Lee Savage
@leesavage.bsky.social
Reader in Comparative Politics at King's College London.
Streetwise Hercules
https://leemsavage.wordpress.com/
Streetwise Hercules
https://leemsavage.wordpress.com/
Given the pressures on Russell Group universities to over-recruit to plug holes in finances, when does he expect this research to take place?
'Science minister Patrick Vallance has rejected concerns that focusing on “doing fewer things better” in research will lead to funding being concentrated in larger research-intensive universities from the Russell Group.' 1/3
Post-16 plan ‘not recipe for Russell Group domination’ – Vallance
Science minister dismisses as ‘bizarre’ fears that government push for ‘teaching-only’ specialists will further concentrate research activity in small number of institutions
www.timeshighereducation.com
November 26, 2025 at 8:53 AM
Given the pressures on Russell Group universities to over-recruit to plug holes in finances, when does he expect this research to take place?
My god. In very recent times, he'd be subject to formal investigation for this. Where do European leaders go from here?
EXCLUSIVE: US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff advised Russia on how to pitch Ukraine plans to Trump, in audio files reviewed by Bloomberg
Witkoff Advised Russia on How to Pitch Ukraine Plan to Trump
US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff, fresh from the triumph of the Gaza peace deal, held a phone call last month with a senior Kremlin official to suggest they work together on a similar plan for Ukraine — and that Vladimir Putin should raise it with Donald Trump.
bloom.bg
November 25, 2025 at 9:08 PM
My god. In very recent times, he'd be subject to formal investigation for this. Where do European leaders go from here?
Reposted by Lee Savage
Why the two-child limit has to go, in a chart.
November 25, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Why the two-child limit has to go, in a chart.
Reposted by Lee Savage
[bursts in panting covered in Sharpie]
November 24, 2025 at 10:06 PM
[bursts in panting covered in Sharpie]
Would you support or oppose the government levying a 6% tax on the fees universities charge intentional students, even if this means that there ends up being fewer places for UK students?
With Rachel Reeves reportedly set to apply a new tax on tuition fees paid by overseas students, most Britons support such a move at the previously mooted level of 6%
Support: 57%
Oppose: 18%
yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...
Support: 57%
Oppose: 18%
yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...
November 24, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Would you support or oppose the government levying a 6% tax on the fees universities charge intentional students, even if this means that there ends up being fewer places for UK students?
Like two drunks talking past each other in a pub. These are two of the most influential people in America and I'm not certain either one finishes a coherent sent nice here
Everything about this might be the saddest thing I’ve ever seen
November 24, 2025 at 2:03 PM
Like two drunks talking past each other in a pub. These are two of the most influential people in America and I'm not certain either one finishes a coherent sent nice here
Did they really work hard for that £1.2m? Or did they get shockingly lucky benefiting from a stupid housing market? This is almost entirely unearned wealth, it's largely the result of dumb luck. And Jill is still walking anyway with £1m of it!
November 24, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Did they really work hard for that £1.2m? Or did they get shockingly lucky benefiting from a stupid housing market? This is almost entirely unearned wealth, it's largely the result of dumb luck. And Jill is still walking anyway with £1m of it!
Every government of my lifetime has wheeled out the old benefit fraud crackdown when they've run out of ideas. Not many need to do it after less than 18 months in office
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reeves to launch crackdown on benefit fraud alongside lifting two-child limit
Move aims to bring in extra £1.2bn of savings as government seeks to head off criticism over welfare spending
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:28 AM
Every government of my lifetime has wheeled out the old benefit fraud crackdown when they've run out of ideas. Not many need to do it after less than 18 months in office
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Smith is a case study in how Twitter enshittifies people. A fairly interesting economics pundit who now spends his time spewing garbage on subjects he doesn't even care to know
November 24, 2025 at 7:56 AM
Smith is a case study in how Twitter enshittifies people. A fairly interesting economics pundit who now spends his time spewing garbage on subjects he doesn't even care to know
This is the kind of thing you would do if you had no idea how to achieve economic growth. It's a stunningly stupid move but only one of many that the government has been making over the last 10 months or so. All those years in opposition and they have no idea what to do while in office. Shameful
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 23, 2025 at 11:10 PM
This is the kind of thing you would do if you had no idea how to achieve economic growth. It's a stunningly stupid move but only one of many that the government has been making over the last 10 months or so. All those years in opposition and they have no idea what to do while in office. Shameful
Transferred Eze out of my FPL team this week and replaced him with Mbuemo so Arsenal fans can thank me now
November 23, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Transferred Eze out of my FPL team this week and replaced him with Mbuemo so Arsenal fans can thank me now
Should focus minds in Washington, but it won't. What a waste of everyone's mental energy
Russia flat out rejects Trump's 28-point peace plan: "Even in a reduced military and territorial form, Ukraine would remain a significant danger, requiring us to keep our forces on the western borders."
November 22, 2025 at 9:14 PM
Should focus minds in Washington, but it won't. What a waste of everyone's mental energy
European leaders must surely understand that rolling over on this is going to mean war on a much greater scale in the near future
US tells Nato if Zelenskyy does not sign peace deal Ukraine will face worse in future
US tells Nato if Zelenskyy does not sign peace deal Ukraine will face worse in future
‘No deal is perfect, but it must be done sooner rather than later,’ says US army secretary in sombre meeting
US officials have told Nato allies they expect to push president Volodymyr Zelenskyy into agreeing to a peace deal in the coming days, under the threat that if Kyiv does not sign, it will face a much worse deal in future.
The US army secretary Dan Driscoll briefed ambassadors from Nato nations at a meeting in Kyiv late on Friday, after talks with Zelenskyy and taking a phone call from the White House. “No deal is perfect, but it must be done sooner rather than later,” he told them, according to one person who was present. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 1:48 PM
European leaders must surely understand that rolling over on this is going to mean war on a much greater scale in the near future
He has that low-key madness of General Melchett that only the privileged can get away with
So many laughable assumptions in this opening sentence that I honestly don't know where to start. 🤦
"What I struggle to understand, I say to Danny Kruger in his office at Reform UK HQ, is why a serious Conservative, with a glittering future like yours, would defect to a party led by Nigel Farage?
"What I struggle to understand, I say to Danny Kruger in his office at Reform UK HQ, is why a serious Conservative, with a glittering future like yours, would defect to a party led by Nigel Farage?
‘America is British’. Heaven is ‘a socialist state’. David Attenborough is ‘anti-human’ – the startling theories of Reform MP Danny Kruger
He was a Conservative party big-hitter who wrote speeches for David Cameron and worked with Boris Johnson before he suddenly jumped ship. He talks family, flags and why Nigel Farage is ‘top dog’
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:19 AM
He has that low-key madness of General Melchett that only the privileged can get away with
He's going to risk it all for the hot communist from New York
November 21, 2025 at 10:49 PM
He's going to risk it all for the hot communist from New York
I wrestle a lot with the problem of AI in assessment but cop shit like this makes me queasy. I didn't become an academic to try and trick students
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
I Set A Trap To Catch My Students Cheating With AI. The Results Were Shocking.
"Students are not just undermining their ability to learn, but to someday lead."
www.huffpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 8:27 AM
I wrestle a lot with the problem of AI in assessment but cop shit like this makes me queasy. I didn't become an academic to try and trick students
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
www.huffpost.com/entry/histor...
Still, Councillor Darren Grimes is knocking out some quality shitposts on Twitter. That must be worth something
The black hole in Durham County Council’s budget has grown by £11.1mn in the past two months under the control of Reform UK.
Its cabinet has been forced to approve a £10mn list of cuts.
Its cabinet has been forced to approve a £10mn list of cuts.
Reform cabinet backs £10mn cuts to start filling Durham’s growing black hole
Reform is now learning that running a big council is not as easy as it probably thought
northeastbylines.co.uk
November 20, 2025 at 7:35 PM
Still, Councillor Darren Grimes is knocking out some quality shitposts on Twitter. That must be worth something
What happens when Simon Calder retires? Britain will be left with no travel correspondents, no one to tell us that airports will be busy this summer. There should at least be a Sith Lord situation, always a master and apprentice
November 20, 2025 at 8:02 AM
What happens when Simon Calder retires? Britain will be left with no travel correspondents, no one to tell us that airports will be busy this summer. There should at least be a Sith Lord situation, always a master and apprentice
Scotland are the lead story on news at 10!
November 18, 2025 at 10:01 PM
Scotland are the lead story on news at 10!
Reposted by Lee Savage
It’s amazing how this story has gone from 0 to 60 in UK press. There’s been no mainstream coverage to date but this morning the story is leading BBC News site & bulletins.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Google boss Sundar Pichai warns 'no company immune' if AI bubble bursts
Speaking exclusively to BBC News, CEO Sundar Pichai said the artificial intelligence boom had been an
www.bbc.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 9:17 AM
It’s amazing how this story has gone from 0 to 60 in UK press. There’s been no mainstream coverage to date but this morning the story is leading BBC News site & bulletins.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
At what point do front bench resignations begin? Who signed up to be the government that sells the belongings of refugees and lock up children?
Lots of Labour MPs asking Mahmood tonight to rule out child detention. She won’t rule it out. That’s because forced removals of families will mean children in detention for periods.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
Home Office ruling out deportation of lone minors but the changes will certainly mean more detention of children.
November 17, 2025 at 11:00 PM
At what point do front bench resignations begin? Who signed up to be the government that sells the belongings of refugees and lock up children?
Reform running on a record of filthy streets and more children getting hit by cars. That Farage government in 2029 is going to be great stuff
November 17, 2025 at 10:46 PM
Reform running on a record of filthy streets and more children getting hit by cars. That Farage government in 2029 is going to be great stuff
Given that the money raised from this is going to amount to loose change in the government accounts, the only reason it is being proposed is to satisfy the cruellest instincts of the worst voters and media outlets. Gutter politics
Ministers now appear to be confirming in broadcast interviews that they would audit and could confiscate assets (including jewellery) excepting wedding rings from the jewellery that they could confiscate.
November 17, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Given that the money raised from this is going to amount to loose change in the government accounts, the only reason it is being proposed is to satisfy the cruellest instincts of the worst voters and media outlets. Gutter politics
In a similar vein, Theresa May should have stuck to her social care policy. She'd already taken the hit for it, so she might as well have at least addressed one of the most intractable problems in British politics
Reeves should risk it all on one last roll of the dice.
Raise income tax, break the triple lock, slay the deficit, spend the money on the things she believes in.
It may not work - but better than waiting for doom to overtake her.
open.substack.com/pub/edrith/p...
Raise income tax, break the triple lock, slay the deficit, spend the money on the things she believes in.
It may not work - but better than waiting for doom to overtake her.
open.substack.com/pub/edrith/p...
Reeves in Zugzwang
Incremental politics no longer works
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 8:39 AM
In a similar vein, Theresa May should have stuck to her social care policy. She'd already taken the hit for it, so she might as well have at least addressed one of the most intractable problems in British politics