Joe Marshall

Opened twitter for the first time in a while (first mistake). Immediately greeted by someone complaining that "their artwork" had been "stolen" because... someone gave an AI the same prompt.

Not really sure what to say but the hell site has been closed before any more of my brain cells leave.

Edward Heath blocked US use of UK bases to defend Israel in 1973.

Harold Wilson resisted US pressure to send troops to Vietnam.

From the ’50s to early 2000s, the UK imposed full arms embargoes on Israel for breaking international law.

We can choose not to be America’s poodle.

Winter Fuel: Proof that Britain has come an old folks' home with a government attached Welcome to the real Nanny State

The most disturbing thing about the winter fuel debacle is the chilling effect it'll have on any government which tries to think rationally about pensioner benefits and intergenerational fairness.

We really are in the Nanny State now. New writing from me.
open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...

In finally admitting that they're trying to take away our rights, they're also admitting that we have exercised these rights for years -decades- and there hasn't ever, ever been an issue with it

Inaccurate to say "Reform voters are our people". Many people who have never voted Labour. Many say never would.

"Some Reform voters are engageable"

Lab should be interested in sixth of its vote [5% of voters] were Labour 2024 & would consider Reform. Few Reform 2024 voters gettable, maybe 1/6 are

Rainbow Map Europe's LGBTI Rights Rankings 2024

The UK have fallen down the @ilgaeurope.bsky.social rainbow map to 22nd place. A decade ago, we were number 1. This confirms that we are falling behind other Western European countries on LGBT+ equality. Not happy? Join UNISON & let's demand better: www.unison.org.uk/join
rainbowmap.ilga-europe.org

When will Starmer learn that no matter how good his Nigel Farage impression gets, it won't save him from wipeout at the hands of Reform? Here's another idea - how about doing the work that's needed to actually make people's lives better? 🧵

Endless references in media coverage today to the rapid increases in net migration in recent years and often too little explanation as to why: (i) keeping UK HE/social care afloat and (ii) an attempt to deal with post Covid labour shortages/supply chain inflation.

So pleased we’ve identified foreign carehome workers who do the toughest jobs for fuck all money as the big problem with the country. Was worried it might be someone else.

Professor Lynda Boothroyd addressing the crowd beside the Bill Bryson Library.

The President of the Durham University Trans Association addresses the crowd.

People begin to gather in support of trans rights.

Some photos from today's rally in support of trans rights here in Durham #UnionswiththeT

UCU: MAB TIMELINE IN UK HE 2006: National MAB successfully pressured employers to grant a proper pay settlement 2021: Goldsmiths local MAB. Guarantee of no compulsory redundancies until 2022 and other commitments to protect staffing budgets for Associate Lecturers; greater transparency around Fixed Term Contracts due to expire, and Equalities Impact Assessments to be carried out on any future redundancies. Employer later reneges on promises. 2021-22: Uni of Liverpool local MAB. Backed up with strikes, put a stop to over 40 proposed redundancies. 2022: Durham, threat of local MAB. Thread of MAB leads to joint statement on USS, "a matrix of priorities", including a £1000 payment to all staff. 2023: National MAB. Reversed pension cuts that had reduced guaranteed benefits by 35%. No national progress on the Four Fights campaign. 2023: Durham, threat of local MAB. Secured a local package of measures including additional VISA support, assistant professors starting at grade 8, Real Living Wage (RLW) accreditation and two year Career Development Fellowships. 2023: Royal College of Art, local MAB. Following 41 days of strike action since 2020, deal secured included full employment rights for all staff, an end to zero-hour contracts, new routes to permanent contracts. and caps on teaching workloads. 2025: Cardiff University, threat of local MAB. Compulsory redundancies being taken off the table. 2025: Durham, threat of local MAB. ?

We’ve put together a little graphic to show how MABs have been successfully used to force various universities to actually listen to staff and students. A very recent example, a threatened MAB in Cardiff led their management to admit that, no, compulsory redundancies *weren’t* unavoidable after all.

So, yes, Labour are not losing no voters to Reform, but Reform having already use up about two-thirds of that potential. By comparison, Labour are losing more voters to progressive parties, but those parties have only squeezed about 25-30% of their potential gains out from Labour so far.

Looking at our data, about 10% of Labour voters are Reform/Farage sympathetic, with about 6-7% currently defecting. But 55-60% have favourable views of either the Lib Dems or Greens (with more having a positive view of just one), but with only about 17% currently defecting to either.

No comment necessary

There have been many Farage half-dawns. This time, it could be different. We've never seen anything quite like this.

We've seen many Farage false dawns before. After these results, this time it really could be different. To stop it, both Labour and the Tories will have to do something important but which they're not doing- disagree with him.

New writing from me.

open.substack.com/pub/goodalla...

All those saying that Reform will be subject to a greater level of scrutiny now- good luck. Local press is much weakened in many places and national press won’t pay much attention.

So basically just sort of banning people who enjoy a sport for fun really?

The Durham UCU picket line outside of Bill Bryson library

Day four! Striking for our jobs! We are not a drain on the university! We ARE the university!

Motion relating to recent Supreme Court ruling and subsequent events Motion relating to recent Supreme Court ruling and subsequent events Durham UCU notes The Supreme Court ruling on “For Women Scotland v Scottish Ministers” has extraordinary repercussions for the righ...

This afternoon, our branch voted very strongly in favour of the motion below, expressing support for trans, intersex & non-binary people, & demanding our institution does the same (e.g. by restoring the seemingly vanished uni policies RE trans & intersex people).

docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Day two of the strike, and we've ben getting a lot of questions from students about the action. What's it for, why are we doing it now, and how can they help.

So let's run through some Strike Questions! 🧵

The people who whine on about how the country is "full" so we can't allow any more immigrants in and THAT'S why they don't want it, promise, are often the same people who whine on about how young people aren't having children anymore and the birthrate is falling.

Sign sign sign!
Our jobs are on the line!

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Meanwhile, if you get stopped please document what happened and contact us at Good Law Project. goodlawproject.org/about/contact/

As Keir Starmer does a “trans women are men” media tour today, I hope people think about that time he invoked the memory of Brianna Ghey in Parliament as part of a gotcha for Rishi Sunak. Abusing her memory for PR whilst plotting to remove the rights she would’ve had to live as herself. He’s sick.

Gosh I wonder why trans people won't compromise with the people who think they are innately perverts. Let's all make sure to be as Centrist™ as possible and never find out what is actually true

"visit relatives in care homes" is rather quaint. White British lady treats the outsourcing of elderly care work as though it is a universal norm, not realizing how she herself doesn't do the sort of feminized labor most women in the Third World have been saddled with as their responsibility.

Least misogynistic transphobe take tbh

Transphobes are so interesting because they actually hate the hetero-patriarchy and their husbands, but are fighting to keep both those things exactly as they are and they attack trans women about it. Just the saddest people on the planet.

UCU was proud to stand in solidarity at today’s emergency protest for trans rights in London. ✊

Today, and every day, UCU stands with the trans community.

We will never stop fighting for trans rights and equality. 🏳️‍⚧️

#TransRightsAreHumanRights #UCU #Solidarity

the way the right has boiled discussion on transness by saying trans women will always be “biological males” is despicable because taking cross hormone therapy literally changes your biological birth sex. your sex and sex functions is no longer the same after taking hormones for an extended time