1/2 Surely Yvette Coooer must resign too? From the Guardian today. In September 2025 in a letter to the FcFCO select committee Yvette Cooper and Robbins said the process had “concluded with DV clearance being granted by the FCDO in advance of Lord Mandelson taking up post in February”.

@the3million.bsky.social

The policy problem of what to do about a government department that has internalised a counter-productive set of policies is challenging. A @ukhomeoffice.bsky.social civil servant might say that culture and procedures will change when policy changes. But this seems hard to believe.

But as we know, the @ukhomeoffice.bsky.social is feral and not fit for purpose, after more than a decade of internalising Theresa May’s “hostile environment” policy. Which Shabana Mahmood seems to think didn’t go far enough.

Because all of this nonsense borders bureaucracy is a waste of public money.

Woman stranded in Dusseldorf after return UK flight blocked over Home Office admin error Liza Tobay, who lives in UK, was told her settled status had been ‘red flagged’ after trying to make a connecting flight from Munich to Edinburgh

If the UK government is serious about closer ties to Europe, it could just instruct the @ukhomeoffice.bsky.social to introduce a simple set of rules for the 3 million people with settled status that allow them to travel normally in the same way that citizens do.

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

Sri Lankan student could be deported from UK after one-day student fee delay Coventry University reported Navodya De Silva, 25, to Home Office after £8,000 arrived late, causing termination of visa

Your regular reminder that @ukhomeoffice.bsky.social is feral and not fit for purpose.

www.theguardian.com/education/20...

What kind of business is the AI business? The economics of the AI business are basically the economics of data centres. That’s a tough business model to make money from.

"[T]here’s no evidence that anyone is earning a return" on AI, says @nextwavef.bsky.social. Companies are planning big bets on building data centres - but half of them are cancelled or delayed, *because they have no path to profitability*! Madness! thenextwavefutures.wordpress.com/2026/04/09/a...

31 March 2026. Business | Change [2] Quick, shallow, and over-confident: business books, management and politics // The early cultural signs of change [#661]

An article from @nextwavef.bsky.social that's feels made for @michaelhobbes.bsky.social and @notalawyer.bsky.social on Airport Book Brain!! justtwothings.substack.com/p/1-april-20...

Six students challenge Home Office visa ban on four countries Sudanese and Afghan students with offers to study in UK say government’s ‘emergency brake’ is discriminatory

The @ukhomeoffice.bsky.social is feral and unfit for purpose. (See also: chasing Reform on immigration measures is a stupid political strategy.)

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

Fab new Senior Academic Futures Role at Cardiff University.
Closing date 3 April. Please share. @nextwavef.bsky.social @wendyinfutures.bsky.social @idilgaziulusoy.bsky.social @riveong.bsky.social @amywebb.bsky.social @anthonymobile.bsky.social
krb-sjobs.brassring.com/TGnewUI/Sear...

British schoolgirl stranded in Denmark after return flight blocked over UK border rules Exclusive: Hanne, 16, from Sussex, was not allowed to board flight to London after weekend in Copenhagen

The @ukhomeoffice.bsky.social is feral and not fit for purpose.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

UK pensions: lifetime Isa shake-up raises fears for self-employed As the sun sets on a tax-free scheme used by nearly a million people, there are calls for a better deal on retirement saving

The UK Treasury is obsessed by house-buying and not by helping people save. It’s topsy turvy not fit for purpose thinking.

www.theguardian.com/money/2026/m...

Katherine Priddy's third album: another unqualified triumph - Salut! Folk Colin Randall writes: Salut! Folk is an enthusiastic cheerleader for the Birmingham-born singer-songwriter Katherine Priddy. It is a cause largely inspired

The sensational Katherine Priddy and her quite captivating new album, These Frightening Machines. Reviewed admiringly at Salut! Folk
@nextwavef.bsky.social
@katherinepriddy.bsky.social

salutfolk.com/2026/03/09/k...

British dual nationals risk imminent refusal of travel to UK, Home Office affirms Government ignores pleas for a grace period before new rules come into force on Wednesday

The @ukhomeoffice.bsky.social is feral and not fit for purpose.

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

First Past the Post means millions of our votes make no difference to parliament. Add your name now to demand a fairer voting system It only takes 30 seconds

The Electoral Reform Society’s petition for a fairer voting system in the planned elections bill seems to have some momentum. #MakeSeatsMatchVotes
You can sign it here.
action.electoral-reform.org.uk/page/3782/pe...

Just a pathetic non-apology. If your intention is to talk about "controlled, well-managed immigration" you don't spout racist bullshit about "colonisation."

If Starmer is serious about a "reset" for Labour then one of the first things which needs to happen is that he boots Mahmood, and others, out of the cabinet and scraps his government's cruel and inhumane policies and rhetoric against migrants, and other marginalised groups. #r4today

Transatlantic Sessions keeps on rolling - Salut! Folk Andrew Curry writes: Transatlantic Sessions is the road show that keeps on rolling. It’s a bit more than a decade since the last television series was

The annual #TransatlanticSessions roadshow is always a fabulous series of concerts. This year’s guest singers: Kathy Mattea, Karine Polwart, Darrell Scott, and Muireanne nic Amhlaoibh. My review of the Royal Festival Hall show is up on the Salut #Folk site.
salutfolk.com/2026/02/11/t...

@theguardian.com I have a subscription, but your user interface won’t let me enter this anywhere. Terrible, terrible design.

God forbid that Britain should be more like the Netherlands.

The BBC coverage is absolutely terrible.

It leads on "sharply contested narratives"

It has a dramatic skew to the US government

It has posted the video but has failed to report on what it shows: it shows the US govt account is untrue

The “contested narratives” phrase is doing so much work here given that the contest is between one narrative that is a post-hoc justificatory construct and the other is largely supported by visual evidence.

Mahmood’s appointment as Home Secretary looks worse every time she opens her mouth. More evidence that Starmer and the apparatchiks who surround him have no political judgment.

Me and Bobby McGee: Song of the day - Salut! Folk Andrew Curry writes: In January 1971, Columbia Records released Janis Joplin’s version of Me and Bobby McGee, written by Kris Kristofferson. It quickly went

Not a #folk song of course, and not really a #country song, despite some dreary country covers. But Me and Bobby McGee is a classic song — with more than a hint of it in Richard Thompson’s Beeswing. Janis’s version is the best. New post at Salut Folk.

salutfolk.com/2026/01/24/m...

They are telling us in unequivocal terms that if you show solidarity with immigrants who are in the literal crosshairs of Trump/MAGA, you're risking a death sentence.

newrepublic.com/article/2055...

Yes, that’s exactly it. The whole reason they’re there is they want revenge for the George Floyd protests

Peggy Seeger, Joshua Burnside and Edith WeUtonga: faces of British and Irish folk and roots - Salut! Folk Peggy Seeger’s final record, along with Joshua Burnside’s Teeth of Time and Edith WeUtonga’s Varipasi: the third in our three-part look at the Folk Albums of the Year.

Happy new year from Salut!! Folk. Our last look at the Folk Album of the Year nominees
@nextwavef.bsky.social
@folkonfoot.com
@matthewbannister.bsky.social
@soundrootsuk.bsky.social

salutfolk.com/2025/12/31/p...

Goth folk, folk noir and a portrait of a village. Folk Album of the Year, Part 2 - Salut! Folk Part 2 of our review of the nine albums short-listed for Folk Album of the Year includes Poor Creature’s Goth folk, Spafford Campbell’s folk-noir, and Grace Stewart-Skinner’s portrait of her home vill...

Andrew Curry’s epic coverage of the Folk Albums of the Year nominees continues with
@poorcreaturemusic.bsky.social @spaffordcampbell.bsky.social
#gracestewart-skinner

@matthewbannister.bsky.social
@folkonfoot.com
@soundrootsuk.bsky.social
@nextwavef.bsky.social

salutfolk.com/2025/12/29/g...

Listening to the 2025 Folk Albums of the year contenders (Part 1) - Salut! Folk The 2025 Folk Albums of the Years Awards are a new venture to showcase the best new folk music from Britain and Ireland. We’re going to showcase the nine records on the shortlist, starting with Cynefi...

Salut! Folk features @cynefinmusic.bsky.social
Gigspanner Big Band & Barry Kerr in the first of three looks at the Folk Albums of the Year nominees
@nextwavef.bsky.social
@johnspiers.bsky.social
@folkonfoot.com
@soundrootsuk.bsky.social

salutfolk.com/2025/12/27/2...
@cynefinmusic.bsky.social