On Politics: Inside Britain’s Asylum System

Enjoyed doing this quite wide ranging @lrb.co.uk podcast with @piercepenniless.bsky.social and @nicolakellywrites.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/4V06...

It’s a rainy morning in California, but our future is bright! ☀️

We are reveling in this incredible win for academic freedom and higher education.

www.latimes.com/california/s...

The Moving Labour Collective is pleased to invite applications for our biennial Labour Law Summer Camp, taking place in Malmö, Sweden, from 14–17 June 2026. Applications close on 1 December—please feel free to reach out with any questions!

UK university halted human rights research after pressure from China Exclusive: Leading professor at Sheffield Hallam was told to cease research on supply chains and forced labour in China after demands from authorities

Absolutely shocking that the Chinese govt pressured a UK university to shut down research about forced labour in Xinjiang and the links to global supply chains. The work of Laura Murphy and her team had been instrumental in getting Chinese companies sanctioned.

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

We are delighted to welcome @mdiasabey.bsky.social to our board of trustees🎉

Manoj's long-standing interest in labour rights, and his support for a collaborative Fair Work Agency that values civil society input, makes him an ideal collaborator in our work.

www.workrightscentre.org/about-us/our...

Thanks very much! Really excited to be able to contribute to an organisation doing excellent work.

Super! I'm away from mid-Feb but late Jan/early Feb should be good. Hope we can make it work :-)

Can we entice you to visit Bristol when you're in England? :-)

We're recruiting a trainee solicitor with a strong sense of justice, who is looking to build a career in a legal profession.

After two years, you will gain the required practical experience to fully qualify as a solicitor.

Apply or send to a friend🤝

www.workrightscentre.org/publications...

Job Ad: The Work Rights Centre is recruiting a Policy Manager - Free Movement Hours: Full time (37.5 hours per week)

From last week: Job Ad: The Work Rights Centre is recruiting a Policy Manager | Free Movement

If the CPS had done its calculations properly, it would have arrived at a large fiscal *benefit* from recent migration, as I explain here..

docs.google.com/document/d/e...

Initiative for Global Law and Political Economy (iGLPE) website:

www.humanities.manchester.ac.uk/law/research....

@lpeproject.bsky.social
@lpeblog.bsky.social
@a-lpe.bsky.social
@lpec.bsky.social
@ineteconomics.bsky.social
@lpeineurope.bsky.social

Wrote a piece on Matthew Goodwin for the latest issue of @prospectmagazine.co.uk.

What led a promising academic to throw it all away in the name of becoming a propagandist for the radical right?

Our latest research is now LIVE 🚨

Following revelations that just 3.4% of exploited care workers got jobs via a £16million government scheme, this research uncovers the systemic barriers that stood in the way of success.

www.workrightscentre.org/publications...

Legal workers and the workplaces of law - Frontiers of Socio-Legal Studies In this piece for Borderlands, Tanzil Chowdhury (QMUL) discusses a new book project on lawyers' working conditions pursued through a workers inquiry methodology.

Tanzil Chowdhury writes for @oxfordcsls.bsky.social on 'Legal Workers and the workplaces of law' about his latest co-edited book (w/ @jamiewoodcock.bsky.social )

frontiers.csls.ox.ac.uk/legal-worker...

Congratulations, Pier! Looks fascinating and very timely too.

Less than 4% of exploited care workers helped by UK government scheme Only 941 of 29,000 exploited migrant workers reported finding new employer through multimillion-pound scheme

MAJOR UPDATE

Thanks to a series of FOI requests, we've found that less than 4% of exploited migrant care workers found new work through a multi-million pound government scheme. (A thread🧵)

www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Socio-Legal Trajectories Across Europe What are the different institutional, intellectual and biographical trajectories in socio-legal studies, and how can they be compared?This book brings together…

Webpage now with updated ToC!
@n-creutzfeldt.bsky.social @cmboulanger.bsky.social

www.bloomsbury.com/uk/sociolega...

UKICE Lunch Hour: The migration question - UK in a changing Europe Join our online panel to hear their expert analysis of the implications of the UK government's immigration white paper, as well as the key trade offs.

🚨NEW EVENT🚨

The government just announced new policies to try and reduce migration to the UK

To unpack the implications, trade offs & public opinion, join our expert panel @jdportes.bsky.social, Madeleine Sumption, @robfordmancs.bsky.social & @anandmenon.bsky.social

ukandeu.ac.uk/events/ukice...

Image from the Financial Times, placing Keir Starmer next to Enoch Powell.

Starmer's language was deplorable.

It was grotesquely offensive, accusing people who have brought their gifts to this country of doing "incalculable" "damage"; & politically foolish, in endorsing Farage's claims of an establishment conspiracy.

But bad analogies with Powell miss the key problem. 🧵

Restoring control over the immigration system: white paper The white paper sets out the government's plans to create an immigration system which promotes growth but is controlled and managed.

Full text of UK govt immigration white paper - www.gov.uk/government/p...

The debate around care visas in the political space boils down to people saying stuff like this - we desperately need people.

It's a good soundbite but...

A significant surge in care visas were issued since 2020 in response to sector demand and yet the problem of shortage has persisted.

Why?

The author holding a copy of the book

Are the EU free movement rules wildly out of step with the new realities of work? My new book, the MARKET CITIZENSHIP ILLUSION answers this by looking at the law in action – and it is available now to *everyone for free*! www.bloomsburycollections.com/monograph?do...
🧵on key arguments... (1/10)

lawyering for workers' rights: an evening co-hosted by QMUCU, QMUnison, and the Centre for Law and Society in a global context Wednesday 7 May 5-7pm Law 313 QMUL Mile End campus or online

Coorganising with QMUnison and @cclas1.bsky.social: Lawyering for Workers' Rights

7 May, 5-7pm, @qmul.ac.uk Mile End Campus & on zoom. Free, but register for your spot: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

#WorkersRights #EmploymentLaw #TradeUnionism

On Tariffs and the Ends of International Economic Law For decades, the rules of international trade helped cement U.S. firms at the top of global value chains. Should Trump's unapologetic embrace of tariffs be understood as part of a broader loss of…

Today, @ntinatzouvala.bsky.social argues that while tariffs have long been used to sabotage foreign competitors, Trump’s tariffs are distinctive in having no identifiable constituency within the US capitalist class. They look, instead, like a way to develop patronage networks across the US economy.

Really enjoyed launching this report earlier today.

Highly recommended reading for migrant justice advocates, academics, and policymakers-- several practical steps to prevent labour exploitation of migrant workers based on international practice.

Dowload: www.workrightscentre.org/publications...

Even *on its own terms*, the logic here is just baffling.

Sure, stopping those on Graduate Visas switching to care worker visas will reduce net migration *in one category*.

But if care workers can still get visas - and there are still big shortages - why would it reduce net migration overall?

A woman standing speaking at a lectern in a red dress receiving a prize - there are people sitting in the foreground at a table with glasses and bottles. The surroundings are ornate with gold and marble - the setting is St George’s Hall in Liverpool.

A woman standing smiling at a lectern in a red dress receiving a prize - there are people standing in the foreground taking her photo. The surroundings are ornate with gold and marble - the setting is St George’s Hall in Liverpool. The woman is Professor Joanne Conaghan

At the Gala dinner in the splendid St George’s Hall Liverpool Professor Joanne Conaghan @joanneconaghan.bsky.social - a true pioneer of feminist legal studies - received the SLSA Prize for Contributions to the Socio-Legal Community 2024: ‘Joanne is a fearless, generous and effective colleague’

Report launch> Safeguarding sponsored workers: A UK \Workplace Justice Visa and other proposals from a six-country analysis. Tuesday 29 April 3pm on Zoom.

🚨New report launch: Safeguarding sponsored workers

Join us for policy solutions to address the growing crisis of migrant worker exploitation that has arisen due to sponsorship.

With @mdiasabey.bsky.social & a migrant worker with lived experience.

www.eventbrite.com/e/report-lau...?