Dr. Lucy Mayblin

Vertical stripes of black, red, gold and pink with the words 'how to use critical discourse analysis in your research'; logo for the discourse academy in the top right corner which has an a tablet computer, and academic cap and a hand interacting with the computer screen

How to use critical discourse analysis in your research: 2-day, in-person workshop for PhD students & early career researchers.
15 & 16 January 2026
Sheffield, UK

Details:
www.discourseacademy.org/event-detail...

#PalestineSolidarity roving picket visiting the excellent picket at Firth Court. #UCUstrike @ucu.org.uk @sheffielducu.bsky.social @ucuhallam.bsky.social #sheffield

Europe: Closing the door? How visa policies in Europe's Schengen area fail human rights defenders - Amnesty International This report highlights the obstacles faced by human rights defenders (HRDs) from visa-restricted countries who want to access the Schengen area to fulfil their right to defend rights. It presents a…

The Amnesty International International Secretariat have just published a report. It explicitly highlights how racial discrimination in the context of visa policies and processes impacts activists from outside of Europe. Good to see Amnesty doing this kind of work. www.amnesty.org/en/documents...

Mainly factual but closes with this summary "This is a shameful day for Labour. These proposals are cruel, unnecessary and perhaps most importantly for [Starmer & Mahmood], will have no impact on the desperate people who continue to make that dangerous journey across the Channel."

Home Secretary announces major asylum and other changes in new policy paper: "Restoring Order and Control" - Free Movement Following a plethora of media briefings and coverage over the past few days, the Home Secretary has officially published her policy paper on "Restoring Order

This is an excellent summary of this week's UK asylum announcements from Free Movement. freemovement.org.uk/home-secreta...

ASSIST Winter Solidarity Appeal | ASSIST Sheffield The ASSIST Winter Solidarity Appeal provides a vital safety net for destitute asylum seekers in Sheffield. Choose your action: Donate, Act, or Share their story.

Why not put your disappointment into action by donating to ASSIST's winter solidarity appeal to support people who are homeless because of the UK's hostile environment policies? www.assistsheffield.org.uk/content/assi...

ASSIST Winter Solidarity Appeal | ASSIST Sheffield The ASSIST Winter Solidarity Appeal provides a vital safety net for destitute asylum seekers in Sheffield. Choose your action: Donate, Act, or Share their story.

Dismayed to hear more divisive and hostile rhetoric from the latest Home Secretary? Depressed by more cruel and punitive policies which will harm people who are seeking asylum and will do nothing to stop the rise of Reform or reduce small boat Channel crossings? ...

The Home Secretary says "we have become the destination of choice in Europe, clearly visible to every people smuggler and would-be illegal migrant across the world"

That is a factually untrue claim: the Home Office shows that the UK is fifth, getting 1/10 claims, while Germany gets 1/5 claims

Tomorrow @sheffielducu.bsky.social begins four weeks of strike action over the continuous restructuring of programs and departments and threats of compulsory redundancies imposed by university management. We are holding a joint rally with our sister branch at SHU which is facing similar threats.

Looking forward to this workshop! Join me, @kranertmichael.bsky.social , Tom Bartlett and Jane Mulderrig to work on using CDA in your research!

Mobilise, Resist, Build Solidarity: We Stand with Migrants A teach-in/out as part of the Migration Scholars Mobilize Network day of action to mobilise on these themes:- A war on migrants is a war on all of us- Migration is a social good- We stand with…

We are so proud to be part of the Migration Scholars Mobilise Global Day of Action today! Sheffield folks, come down to the Jessop Building. Our schedule here: sheffield.ac.uk/migration-re... And to the global network website: migrationscholarsmobilize.org

@mayblin.bsky.social @hannahjlewis.bsky.social @patnabuco.bsky.social @livinginsheffield.bsky.social

Evidence of mass killings by RSF in El-Fasher, Sudan, are chilling. They must be a wake up call for the rest of the planet too. Countries must be pressured to stop sending weapons into their proxy war in Sudan. It starts with acknowledging the horror.

I don't know what's worse, 'crazy but lawful', or his usual 'crazy and unlawful but we'll do it anyway'. I wonder if they have to go on the horrific resettlement programmes, live in the US poverty trap, are at risk of ICE raids and detention at any moment...

On what basis would white South Africans be eligible under the refugee convention? South Africa is probably on the US white list (no pun intended). Will he have to change the law or asylum assessment rules to do this?

This is interesting. It doesn't account for the fact that Channel crossings won't come down, so as immigration plummets and economy is impacted, immigration will ironically remain high on the agenda, which will feed support for Reform. Worst of all worlds

Migrants try to return to UK after France refuses to house them Asylum seekers deported under one in, one out deal are being left homeless by the French authorities, legal sources claim, fuelling attempted returns

"Legal sources said more migrants were attempting to cross the Channel in small boats because they were being left homeless by the French authorities" www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

Translation: Putting people in military barracks is good, because it has connotations of prison, punishment, and control. But only if the barracks are remote and out of sight, with people properly concentrated and fully excluded from society.

Two military sites earmarked as asylum seeker accommodation Housing asylum seekers in hotels has cost billions, while they have also become a focal point for protests.

Around 900 men are expected to be moved to military bases in Inverness and Sussex by the end of the year.

The use of large sites has been described as a "sleeper issue", likely to inflame tensions with local communities.

And all to close four or five hotels.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Billions squandered on asylum accommodation by Home Office mismanagement – Home Affairs Committee report finds - Committees - UK Parliament Flawed contract design and incompetent delivery left the Home Office unable to cope with the surge in demand for asylum accommodation, a report by the Home Affairs Committee has found.

Most of the time we ask the wrong questions in relation to asylum policy. What this new report on asylum accommodation shows, for me, is that we need to be asking all the time "who materially benefits from the current policy approach?"

These Walls Must Fall Right to Remain works with communities, groups and organisations, providing information, resources, training and assistance to help people to establish their right to remain, and to challenge…

Today! National Day of Solidarity to End Immigration Detention in the UK. When someone you know is detained it's like they have been abducted or taken hostage. Today we're asking for #DignityNotDetention #TheseWallsMustFall @Right_to_Remain
Find out more here righttoremain.org.uk/category/the...

UK charities say toxic immigration rhetoric leading to threats against staff Voluntary organisations forced to introduce extensive security measures to protect staff and property

Political rhetoric isn't just talk, it has real material implications.

"UK charities say toxic immigration rhetoric leading to threats against staff."

www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Yet another case of the Home Office noticing an increase in asylum claims by people arriving via legal routes and responding by immediately slamming that route closed. It’s like they WANT people to travel irregularly.

Looking forward to this

Human rights groups call for France to suspend ‘one in, one out’ treaty with UK UK and French organisations file legal challenge against July agreement to swap asylum seekers

How's the one in one out policy going? “The agreement between the UK and France will go down as a dark chapter in history because it has abandoned us completely. The UK government is making an example of us and this is very painful and shameful.”

Just digging out this blog I wrote for ECRE 6 years ago about the myth of the economic pull factor for asylum seekers -the myth that very much never dies! ecre.org/op-ed-pull-f...

Reshaping The Immigrant Narrative: A Guide To Futures Counter fear and advance a pro-immigrant vision. Our guide offers research and tools to shift the immigrant narrative for persuadable audiences.

How to change the dominant narrative on migration? This is a really interesting contribution from the US: "Narrative Guide for Immigrant Futures (2025) How To Create Narrative Interventions That Counter Fear and Change Attitudes" narrativeinitiative.org/resource/nar...

Migration deterrence strategies are popular amongst politicians, but what do we know about their effectiveness? Looking to 2025, it is likely that states will seek to implement or expand offshore policies, despite serious human rights concerns and the fact that their effectiveness is far from proven. This blog…

The "one in one out" deal between the UK and France is based on the idea of deterrence. But (and it's getting boring saying this year after year after year) the fabled deterrent effect does not exist. Here's one of the more recent explainers on this topic odi.org/en/insights/...

Last weekend, as the weather improved, more people tried to cross the Channel to reach safety in the UK. Four lost their lives in three separate incidents — one was a child. The government’s deterrent policies don’t work; they push people to take greater risks. We need #SafeRoutes now.

PM wants to change how international law used in asylum cases The UK needs to "look again" at how to tackle mass migration, but those genuinely fleeing persecution should still be given asylum, the PM says.

Deeply, deeply, concerning.

"The prime minister told the BBC he did not want to "tear down" human rights laws, but is ready to look again at article three of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects against torture and degrading treatment." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...