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Laurence Cooley

@lpcooley.bsky.social

2K followers 1.6K following 83 posts

Politics lecturer, University of Birmingham Work on the politics of deeply divided societies (mostly Northern Ireland these days), including power-sharing, demography and the census. Currently also thinking about Lough Neagh. #firstgen

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Laurence Cooley @lpcooley.bsky.social · Apr 13

I have a new article in @politicalquarterly.bsky.social, researched and written with my former student and research assistant, Elliott Hill, on the Lough Neagh ecological crisis, rights of nature and rights of future generations. #LoughNeagh #openaccess onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Are the Rights of Nature the Only Way to Save Lough Neagh?

Northern Ireland's Lough Neagh—the UK and Ireland's largest freshwater lake—recently hit the headlines owing to an ecological crisis caused by the level of pollutants entering its waters. With politi....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

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Miriam Posner @miriamposner.com · 13h

Found this just incredibly depressing, more than anything.

An easel sign reads, “UCLA
ATTENTION
No events are permitted in this area today. Per Policy 852, this location is NOT designated for public expression activities.
Individuals participating in an event or a public expression activity in this area are subject to discipline and/or arrest.
Scan for policy information.”

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Tom Hulme @tomhulme.bsky.social · 19h

New article just published from the ‘Queer Northern Ireland: Sexuality before Liberation’ project. Charlie lays out in brilliant (and often depressing) depth how the complex forces of psychiatry and religion shaped the responses to male homosexuality in the decades after WWII.

Charlie Lynch @charlielynch.bsky.social · 20h

“I knew that homosexuality was a sin - I didn’t want to be homosexual. I went to my G.P and said I had read Freud’s book on dreams, that I suffered from homosexuality, and that I would like to change.”

My new article now out in Irish Historical Studies:

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Between sickness and sin: models of male homosexuality in Northern Ireland c.1960-1990 | Irish Historical Studies | Cambridge Core

Between sickness and sin: models of male homosexuality in Northern Ireland c.1960-1990

www.cambridge.org

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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 16h

I've lived in Birmingham six years. In that time, so far two cyclists have been killed directly along my short commute.

Here's wishing big lawsuits on the people who have the power to prevent these results but prefer car owner convenience instead.

Birmingham by Bike - Change & Continuity along the Commute

YouTube video by John Munro - University of Birmingham

www.youtube.com

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Richard Carr @richardcarr.bsky.social · 21h

This is absolutely not the headline thing here ofc, but in a world where we have demonstrably fewer frontline employees and definitely more tasks for them to do (thanks: non-shrinking managers!), how are universities making their workload models for the staff that remain stand up?

University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 1d

‼️NEW: Universities have tried to axe over 15,000 staff this year.

Yet the vice-chancellors responsible are paying themselves more than ever before.

We’re balloting to save higher education.

Our GS @drjogrady.bsky.social broke the story on BBC Today this morning👇

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Laratheescapeartist @lescapeartist.bsky.social · 2d

'..the wealthiest 10% of Britons generate more emissions from aviation alone than do the poorest 20% from all their activities combined' #flightfree

Leo Murray @crisortunity.bsky.social · 3d

I know nobody wants to hear this. But we cant meet climate goals (aka survive the century) without policies to reduce demand for flights

Flight from reality: sustainable aviation, Jet Zero, and the technofix

This paper argues that rising aviation emissions, which are disproportionally driven by the wealthy, pose a serious threat to climate goals. Using the UK’s Jet Zero strategy as a case study, it exp...

www.tandfonline.com

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Liam Stanley @liamstanley.bsky.social · 5d

These are not the same things: one is a barely intelligible ramble and the other is a coherent but bullshit political statement. If these claims of “eccentric” behaviour are going to work, politically, then it might be important to distinguish between the two.

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Omar Khan @omaromalleykhan.bsky.social · 3d

I know statistics are poorly understood and are misused. But facts matter

Between the 1991, 2001, 2011 and 2021 Census *every* ethnic group in the UK has become *less* geographically segregated and *all* groups, majority and minorities, are more likely to interact with people not like them

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Audrey Truschke @audreytruschke.bsky.social · 3d

A Rutgers professor has been forced to flee the country for his safety, after targeting by a far-right student group that was *checks notes* claiming they felt unsafe.

I'm horrified.
I'm angry.

A short 🧵 #AcademicFreedom #Rutgers #violence #antifa

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Rutgers professor moving to Europe after threats over antifa accusations

Mark Bray says threats intensified after a Turning Point USA petition accused him of promoting political violence

www.theguardian.com

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Sadiah Qureshi @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social · 4d

I grew up in Handsworth. It is one of the most vibrant and diverse places in the UK, whether in terms of complexion or creed. For someone to feel uncomfortable there says everything about the kind of sameness they crave, rather than anything meaningful about Handsworth or Birmingham.

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Colin Murray @colinmurray.bsky.social · 5d

Today will see a flurry of speculative claims about the GFA & ECHR. Most significantly that rights weren't important/were late editions/didn't mean the whole ECHR in NI law. I'm begging journalists to push back. Civil Servants were planning for Labour's Rights Agenda for NI from the 1997 election:

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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 5d

An academic was aghast when her partner was accused of IRA activity. After his trial, he confessed

Mary Attenborough’s nightmare began when the police raided the flat she and Michael Gallagher shared, their memoir reveals, but their relationship prevailed

www.theguardian.com

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Laura McAtackney @lauramca.bsky.social · 6d

Let’s not kid ourselves there isn’t something very sinister about allowing city centres to be covered by tricolours erected by the Far Right in Ireland and few moves to take them down. The national flag is not the problem but how it’s being used as an intimidatory and exclusionary symbol.

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Sarah Creighton @saraita101.bsky.social · 6d

No, you're not going crazy. You did read this and also read about the PSNI arresting people in London for being members of a proscribed organization.

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Nick Barker @nickbarker.bsky.social · 6d

"staff are being called back from redundancy".

The Observer @theobserveruk.bsky.social · 6d

Grade deflation, overcrowding and ‘chaos’ as colleges scramble for fees trib.al/Rl13Hxg

Grade deflation, overcrowding and ‘chaos’ as colleges scr...

Russell group hoovers up international students to stave off budget deficit fears

trib.al

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The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 6d

I've resisted the term "Ulsterification" cos it implies that NI's political culture is somehow un-British, rather than an entirely British weaponisation of Britishness, enabled and enacted by British interests.

But the PSNI boomeranging back to London to round up protesters is really something.

Defend Our Juries @defendourjuries.bsky.social · 6d

BREAKING: Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) arrest protestors in Trafalgar Square, London, for holding signs which say they oppose genocide and support Palestine Action.

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Maria @thismaria.bsky.social · 7d

Wish I could say it comes as a massive surprise that there's an overlap between the flag people and suspected fraudsters, but this is great work by the @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social.

'It's 100% legitimate' www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk/red-flags-th...

Red flags: The non-existent company behind Brum's Union Jacks

'It's 100% legitimate'

www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk

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Matt Houlbrook @tricksterprince.bsky.social · 7d

“We are normal, working class Birmingham businessmen,” says Bridge, who owns a £600,000 house in Bromsgrove, firmly.

The Dispatch @birminghamdispatch.bsky.social · 7d

Trouble is, there is no trace of the business on Companies House.
www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk/red-flags-th...

Red flags: The non-existent company behind Brum's Union Jacks

'It's 100% legitimate'

www.birminghamdispatch.co.uk

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Kings Heath United Against Racism @khuar.bsky.social · 7d

"The police are effectively endorsing this activity and it is totally unacceptable."

Police accused of 'escorting' flags gang in Stirchley amid angry divide

West Midlands Police say they were present to prevent a breach of the peace amid rising tensions

www.birminghammail.co.uk

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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 7d

I wrote a short piece for the Observer on the attacks in Manchester.

observer.co.uk/news/opinion...

My son recently found a swastika drawn on the pavement at...

The Manchester attack didn't come as a shock. The only surprise is it hasn’t happened sooner

observer.co.uk

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Phil Burrows @supergm.bsky.social · 7d

So many people in Stirchley, including me, really don't want the flags here. We know the real reason the flaggers are doing this. It's not unity. There was no consultation, no working with the community to see how we would like to unite. It's an imposition.

Kings Heath United Against Racism @khuar.bsky.social · 8d

Flags went up in Stirchley a few days ago & were taken down by local residents the same evening.

The men returned with a cherry picker and coned off parts of the road with police accompanying them as they put up new flags along the High Street.

Residents who object have been met with verbal abuse.

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Laurence Cooley @lpcooley.bsky.social · 7d

I don't think any of them were from Stirchley. Some of them were quite derogatory about the place when asked.

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Vanessa is the name of the Doctor! @hpsvanessa.bsky.social · 7d

“With police accompanying them”

Yep.

Kings Heath United Against Racism @khuar.bsky.social · 8d

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Will Stancil @whstancil.bsky.social · 9d

DHS posts an antisemitic meme about keeping "globalists" out of the US.

One of the internet's most influential white nationalists, the British white supremacist known as "Raw Egg Nationalist," responds with a groyper meme.

The DHS account RESPONDS, calling him "Patriot."

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Alan Kinsella @electionlit.bsky.social · 9d

From the 1989 European Elections

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Laurence Cooley @lpcooley.bsky.social · 9d

Really pleased to have had an article that helps to explain this situation accepted by @bjpir.bsky.social this afternoon – the result of an ongoing collaboration with two of my favourite people, @tagarin.bsky.social and Elliott Hill. It will hopefully be in print soon. #LoughNeagh

Belfast Telegraph @belfasttelegraph.co.uk · 12d

"There is no greater example of political failure than the state of Lough Neagh. Pollution is killing the freshwater lake and there seems little urgency to deal with it."

We risk leaving toxic legacy for our kids unless we urgently deal with Lough Neagh crisis unfolding in plain sight

There is no greater example of political failure than the state of Lough Neagh. Pollution is killing the freshwater lake and there seems little urgency to deal with it.