The 'ideological belief requirements in job adverts' are going to be EDI aren't they. Very cool!

You're on the reading list of our new LGBTQ+ Politics module at Bath :)

🚨New article🚨

What if the misguided construction of 'right-wing populism' has prevented us from holding the elite accountable and rejuvenate democracy?

This is what @alexyates2000.bsky.social and I explore in our new article: 'There is no such thing as ‘right-wing populism’'

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shorturl.at/jptiu

RPRN statement on HEPI’s Preparing for Populism debate paper - Reactionary Politics Research Network RPRN statement on HEPI’s Preparing for Populism debate paper

📜 RPRN statement 📜

HEPI’s Preparing for Populism is a profoundly unhelpful document that mistakes capitulation for strategy

Research, critical inquiry, expertise, and the transmission of knowledge are not incidental irritants reactionary projects, they are its targets

reacpol.net/populism-hepi/

📣New publication 📣

'A Cure for ‘Populism’? Diagnostic and Prognostic Framing in Anti-Populist Political Punditry' in @psrjournal.bsky.social.

In this paper, I show how the 'cures' prescribed by anti-populists are elite-centric and embolden reactionary politics.

🧵
/1

doi.org/10.1177/1478...

Lok Sabha passes Bill redefining 'transgender'; excludes sexual orientations, self-perceived identities | India News - The Times of India India News: NEW DELHI: The Lok Sabha on Tuesday passed the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Amendment Bill, 2026, which seeks to give a precise definiti.

This is a terrible and retrograde step for the recognition of trans people in India, which was already pretty damn bad.

timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/lok-sa...

The Danish Social Democrats received their lowest result since 1901 after spending their mandate centring far-right politics and discourse on immigration

As we argue in our report below, this strategy is not only a bad electorally, but politically and morally

There must be *another* alternative

Fact Check: Britain’s House of Lords has not legalised abortion up to birth Britain's upper house of parliament has supported measures to remove women from criminal liability related to abortion, not to legalise abortion up to birth, contrary to misleading ​online posts.

Handy fact check for anyone in doubt and it’s worth sending to people because I’m amazed at how many sensible people I’ve spoken to who think ‘abortion to birth’ is real www.reuters.com/fact-check/b...

A school leadership team has misused safeguarding procedures against a librarian for stocking 'controversial' books - which, by the way, are not controversial at all. This makes me feel sick to my stomach.

School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship A school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing and scores of books were removed from her school library after she stocked Laura Bates’ Men Who Hate Women

My excellent colleague @katiedd.bsky.social has just published this remarkable investigation into rampant book banning in a Greater Manchester secondary school library.

193 books including The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, White Teeth and 1984 Graphic Novel

www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/scho...

Really proud of what we've done here and happy to have worked on it with such excellent colleagues!

I am a co-author on this policy study for @feps-europe.eu with colleagues from @reacpolrn.bsky.social. Please give it a read if you want to help resist the far right!

There must be an alternative - Foundation for European Progressive Studies Against mainstream defeatism and towards the rejuvenation of the democratic public space

Progressive resistance against the far right must be uncompromising and, as such, must be radically intersectional. Some communities cannot be sacrificed to appease the far right and all must be protected. An injury to one is an injury to all

If you want to read more:
feps-europe.eu/publication/...

3) Terminological precision is a precondition for any successful strategy

4) Embrace populism and accept polarisation

5) Public opinion is constructed and predominantly shaped in a top-down manner

6) Don't panic

7) Uncompromising radical intersectionality as a starting point

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Our recommendations are:

1) Progressive elites, from parties to intellectuals and the media must take responsibility and lead on progressive issues rather than place the blame on a reactionary construction of "the people"

2) The left cannot allow the far right to dictate what is common sense

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We argue that the process finds its source in the mainstream itself and in a predominantly top-down manner. This means that mainstream elites, and progressive actors in particular, have a key role to play in countering this trend

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The report is co-authored with @franamery.bsky.social, @k8ebrown.bsky.social, @emilykendrick.bsky.social, @georgenewth.bsky.social, @alexepisteme.bsky.social and @alexyates2000.bsky.social

The research links to the discussions taking place more widely as part of the @reacpolrn.bsky.social

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Front cover (in link)

🚨New policy study🚨

There must be an alternative: Against mainstream defeatism and towards the rejuvenation of the democratic public space

We make seven key recommendations to turn the tide

@feps-europe.eu

🧵

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feps-europe.eu/publication/...

The far right and anti-abortion movement are repeatedly using the language "legalise abortion up to birth".

When the reality is that the changes take abortion out of the criminal code - making it a healthcare issue not a criminal issue. This brings us in line with most of Europe.

Telegraph article ‘Abortion "pills by post" must be banned, peers have said. A group of female peers - including Baroness Falkner, the former chairman of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, and Baroness Davies, the Olympic medal-winning swimmer - are seeking a change in the law to end the controversial Covid-era scheme.

What are the main amendments? Nine amendments have been laid on abortion so far, including proposals to have a police investigation of every girl under 16 who accesses a legal abortion and a proposal for the first new abortion offence in nearly 100 years. The key amendments are two broadly pro-choice and two broadly anti-abortion proposals. Source: Guardian

🧵Some Lords are busy trying to wreck abortion decriminalisation. An amendment to report every girl under 16 who has a legal abortion to the POLICE and Sharron Davies wants to ban telemedicine that allows early abortions to happen at home in privacy

I've said it over and over but:
anti-trans 🤝 anti-abortion

Yesterday the NHS banned all under 18 prescriptions of HRT for trans young people.

This ban was justified by 10 new studies that largely stated NO EVIDENCE for under 18s HRT exists.

The study underpinning this played one particular trick.

Let's briefly look at how the NHS rigged the game 1/5

The NHS as it stands is being organised to opt for violence rather than medical consent.

This can only continue to degrade trust by the public in healthcare bodies, as well as enacting direct harm to people facing healthcare administration by rule of force rather than consent.

Prompt: please draw the best mouse Output: an adorably naff mouse

Prompt: ai please draw a sneaky whale Output: a small whale and the words "you can barely see him"

Prompt: show me the best cat Output: dog in a cat mask. The words "not dog"

I want to be friends with every single person on youraislopbores.me

"Farage to be blocked from No 10 by the majority of people who do not want him to be Prime Minister"

Greens deputy leader calls for apology from Starmer over false claims that led to death threats Mothin Ali fears for his life after anti-war protest was wrongly described as being in support of Iranian regime

There are no lows Starmer is not willing to reach to in his attempt to please the far right and attack anything left of centre

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

🗳️ BREAKING | Greens surge to 2nd (YouGov)

➡️ Ref: 23% (-1)
🟢 Grn: 21% (+4)
🔵 Con: 16% (-2)
🔴 Lab: 16% (-2)
🟠 Lib: 14% (=)

Poll: @YouGov, 1-2 Mar (+/- vs 23 Feb)

Narratives against DIY routinely fail to acknowledge that the trans community is a community that on a fundamental level *needs* access to materials such as medicines for transition, and restricting these severely is going to drive criminalisation of the trans community as a minority altogether.

I saw this and at first thought "no, there's no way 'we definitely had alternative leadership in mind for Iran but I blew them up alongside the schoolgirls using AI' is what the White House is actually saying, that's too clueless and evil to be real"

And Matt Goodwin who DID NOT win