There was a Travelodge that was routinely within the hotel cap at one of my jobs. I not only refused to use it again after they’d also booked a stranger into my room, but flagged it as unsafe on the system and warned every woman I worked with to avoid it.
Text reads: I am humbled and excited to be elected the next UCU Vice-President for Higher Education. Now is a devastatingly difficult and challenging time for our sectors and so many workers in post-16 education, but as a union we cannot succumb to despair. We have the skills, knowledge and capacity to help chart a way out of this mess and restore higher and further education. That you have put your trust in me to help do that is a huge honour and responsibility. I do not take this lightly. Thank you to the many thousands of members who voted for me and also to those who did not – we need to build better engagement in our union and part of that is voting, no matter who you voted for. I promised in my election materials to work hard to bring our union together and that is what I will do.
Text reads: Thank you to the other HE candidates Sean and Steve, both committed trade unionists. I know they will continue to fight for members and the future of Higher Education and I look forward to doing that alongside them. Congratulations to those elected to the National Executive Committee and commiserations to those who missed out this time. Your willingness to put yourself forward for election is hugely valued and I know you all will continue to contribute in other ways. So what next? Until the end of May, I’ll be tying up some loose ends and taking some time off to visit family and friends back in Australia. I will take up my role after UCU’s annual Congress at the end of May, this year in Harrogate.
Text reads: For the following three years, I will be lead negotiator for pay and conditions and for USS pensions across UK Higher Education, working with our team of elected negotiators and officials. I will also chair UCU’s Higher Education Committee and HE sector conferences, serve on other national committees and represent you in various forums. In 2029-30 I will become UCU’s President after the excellent Suzi Toole, who has also been elected as Vice-President for Further Education and will spend two years leading on further education matters before becoming President. She will take over from Dyfrig Jones, who succeeds early to the Presidential role for a two-year term this May, due to the casual vacancy that arose last year, replacing Maria Chondrogianni. Maria stays on as immediate past president, rounding out the presidential team. I want to again acknowledge David Hunter who stepped down as President-Elect last year for health reasons and continue to wish him and his family all the best.
A picture of two smiling people (Suzi Toole and Mark Pendleton) wearing UCU beanies. Text reads: That’s a lot of work, and a lot of moving parts, but at the heart of it will be my commitment to build a better union, alongside members and branches, and through that transform our sectors. I am ready and I know from the responses to this election that many of you are too. I’m looking forward to getting to work, together with you all.
UCU’s elections concluded this week and I am honoured to have been elected as the next Vice-President for Higher Education, to become President in 2029-30.
Thank you for all the support.
A short statement about the election and what’s to come after I take up the role in May.
The @ucucommons.org slate has done exceptionally well in the NEC elections.
We need to encourage greater engagement with these elections, but this is a solid endorsement of our principles from our members.
Is more prosecco the solution?
I can say this publicly now - connected to this piece - it always disappointed me how rarely Monkey Cage had more than one female panellist - in my final series I think only 2 out of 7 episodes had more than one female guest - I pushed for many years but ultimately failed and now I’m gone
Absolutely thrilled for you 🥰👏🏼
Dear Shabana, I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank. You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to make a perilous crossing on small boats.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division. When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney. As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I filled water tanks and picked up litter. What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country. Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it. It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and croissants to refugees and food parcels. When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers whilst risking death on the seas.” She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …
Dear Shabana,
Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.
Screenshot of an X post by Acyn quoting an exchange between Nancy Mace and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz during a hearing. Walz responds that he is the governor of Minnesota and not there to serve as a prop for her obsession. Below is a video still showing Walz seated at a hearing table with a nameplate reading “Governor Walz.”
That's what I’m talking about!
Beyond delighted by these election results. Huge congratulations to @markpendleton.bsky.social and @suzitoole.bsky.social : I cannot imagine a better VP duo. And some incredible UCU members will be joining the NEC in June! #ucu
Congratulations to all of our members who got elected, as well as those endorsed by us. More from us in the coming days. #ucu
A picture of PEW poll on global attitude survey, saying the % who rate the morality and ethics of people in their country as good vs bad, where the US has the worst rankings and Canada the best
Americans: we live in a fallen state—embroiled by sin, cheating, lying, and evil. You cannot trust anyone, not even those who claim to know you best
Canadians: I love my neighbors and my friends!
Boom!
THREAD. Late last summer I moved my newsletter away from Substack. I was not comfortable with the site's political choices, did not want to give 10% of my income to venture capitalists & felt Substack had reneged on their commitment to long form writing. My newsletter is now here: www.tom-cox.com
Last year when I was checking into a hotel, the desk person was wearing Meta glasses. I kindly asked them to take them off. They were annoyed. I said, “I do not consent to you looking at my credit card and ID with Meta glasses on.” My instincts were correct: www.bbc.com/news/article...
AI is absolutely to be avoided. For creatives especially. Don't let it anywhere near creativity. Hard enough to keep tabs on those who'd steal our creative output without granting it to them.
Now you've taken it too far.
TOO TOO RADICAL!
I have never seen anything like that!* It would be such a new spin!
*True: because I don't watch that shit
My god: The patient came in with a belly full of blood, Dr. Leilah Zahedi-Spung recalled. Her pregnancy was ectopic—no longer viable—and could have killed her if left untreated. But when she went to a mobile pregnancy help center offering free care in an RV she was told the pregnancy could be saved.
These are really good and their full blueprint is worth reading
demos.co.uk/wp-content/u...
And if you haven’t, you can too!
@nionwomen.bsky.social has reached 86,149 signatures. Let’s get it to 90,000!
If you haven’t signed their letter, please do!
Then tell your friends!!
Get around the table and talk! Raiding pensions is completely unacceptable! Support Northumbria UCU in this fight. If they get away with it here it will happen everywhere
Daniel Radcliffe refusing to wear Alyssa Liu's gold medal because it feels like "stolen valour" is the most Daniel Radcliffe thing that Daniel Radcliffe has ever done. What a superstar.
(Found via threads, original source unclear - but thank you!)
Oh massive hugs to you. The age or health doesn't make the loss any less profound, let alone if it removes a whole generation. 🫂
Helpful primer on Conditional Indexation, one possible route for the future of USS.
Worth saying that this is not happening in the current valuation cycle and may never. But it has been explored and may be explored further.
So it is helpful for UCU/USS members to develop some understanding.
This IPSO adjudication against the Telegraph is quite something
Confirms their story titled: ‘We earn £345k, but soaring private school fees mean we can’t go on five holidays’ was completely fabricated, with the family involved non-existent and stock pictures used
www.ipso.co.uk/rulings/0210...
I hope it can maybe get preserved and not just dismantled and destroyed. It meant so much to so many people.
1908: the Lancet, one of the most respected scientific journals, calls for 18 age limit on reading in bed amidst a moral panic surrounding children becoming "addicted" to novels, which were "designed to keep kids hooked" and destroy their attention/mental health
Diligence!
Posting UCU ballot paper for our local duspute
Lisa, face covered by a run buff, feeling every bit as grotty as she looks
For those used to my stylish @ucu.org.uk postbox selfies, apologies: this one is a 'dragging myself from my sick bed' selfie getting the important @uonucu.bsky.social ballot posted.
Now if someone can turn off my snot tap, I'd be grateful 😭
I think I may have forgotten to post this at the start of the year there was that much going on
my five-star reads in 2025
#BookSky 💙📚 #FiveStar #2025Reads
uk.bookshop.org/lists/five-s...
