The Overton Window in UK Politics How the Ground Beneath Our Feet Has Moved

The Overton Window has clearly shifted to the right, as politics of authoritarianism, nationalism, division, etc. seem to dominate voter choice. How far to the right has it moved? Can it ever be brought back to the centre, or, even to the Left? 👇👇
open.substack.com/pub/drdavebe...

I’ll be on a panel in Wigan on 24 April with:
🎬 Ken Loach (Kes, I, Daniel Blake etc)
🥖 Ian Hodson (BFAWU President)
✍️ Maddie Wheeldon
Talking social justice, labour, inequality, and lived experience. QR Code below 👇
Looking forward to it ✊
@salforduni.bsky.social

I’ll be on a panel in Wigan on 24 April with:
🎬 Ken Loach (Kes, I, Daniel Blake etc)
🥖 Ian Hodson (BFAWU President)
✍️ Maddie Wheeldon
Talking social justice, labour, inequality, and lived experience. QR Code below 👇
Looking forward to it ✊
@salforduni.bsky.social

On the socialist origins of the concept of "relative poverty" The ‘purely relative’ definition of poverty is one that is based entirely on the usual or average living standards in … Continue reading "On the socialist origins of the concept of “relative poverty”"

My article on the socialist origins of the concept “relative poverty” iea.org.uk/on-the-socia...

Petition: Make social class a protected characteristic under the Equality Act The government should amend the Equality Act 2010 and make social class a protected characteristic.

Neoliberalism, The Great Recession, Brexit, Covid, Cost-of-Living Crisis, Mandelson, Starmer, Farage, and Yaxley-Lennon - It's not about Left or Right Politics, everything is about class, (and we are not in their class), perhaps you should sign this.
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/75...

Degrees of Debt: Class, Power, and the UK Tuition Fee Regime Watch now | A 4-Part discussion about tuition fees in the UK (part 1)

Student loans are a financial problem just waiting to happen. It's class warfare, where the poorer you are, the more you pay. Meritocracy is a myth👇

Degrees of Debt: Class, Power, and the UK Tuition Fee Regime
open.substack.com/pub/drdavebe...

Will the “King of the North” Ride South? Andy Burnham, the PLP, and the Battle for Gwynne’s Seat

open.substack.com/pub/drdavebe...

Will the “King of the North” Ride South? Andy Burnham, the PLP, and the Battle for Gwynne’s Seat

open.substack.com/pub/drdavebe...

How do we make Wales prosperous? By finally playing to our strengths Franck Banza Wales is at a crossroads. For too long, our economy has drifted without a clear destination. We are not manufacturing enough. We are not producing enough. Our connectivity is weak. Transp...

How do we make Wales prosperous? By finally playing to our strengths share.google/f0yvtx40MxrR...

Are we budgeting for equality – or missing the mark? - Transforming Society Academics Stand Against Poverty argue that a budget guided by the socioeconomic duty would harness existing data to assess the inequality impacts of government decisions, ensuring policies actively re...

New blog post with @drdavebeck.bsky.social and Vanessa Boon making the case for the socio-economic duty to be embedded in the Budget. www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2025/11/24/a...

Looking forward to hearing the budget....?
Will this government actually budget for equality?
Please read our new blog about this 👇

UBI Toolkit — UBI Lab Network

We're very pleased to announce the launch of our new UBI 101 Toolkit! 🚀

It’s designed to help you feel more confident talking about #UBI, sharing the big ideas behind it, and understanding the direction we’re heading as a network.

Link to download and share 👉
www.ubilabnetwork.org/ubi-toolkit

This week sees the launch of the new UBI 101 Toolkit from the @ubilabnetwork.bsky.social. 👇

Birmingham Photo-Walk: A Sociological Exploration

Last week I was in Birmingham for an awards ceremony. The next morning I had a wander along one of the many canals.
Here is a photowalk blog 👇

drdavebeck.substack.com/p/birmingham...

Well, i hope that the future is brighter. I'm pro independence, I don't think any unionist party can improve things here in Cymru and as soon as the union is over the better.
This way it doesn't matter to us which PM England elects.

Even the PLP want him gone. Come on.
The traditional supporters want him gone. He's dragged the party to far to the right. The PLP will be worried about voters going to either Your Party, plaid, SNP or even reform.
Labour can't win the GE and the PLP know that. So they will remove him eventually

He's only been PM for just over a year - wow he's been busy....
Losing MPs, Losing Wales at the next Senedd election, having several top cabinet members being investigated by the Parliamentary Standards Committee, taken a disastrous stance on Palestine, Climbdowns, poll collapse, broken promises.

#cop30 #talkingcop | The University of Salford 🌍Talking COP 🌍 Food systems are firmly on the agenda at #COP30, and for good reason. A third of global emissions come from how we grow, ship and consume food. In today's video, Dr Dave Beck, Lecture...

Here's me talking COP
www.linkedin.com/posts/univer...

Prime Minister will fight any attempt to replace him, friends say Allies of the prime minister are worried his job might be under immediate threat.

Starmer is a deeply unpopular PM. He purged the left, pandered to the right, and what's it done for the labour movement...? Destroyed it. Pushed many to the Greens and moved those in Wales and Scotland over to independence parties. He needs to be removed
www.bbc.com/news/article...

On first 1st, I thought this was satire, but it's not.

Woe is me, and the world's smallest violin comes to mind.

You (for profiting) & the government ARE to blame.

‘I’m tired of being blamed for Britain’s housing crisis. Landlords aren’t the villains’ share.google/uwP8Wv5OiIVd...

Is this finally rock bottom for Mr Andrew Mountbatten Windsor? Stripping Andrew of the title 'prince' is colossal, says the BBC's royal correspondent Sean Coughlan.

BBC news with a headline which totally disregards the people hurt.

But yeah, let's make this all about him 🤬

BBC News - Is this finally rock bottom for Mr Andrew Mountbatten Windsor?
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Universal Basic Income for Everyone | Basic Income Action Join thousands around the globe working to make guaranteed income a reality

Hey UBI and Bsky friends, I'm working hard between my son and private life. But I have an update on the Basic Income Action site, finalizing Event features and staging for launch.

Between sports and politics trending, I need help testing and feedback. 🤞🫠

truistic-teofila-unseparably.ngrok-free.dev

Strike! Strike! Strike! - We Are the University But We’re Treated Like We’re Disposable

A fresh round of Industrial Action is being balloted for across UK HE.

Strike! Strike! Strike! - We Are the University

drdavebeck.substack.com/p/strike-str...

3. SED also encourages a rethinking of social housing - assessing how allocation practices can potential reinforce rather than reduce inequality and the need to invest in social housing.

1. the socio-economic duty reinforces the need to measure poverty after housing costs.
2. The duty also requires the removal of the two-child limit.

Applying the socio-economic duty to tackle child poverty - Transforming Society Academics Stand Against Poverty UK is calling for urgent, bold, and coordinated action—including the long-overdue implementation of the socio-economic duty—to address the alarming rise in child povert...

New post on Transforming Society with @drdavebeck.bsky.social and @VanessaBoon - our argument regarding the socio-economic duty and how it should be drawn upon in developing the child poverty strategy by the UK government. www.transformingsociety.co.uk/2025/10/21/a...

Three key take-aways:

#TaxTheRich #WealthTax #UBI4ALL #UBI #UniversalBasicIncome #HealthcareForAll #UniversalHealthCare #HousingForAll #EndPoverty #FairEconomy

Today I'll be speaking at the Salford CVS annual conference about work and it's relationship to research on universal basic income

Cheers Simon, will do

Thanks very much!