This government's proposals, particularly if implemented retrospectively, will have a devastating impact on people who have built lives, work, have families, here. We already know the financial and emotional toll of the existing system. This makes it so much worse
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
They're coming all the way from Redditch!
This is one of the most heart-breaking & important articles I have ever read - from someone whose voices are so rarely heard, a teenaged girl.
If you want to understand online misogyny in all its devastating impact, please read this shattering piece.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Welcome home Daz. My condolences for your loss.
Way to go!
I've just responded to the Earned Settlement consultation. It closes tonight. The whole idea is dreadful but what stuck with me most is the gross arrogance of the whole exercise. A (cross) thread 🧵
Thank you for the piece you wrote. It helped me write my response.
CONSULTANTS! Stop "pigeon-shitting" on charities!
"They swoop in, unload everything THEY think you need to think about and do, then fly off and you never see them again"
#charity #SmallCharities #ThirdSector #SocialGood #CapacityBuilding #SocialImpact
From chats with people in very different #smallcharities, it strikes me just how similar their challenges seem – even when the work is completely different.
Am I right? If you work in a UK charity, I’d love to know your answer to this quick poll: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
#ThirdSecotor
Answering my own question: looks like it is a typo in the original doc
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Why is it dated 31st February?
Bloody hell, are you still waiting?
📣 Your chance to bring an author into your classroom!
Our next #BookTrustRepresents virtual workshop is on Wednesday 28 January with the amazing @maisiechanwrites.bsky.social, author of Nate Yu’s Blast from the Past.
Register for free 👇
https://bit.ly/4svETHm
Do you feel the need for elbow patches?
I'm not the only person freaked out by this then.
The voices of division in our country are growing louder.
Join us in London on 28 March for the #TOGETHER Against the Far Right national demonstration.
It’s up to us to unite against them.
Save the date and sign-up for updates here 👉 togetheralliance.org.uk
The government is already making it worse for children being mis-aged as adults by trialling the use of AI over proper assessments by trained social workers. Now they want to do this. FFS, these are already traumatised children. They need to be treated better.
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
📢📢📢 Migrant Workers’ Rights – National Emergency Demonstration
📌Saturday 13 December, 12PM
📌Birmingham City Centre (Shabana Mahmood’s constituency)
Stand up for our neighbours - your salary DOES NOT define your contribution to the UK!!
@regulariseuk.bsky.social
Alf Dubs is a 92 year old man who spent his life fighting for refugees, and in particular for refugee children. He fought the Tories tooth and nail during their last three terms, only to see Labour adopt far-right policies on immigration.
“But to use children as a weapon ... I’m lost for words.”
I thought it sounded off at first too.
I dunno.
www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voting-and-e...
"Campaigners or candidates must not campaign near polling stations in a way that could be seen as aggressive or intimidating (for example, large groups of supporters carrying banners, or vehicles with loudspeakers or heavily branded ....)."
BRIG Birmingham will not be divided The recent remarks by Robert Jenrick about 'seeing no white faces' in Handsworth are deeply irresponsible and reveal ore about his own worldview than about our city. Once again, we are dragged back into tired debates about "integration", "Britishness" and who belongs, as if being non-white somehow makes you less British. Handsworth has always been one of Birmingham's most diverse and multicultural communities, a place where people of every colour, faith and background live, work and trade side by side. To claim otherwise is not only inaccurate, but also designed to provoke division and resentment. If Mr Jenrick had looked a little closer, he would have seen the vibrant Eastern European shops, the Caribbean cafes, the South Asian grocers and the faith spaces that make the Soho Road one of the most culturally rich streets in Britain. Perhaps his "90-minute integration study", armed with a Dulux colour chart, missed that reality. The truth is this: Handsworth is not a slum, It is one of Birmingham's treasures; a community that has stood tall through decades of struggle and change. Rather than being maligned, it should be celebrated and placed firmly on the city's cultural and tourism map.
BRIG Monday night's Pioneers Exhibition, launched by Birmingham Race Impact Group (BRIG) and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, reminded us of the generations who have faced down racism and defended our communities - people who have worked tirelessly to build the inclusive, resilient Birmingham we know today. Their stories, captured on the Beyond Racism website show the real face of this city: proud, diverse and enduring. Jagwant Johal, BRIG Founding Member said, "Birmingham has always been a city of welcome and resistance, a place where difference is not feared but celebrated. Handsworth, like so many of our neighbourhoods, is living proof that integration is not about exclusion. It's about mutual respect, shared struggle and collective belonging." Handsworth and Birmingham will not tolerate attempts to sow division. We stand united as Brummies, as neighbours, and as people who know that our diversity is our greatest strength.
Handsworth is not divided, it’s Birmingham.
Our diversity isn’t a weakness, it’s our greatest strength. From Caribbean cafés to South Asian grocers and Eastern European shops, Handsworth represents the true face of Britain: proud, resilient, and beautifully diverse.
- Birmingham Race Impact Group
Yes, definitely. Back in 2012 they had 140 places (40 fewer) and the previous years' distances were 1.651, 2.053 and 1.737km. So, a lot fewer kids from Balsall Heath getting in now by the looks of it.
Thanks Matthew. That looks really good. I'm intrigued by how tight the distance is for Queensbridge. Anyway, good luck if you're going through the process this year.
This looks great, although it's infuriating that it is still necessary.
Am I being a bit slow? I can't find the map that you've screenshotted here.
We stand with #BrumTogether. “We are proud to live in Birmingham — a city built by many cultures, stories and traditions. True pride is inclusive. The best way to show love for Birmingham is through celebrating everyone who calls this city home." Sign here: tinyurl.com/brumtogether...
Have you tried using clove oil?. Mix it in a saucer with some coconut oil and soak some cotton wool with the mixture. Apply to the painful area and it acts as a local anaesthetic. Don't apply neat though.
Happy Monday to everyone who has been standing in solidarity with people seeking asylum and migrants.
We see you - and we know we are stronger together.
#NoOneIsIllegal
#MigrationIsLife
I’ve been frustrated to see so much of the ongoing story about asylum seekers and the protests against them covered without hearing from those seeking asylum and now being met with hostility and hatred
I set out to speak to those directly affected to find out about the impact this is having 👇
I had to create a separate account for Cross Country Trains last month to make a claim.
