Fergus McNeill

@fergusmcneill.bsky.social

1.5K followers 1.3K following 93 posts

Criminologist interested mainly in punishment, rehabilitation and reintegration… increasingly explored via creative methods. Also a singer-songwriter, when I can find the time.

Videos

Political science 26%

Sociology 25%

Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

A Giant on the Bridge @agiantonthebridge.bsky.social · 1d

Spotted around Glasgow! 👀

We’ll be sharing some behind the scenes of A Giant on the Bridge in the coming weeks as we start preparing to head out on the road. 🚘

Browse your nearest venue: www.ktproducing.co.uk/giant

Design by Paul Stapleton

#LiveMusic #Theatre #Scotland #Gig #ScottishTheatre

Fergus McNeill @fergusmcneill.bsky.social · 2d

Help out if you can…?

Reposted by Fergus McNeill, Fabián Muniesa, Margot C. Finn

Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 3d

US government rn

A cartoon of a news report. The picture shows a government official doing a press conference flanked by goons.
The headline reads “A man attacked federal bullets with his body”
Underneath the picture is a quote saying “those bullets had families”

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

A Giant on the Bridge @agiantonthebridge.bsky.social · 5d

Dear everything I could have been
Gone before you could ever be
So grown but so far from complete
Who do I dare to let you see?
I don’t know you, you don’t know me
I don’t know me…🌫️

A Giant on the Bridge tours Feb 25 - Mar 21 2026

#Theatre #Gig #Scotland #LiveMusic #ScottishTheatre

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

A Giant on the Bridge @agiantonthebridge.bsky.social · 7d

“Dear everyone I used to know
Dear everything I used to be
Dear shadows of a memory
You seem so far away from me, in time
Your colours blur outside the lines
We can’t define”

A Giant on the Bridge tours Feb 25th - Mar 21st 2026

🎟️ www.ktproducing.co.uk/giant

#theatre #livemusic #scotland #tour

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

A Giant on the Bridge @agiantonthebridge.bsky.social · 8d

In today’s The Guardian, Jo Mango, Liam Hurley and research associate Phil Crockett Thomas speak to Arusa Qureshi about A Giant on the Bridge, exploring the songwriting process, dramaturgy and collaboration between the musicians.

Read the full article below!

www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/j...

Between the bars: theatrical gig about life after prison reveals hard truths of homecoming

A Giant on the Bridge, performed by a ‘Scottish indie folk supergroup’, draws on dozens of interviews about the confines former prisoners experience on the outside

www.theguardian.com

Fergus McNeill @fergusmcneill.bsky.social · 8d

It is and you must! 😊

Fergus McNeill @fergusmcneill.bsky.social · 8d

Great coverage of ‘A Giant on the Bridge’ in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/stage/2026/j...

Between the bars: theatrical gig about life after prison reveals hard truths of homecoming

A Giant on the Bridge, performed by a ‘Scottish indie folk supergroup’, draws on dozens of interviews about the confines former prisoners experience on the outside

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

A Giant on the Bridge @agiantonthebridge.bsky.social · 9d

🤗 We’re thrilled to be heading into the Spring tour of A Giant on the Bridge next month!

Meet (and re-meet) the cast behind the journey. 🧡

Touring Feb 25th - Mar 21st 2026
Book now: www.ktproducing.co.uk/giant

#LiveMusic #GigTheatre #Theatre #Scotland

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Nandita Sharma, Joe R. Feagin , and 24 more Anne Applebaum, Nandita Sharma, Joe R. Feagin, Will Jennings, Stefan Reis, Ken Caldeira, Evelyne de Leeuw, Fergus McNeill, Arnaud Mercier, Brian Medeiros, John Collins, Daniel W. Drezner, Clyde W. Barrow, Robert Wolfe, Gerald Friedman, Suzanne de Cheveigné, Anne Norton, W Grant, Kent Johnson, Mary Margaret McCabe, Mary Jane Curry, Ryan K. Brook, Steven S. Taylor, Magda Teter, Manisha Sinha, Fiona Armstrong, Dunlap

Mrs. Betty Bowers @mrsbettybowers.bsky.social · 9d

Pew Research Institute (2023):

• Red State Texas has about 2.1 million undocumented immigrants

• Red State Florida has 1.6 M undocumented immigrants

• Blue State Minnesota has 130,000.

And yet only Minnesota is being occupied by masked thugs over "immigration."

It's *not* about immigration.

Reposted by Mary Bosworth, Ben Bradford

Fergus McNeill @fergusmcneill.bsky.social · 13d

Come and do a fully-funded 4-year PhD with me in Glasgow (and @thesccjr.bsky.social ) and Thomas Ugelvik as part of the Rehabilitation and Reintegration in Europe project. 😊. www.gla.ac.uk/colleges/soc....

University of Glasgow - Colleges - College of Social Sciences - Student funding opportunities - Postgraduate Research - Latest PhD opportunities

www.gla.ac.uk

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

Hannah Graham @drhannahgraham.bsky.social · 13d

The Report of the Independent Review of Fatal Accident Inquiries relating to deaths in prison and police custody, conducted by Sheriff Principal Ian Abercrombie KC, now published.

It covers some substantial issues of #humanrights and issues affecting bereaved families.
www.gov.scot/publications...

Report of the 2025 Independent Review of Fatal Accident Inquiries relating to deaths in custody in Scotland

Report of the Independent Review of Fatal Accident Inquiries relating to deaths in prison and police custody, conducted in 2025 by Ian Abercrombie KC.

www.gov.scot

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

Hannah Graham @drhannahgraham.bsky.social · 14d

Some UK Government U-turns are to be welcomed.

Their (now ditched) plan to publish the names and photographs of people doing unpaid work as part of their community sentence was as deeply problematic as the quotes in this piece suggest
#Probation #CrimSky #Criminology
insidetime.org/newsround/go...

Government U-turns on plans to ‘name and shame’ people doing unpaid work

The Government has abandoned a controversial plan to publish the names and photos of people sentenced to do unpaid work in the community. The proposal would have seen people convicted of minor crim…

insidetime.org

Fergus McNeill @fergusmcneill.bsky.social · 16d

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

‘The response is a beautiful thing’: how Glasgow is squaring up to Reform

In the face of Nigel Farage, flag-waving and a longstanding housing crisis, some Glaswegians are taking on anti-immigration rhetoric

www.theguardian.com

Fergus McNeill @fergusmcneill.bsky.social · 16d

Fascinating reflections here on how the (industrial) past haunts the (post-industrial, consumerist) present.

Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 16d

In our latest blog post, Dylan Brewerton-Harper reflects on public memorials as hauntings in Port Glasgow.

👉 Read the full piece here
www.gla.ac.uk/schools/soci...

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

Sociological and Cultural Studies, University of Glasgow @uofgsociology.bsky.social · 16d

In our latest blog post, Dylan Brewerton-Harper reflects on public memorials as hauntings in Port Glasgow.

👉 Read the full piece here
www.gla.ac.uk/schools/soci...

Reposted by Fergus McNeill, Lorna Hughes

Alison Phipps አሊሰን @alisonphipps.bsky.social · 16d

“What do you need at the moment?” The power of community when statutory provision crumbles under cuts www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

‘The response is a beautiful thing’: how Glasgow is squaring up to Reform

In the face of Nigel Farage, flag-waving and a longstanding housing crisis, some Glaswegians are taking on anti-immigration rhetoric

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

Alison Phipps አሊሰን @alisonphipps.bsky.social · Dec 10

This all all about making it as easy as possible for far-right to remove all rights

There is no other rational way of understanding these moves.

European Movement UK @europeanmovement.co.uk · Dec 10

Critics argue that the ECHR stops us from being able to deport illegal migrants. In reality, in 75 years the ECHR has only ruled against the UK in 13 cases out of 500k: 0.000026%. The ECHR is being used a scapegoat for domestic challenges, and we must defend it.

Starmer urges European leaders to reform human rights laws to tackle immigration

The ECHR is seen by its critics as a major barrier to attempts to deport illegal migrants from the country.

www.independent.co.uk

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

The Howard League @thehowardleague.bsky.social · Dec 5

“There is no justification for continuing this sentence. It is simply unjust.”

Lord Thomas on IPP sentences: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/ipp-sentence-government-blood-lord-thomas-b2877984.html

‘Defending the indefensible’: Government ‘will have blood on hands’ over IPP sentence

More prisoners will take their own lives without action to help those trapped on IPP jail terms, a former top judge has warned, after The Independent called for sentences to be reviewed

www.independent.co.uk

Reposted by Fergus McNeill, Mark Priestley

Hannah Graham @drhannahgraham.bsky.social · Dec 3

Feeling proud of the intelligent multi-lingual children in our city!

This tweet and the Farage video in it about "the cultural smashing of Glasgow" is getting rightly roasted by the good people of Glasgow on the other place...

Screenshot of a tweet on 2nd December by the Reform UK party saying 'Nearly 1 in 3 schoolchildren in Glasgow do not speak English as their first language. This is not diversity. This is culture smashing. Reform UK will make this a big issue in our campaign.' There is a video of Nigel Farage speaking.

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

The Howard League @thehowardleague.bsky.social · Nov 29

Fergus McNeill, Professor of Criminology and Social Work at the University of Glasgow, gave this year’s Howard League Lecture, with the title ‘Rehabilitation and Penal Reform’.

Read the lecture here: https://howardleague.org/blog/the-2025-howard-league-lecture-held-in-memory-of-lord-parmoor/

Man with short light brown hair wearing a dark jacket outdoors with blurred trees in the background.

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

Hannah Graham @drhannahgraham.bsky.social · Nov 26

📢✨️ Dream postdoc job alert:

Research Associate – Rehabilitation and Reintegration in Europe (RaRiE).

Full-time, 5 year fixed-term job working with @fergusmcneill.bsky.social at University of Glasgow and researchers in the Netherlands and Norway.
#Criminology #CrimSky
www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPP716/r...

www.jobs.ac.uk

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

Alison Phipps አሊሰን @alisonphipps.bsky.social · Nov 24

I can’t even begin to line out the torment and torrent of anguish and won’t - because it satisfies the desire for ever more cruelty but Dan is right, the only purpose served is cruel and degrading punishment - the definition of mass torture. That’s now government policy.

Dan Sohege @danielsohege.bsky.social · Nov 24

Labour's anti-asylum policies are already fundamentally inhumane and discriminatory. Applying them retrospectively is pure cruelty though. It serves absolutely no purpose. Meanwhile it will increase the costs and bureaucracy of an already dysfunctional Home Office.
www.thetimes.com/article/6f83...

Refugees who were months away from settlement now face 15-year wait

Shabana Mahmood's asylum reforms will apply retrospectively, it has been confirmed — and it is claimed the bureaucracy will cost up to £1.3bn

Matt Dathan, Home Affairs Editor

Monday November 24 2025, 12.01am, The Times

Thousands of refugees who believed they were months from settlement now face 15 years of instability after it was confirmed that Shabana Mahmood's overhaul of asylum rules would apply retrospectively.

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

European Journal Probation @europeanjprobation.bsky.social · Nov 21

❇️ New #OpenAccess journal article:

'Probation, research and development in Europe'

By Karyn Mabon, Elaine Kavanagh, and Fergus McNeill.
#Criminology #SocialWork #Probation #CrimSky #Academia @karynmabon.bsky.social @fergusmcneill.bsky.social
journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Probation, research and development in Europe - Karyn Mabon, Elaine Kavanagh, Fergus McNeill, 2025

This article presents the findings from a year-long project commissioned by the Confederation of European Probation (CEP). The project aimed to support CEP to e...

journals.sagepub.com

Fergus McNeill @fergusmcneill.bsky.social · Nov 19

www.theguardian.com/music/2025/n...

‘I never wanted to sing into a vacuum’: Scottish folk pioneer Dick Gaughan’s fight for his lost music

A skilled interpreter and social justice champion, Gaughan is a hero to the likes of Richard Hawley and Billy Bragg. Yet much of his work has been stuck in limbo for decades – until a determined fan s...

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

Hannah Graham @drhannahgraham.bsky.social · Nov 18

Criminologist and friend Fergus McNeill speaking to MSPs in the Scottish Parliament debating chamber today.

🔗 to watch @fergusmcneill.bsky.social's full speech, in Prisoners Week, to @scotparl.bsky.social 👇 #Criminology #CrimSky #Prison #PrisonersWeek
www.scottishparliament.tv/meeting/meet...

Reposted by Christopher McCabe, Fergus McNeill

Hyab Yohannes @hyabyohannes.bsky.social · Nov 17

The spectacle of cruelty towards those seeking refuge is fully on display: no camouflage, no shame, no decency - only indifference and indignation👇🏾

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Shabhana Mahmood announces overhaul of 'unfair' asylum system

Under the plans, refugee status will become temporary and new capped

www.bbc.co.uk

Reposted by Fergus McNeill

Alison Phipps አሊሰን @alisonphipps.bsky.social · Nov 10

A must read for the Home Secretary:

Guess what: safe, legal routes save lives but U.K. has barely any and keeps closing them because it now favours necropolitics on steroids

reliefweb.int/report/world...