotten but because I need to braces (I cind of scared). Due to the above, I will not be able to buy the book so please, please, please can you keep the book for one more day. From the boy, Jacob is my name. p.s. plase, please, please rec.

Imagine being like this. Maybe we actually were all once like this. Be more like this guy!

Forgot about a third vote today!

My @sheffielducu.bsky.social ballot for industrial action over threats to jobs is in the post.

Yes to striking, yes to action short of a strike of course!

David Dimbleby popped up on Radio 4 the other day attacking the way royal finances work and specifically criticised Osborne for taking away parliamentary scrutiny...

Call for Contributors: Cities at Play We at The Metropole are excited to issue a call for our next theme month: Cities at Play We welcome submissions about any aspect of play, recreation, or leisure in the urban environment. How have cities uniquely shaped the way their inhabitants play, and how has play in turn shaped the built environment, the social dynamics, and the politics of cities?

Call for Contributors: Cities at Play

We at The Metropole are excited to issue a call for our next theme month: Cities at Play We welcome submissions about any aspect of play, recreation, or leisure in the urban environment. How have cities uniquely shaped the way their inhabitants play, and how…