Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

University and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 15h

Huge win for staff today at Warrington and Vale Royal College!

💪 6.5% pay increase backdated to August

💪 Guaranteed pay increases of up to £1,000 a year

💪 Starting salary for all teachers £29,227

Read more 👇

www.ucu.org.uk/article/1421...

Union pay and conditions victory at Warrington and Vale Royal College

The University and College Union today (Thursday 9 October) hailed improvements to staff pay and conditions at Warrington and Vale Royal College as a victory for its members.

www.ucu.org.uk

7 16

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

Prof. Liz Oakley-Brown @earlymodlancs.bsky.social · Jul 30

- 400 jobs to go at Lancaster University

- 1 in 4 people will be made redundant

But where's the financial evidence for this extreme action?

Please read 👇

Sign the petition 👇

chng.it/7F52bThYqn

Sign the Petition

Stop Mass Redundancies at Lancaster University – Hold Senior Management Accountable

chng.it

3 93 92

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 12h

Thanks for sharing this, Tom, and for the recommendation! @ucucommons.bsky.social

3

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

Margaret Morgan 🇳🇱🇦🇺🇪🇺 @margaretmorgan.bsky.social · 19h

A cautionary tale from Australia for governments considering age checks for social media.

CAMERON WILSON @cameronwilson.bsky.social · 1d

We're now finding out that as many as 70,000 people had their government IDs provided to prove their ages leaked by Discord. Like I wrote last week, this is an inherent risk (and made greater by a rushed process) of getting platforms to do age checks

Discord says 70,000 users may have had their government IDs leaked in breach

The ID pics had been submitted as part of age-related appeals.

www.theverge.com

1 25 28

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 15h

I don't think numbers really matter to them as long as they can treat them like actual slaves

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 15h

I do have a citation for this btw it's Bill Schwarz's The White Man's World

1

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 15h

*FROM an increasingly diverse UK ffs

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 15h

White Brits emigrated to e.g. Rhodesia after WW2 in large part to get away an increasingly diverse UK.

2 1

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 15h

I saw a post the other day like 'ironic the far-right hanker after a country with an 85% migrant population'. IMO this isn't ironic as what they hanker after is a country where migrants have basically zero human rights.

William Carruthers @williamcarruthers.bsky.social · 1d

The subtext of ‘we should be more like Dubai’, beyond the obvious racism, is ‘I should have a servant’.

1 1 11

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 1d

The newsletter looks great! So glad we've launched it

Mark Pendleton @markpendleton.bsky.social · 1d

A new initiative from @ucucommons.bsky.social - key updates from our work in UCU, the union more widely, and highlight news from our sectors. Expect it to drop every two weeks.

UCU Commons @ucucommons.bsky.social · 1d

The first issue of our fortnightly newsletter has landed!

Featuring @markpendleton.bsky.social’s discussion paper to this Friday’s HEC, @hagenilda.bsky.social’s plea to Frances Corner’s successor and other interesting links and news. #UCU #UKHE #AcademicSky

ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

1

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

Dr Matt Barnard @matthewbarnard.phd · 1d

The first of @ucucommons.bsky.social new fortnightly newsletter bringing news and points of interest around the sector #ucu

UCU Commons @ucucommons.bsky.social · 1d

The first issue of our fortnightly newsletter has landed!

Featuring @markpendleton.bsky.social’s discussion paper to this Friday’s HEC, @hagenilda.bsky.social’s plea to Frances Corner’s successor and other interesting links and news. #UCU #UKHE #AcademicSky

ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

UCU Commons newsletter #1

A new fortnightly round-up of union and sector specific news

ucucommons.substack.com

3 4

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

Sadiah Qureshi @sadiahqureshi.bsky.social · 1d

It’s revealing how thrown the interviewer is by an answer that is evidently an honest expression of genuinely held political principles, as opposed to the sound bites and weasel words that dominate political interviews in the present.

BBC Newsnight @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social · 2d

“You described Reform and other parties across Europe today as among the 'right wing equivalents of the fascists in the 1930s'. Why?”

“Because that’s what they are”

@vicderbyshire.bsky.social asks Lord Heseltine about remarks he made at Conservative Party Conference.

#Newsnight

6 23

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

Prof. Liz Oakley-Brown @earlymodlancs.bsky.social · 1d

I want to tell all students of the so-called 'rip-off degrees' named below that your critical thinking is important and makes valid contributions to culture and society

Without your skills, we wouldn't be able to unpack toxic discourses and do something about them

Martin Paul Eve @eve.gd · 1d

This makes me so angry. These people view all life as training for lifelong servitude/work. There's no room for interest, enjoyment, and culture in their bleak vision of education. At least she'll never be in power to see it through. Though Reform are probably worse.

Badenoch: Curb students taking "rip-off" degrees such as English. The performing arts, sociology and anthropology are among the subjects the Conservatives would like to cut

1 35 100

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 1d

it also has betting shops and adult gaming centres but that is because it is a poor area which those businesses pray on like vultures

7

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 1d

It has: an affordable gym and pool, a post office, a library, a credit union, affordable restaurants, international food shops and other independent businesses. Awful!!

1 9

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 1d

similarly, if I have a local 'high street' it is Shields Road in Byker. Journos love to shit on the place from their detached houses in Tunbridge Wells but I won't hear a word against it.

1 9

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 1d

give me Handsworth over some bigoted rural hell-hole any day

1 2 36

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 1d

So pleased to see this out! @hagenilda.bsky.social and others have worked so hard on it. Give us a read, a share and a subscribe!

UCU Commons @ucucommons.bsky.social · 1d

The first issue of our fortnightly newsletter has landed!

Featuring @markpendleton.bsky.social’s discussion paper to this Friday’s HEC, @hagenilda.bsky.social’s plea to Frances Corner’s successor and other interesting links and news. #UCU #UKHE #AcademicSky

ucucommons.substack.com/p/ucu-common...

UCU Commons newsletter #1

A new fortnightly round-up of union and sector specific news

ucucommons.substack.com

1 2

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

Jo (unfunded hobbyist) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 @hagenilda.bsky.social · 1d

I wrote something on my time on returning to Goldsmiths as an associate lecturer, 17 years after graduating with my first degree. It’s a plea to Frances Corner’s successor to learn from mistakes made over the last 6 years and change course. #UCU #UKHE

ucucommons.org/2025/10/06/c...

Cutting Corners: a message to the next Vice Chancellor at Goldsmiths

On 1 October 2025, a short announcement was put on Goldsmiths’ website to say that Vice Chancellor Frances Corner was stepping down with immediate effect. This came off the back of an announcement …

ucucommons.org

1 19 50

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

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

Ballot papers are landing!

Ballots open on the 13th!

Vote YES for fair pay, safe workloads and binding national agreements.

This is our chance to win.
#VoteYes #NewDealForFE

9 10

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 2d

Just found out that Joe Wicks and Chris van Tulleken fronted a highly sensationalised telly programme about how protein bars Are Killing You and...how is this in any way helpful?! Who is it for?

2 2

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

Petra Boynton @petraboynton.bsky.social · 2d

With yet another university hosted event closed to 'non academics' (aka those not employed by a university)* I'm just going to leave this piece by @drhelenkara.bsky.social and myself here blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsoci...

* yes I know it's utter nonsense and academics/researchers exist outside unis

Institutional affiliation should not be a requirement for doing research - Impact of Social Sciences

Universities espouse a universalist approach to creating research-based knowledge. Helen Kara & Petra Boynton argue, from the outside these claims are hollow.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

2 22 45

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 3d

What a fantastic painting

Brian Groom @groomb.bsky.social · 3d

Barbara Castle was born on this day in Chesterfield, raised in Pontefract and Bradford, became MP for Blackburn. One of the most senior female politicians Labour has produced, held several cabinet roles under Harold Wilson. Painting by Ruskin Spear (Walker Art Gallery).

2

Reposted by Matilda Fitzmaurice

Natacha @natacha.bsky.social · 3d

There are now TWELVE (possibly 13...) peer-reviewed critiques of the Cass Review.

I have listed them all on my blog, now updated with links to all of them. Trying to keep it as up-to-date as possible.

For a fuller list, @notrightruth.bsky.social has them all here; ruthpearce.net/2024/04/16/w...

UnCommon Sense

Peer-reviewed critiques of the Cass Review (In chronological order) Horton, C (2024) The Cass Review: Cis-supremacy in the UK’s approach t...

uncommon-scents.blogspot.com

5 87 230

Matilda Fitzmaurice @matildaf.bsky.social · 3d

This is fantasising at this point