Patrick WJ Thompson
@patrickwjthompson.bsky.social
PhD Researcher at Queen's University Belfast | Interested in civil rights, social movements, Irish-British relations | All views my own
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
I just thought everyone should see this
January 22, 2026 at 11:02 PM
I just thought everyone should see this
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Highlight from last semester!
Had a brilliant time sharing my work at the @ihrbritainseminar.bsky.social seminar last week at @ihr.bsky.social. Really great discussion as well, facilitated by @colmpm.bsky.social, with lots of interesting questions. Thanks for having me!
January 19, 2026 at 11:00 AM
Highlight from last semester!
Now that the paperwork is done and my flights are booked, I’m excited to share that I’ll be spending a month from mid-February in California as a Visiting Postgraduate Researcher at the @ucberkeleyies.bsky.social, as part of the IES-QUB HAPP Exchange Scheme!
January 8, 2026 at 4:07 PM
Now that the paperwork is done and my flights are booked, I’m excited to share that I’ll be spending a month from mid-February in California as a Visiting Postgraduate Researcher at the @ucberkeleyies.bsky.social, as part of the IES-QUB HAPP Exchange Scheme!
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
We can either live in a world made by 14-year-old boys who never grew up, for 14-year-old boys who never grew up, or maybe OFCOM could finally act like an actual regulator?
Two UK Cabinet ministers ‘stripped to a bikini’ by Grok AI
metro.co.uk/2026/01/06/t...
metro.co.uk/2026/01/06/t...
Two Cabinet ministers 'stripped to a bikini' by Grok AI
metro.co.uk
January 6, 2026 at 3:27 PM
We can either live in a world made by 14-year-old boys who never grew up, for 14-year-old boys who never grew up, or maybe OFCOM could finally act like an actual regulator?
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Uncivil War, my book about the British Army and the Troubles in the early 1970s, is out in paperback on 15 January. Come and hear me talk about it at the National Army Museum on 13 February:
www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/unc...
www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/unc...
Uncivil War: The British Army and the Troubles, 1966-75
Join historian Huw Bennett as he examines the interactions between the British Army and paramilitary groups in Northern Ireland during the most violent phase of the Troubles.
www.nam.ac.uk
January 6, 2026 at 12:24 PM
Uncivil War, my book about the British Army and the Troubles in the early 1970s, is out in paperback on 15 January. Come and hear me talk about it at the National Army Museum on 13 February:
www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/unc...
www.nam.ac.uk/whats-on/unc...
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Strathclyde seeks 'to save £35m over the next two years.'
'Details of which jobs may be at risk have not been made public by the university.
It is thought they could include roles at Strathclyde Business School and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.' Industrial policy anyone?
'Details of which jobs may be at risk have not been made public by the university.
It is thought they could include roles at Strathclyde Business School and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.' Industrial policy anyone?
University of Strathclyde announces plans to cut 70 jobs
The university says it needs to save £35m but a union is calling for no compulsory redundancies.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 11, 2025 at 10:57 AM
Strathclyde seeks 'to save £35m over the next two years.'
'Details of which jobs may be at risk have not been made public by the university.
It is thought they could include roles at Strathclyde Business School and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.' Industrial policy anyone?
'Details of which jobs may be at risk have not been made public by the university.
It is thought they could include roles at Strathclyde Business School and the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland.' Industrial policy anyone?
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
"Each socio-economic group – and viewers from any other category – could adopt Parr as their own, the chronicler of an inherently ridiculous people: that is, not them."
Michael Prodger is so brilliant on Martin Parr:
Michael Prodger is so brilliant on Martin Parr:
Goodbye Martin Parr
Serious photographs, disguised as entertainment
www.newstatesman.com
December 9, 2025 at 10:32 AM
"Each socio-economic group – and viewers from any other category – could adopt Parr as their own, the chronicler of an inherently ridiculous people: that is, not them."
Michael Prodger is so brilliant on Martin Parr:
Michael Prodger is so brilliant on Martin Parr:
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Glad to learn that tomorrow is 100 years since one of the finest bits of inter-government-relations-handling ever, when the UK, NI and Free State governments got together and said ‘We all hate this Boundary Commission report, albeit for completely different reasons. Let’s suppress it!’
Settling the United Kingdom border https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/settling-the-united-kingdom-border/
December 2, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Glad to learn that tomorrow is 100 years since one of the finest bits of inter-government-relations-handling ever, when the UK, NI and Free State governments got together and said ‘We all hate this Boundary Commission report, albeit for completely different reasons. Let’s suppress it!’
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
How do democracies respond to extremist attacks? Selen A Ercan, Jordan McSwiney, Emily Beausoleil, Claire Fitzpatrick & @andreafelicetti.bsky.social explore 2 approaches to resilience- ‘bouncing back’ & deepening democracy. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/ituNUoP
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @sagepub.com
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @sagepub.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:01 PM
How do democracies respond to extremist attacks? Selen A Ercan, Jordan McSwiney, Emily Beausoleil, Claire Fitzpatrick & @andreafelicetti.bsky.social explore 2 approaches to resilience- ‘bouncing back’ & deepening democracy. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/ituNUoP
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @sagepub.com
@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @sagepub.com
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Wrote my take on the retreat on day one rights against unfair dismissal, for Renewal. Basically Labour made a promise it turned out it couldn't deliver, a small group of serious trade unions then decided to try to salvage this, but this isn't without severe trade offs renewal.org.uk/blog/pragmat...
Pragmatism’s limits?
Following secret negotiations between business confederations and GMB, CWU, Prospect, Unite, USDAW, UNISON, and the TUC, the government has U-turned on its manifesto commitment to introduce day-one ri...
renewal.org.uk
December 1, 2025 at 9:31 AM
Wrote my take on the retreat on day one rights against unfair dismissal, for Renewal. Basically Labour made a promise it turned out it couldn't deliver, a small group of serious trade unions then decided to try to salvage this, but this isn't without severe trade offs renewal.org.uk/blog/pragmat...
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS! EVERYONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHED BOOKS!
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
November 26, 2025 at 10:52 PM
PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS! EVERYONE WANTS TO HEAR ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHED BOOKS!
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526179593/
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
“Dangit I hate gift shopping for my family, they’re so hard to buy f—“
"The perfect mug does not exist."
The perfect mug:
The perfect mug:
November 27, 2025 at 7:22 PM
“Dangit I hate gift shopping for my family, they’re so hard to buy f—“
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Noise and Nuance: What the public really thinks about immigration
Read the new report from @britishfuture.bsky.social on public attitudes to immigration, asylum, settlement + the contested politics of the issue
www.britishfuture.org/publication/...
Read the new report from @britishfuture.bsky.social on public attitudes to immigration, asylum, settlement + the contested politics of the issue
www.britishfuture.org/publication/...
Noise and nuance: What the public really thinks about immigration - British Future
Report on the 2025 British Future/Ipsos Immigration Attitudes Tracker, examining public opinion on immigration and asylum.
www.britishfuture.org
November 27, 2025 at 12:47 AM
Noise and Nuance: What the public really thinks about immigration
Read the new report from @britishfuture.bsky.social on public attitudes to immigration, asylum, settlement + the contested politics of the issue
www.britishfuture.org/publication/...
Read the new report from @britishfuture.bsky.social on public attitudes to immigration, asylum, settlement + the contested politics of the issue
www.britishfuture.org/publication/...
The longer we have a political class that refuses to tell the truth about immigration, because it is easier to embrace populist misconceptions, the further down the road to disaster we go...
Most of the public think net migration increased last year, when in fact numbers halved.
New findings from the Ipsos/British Future Immigration Attitudes Tracker show that 56% of the public thinks immigration increased last year. Just 1 in 6 realise it was down
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
New findings from the Ipsos/British Future Immigration Attitudes Tracker show that 56% of the public thinks immigration increased last year. Just 1 in 6 realise it was down
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
November 27, 2025 at 10:59 AM
The longer we have a political class that refuses to tell the truth about immigration, because it is easier to embrace populist misconceptions, the further down the road to disaster we go...
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
📢Out now on #firstview!
Daithí Ó Corráin (@dublincityuni.bsky.social) on 'The British Government, Workmen’s Compensation, and the Civilian War Casualties of the Easter 1916 Irish Rebellion'
#Compensation #Civilian #Casualties #Injury 20thc 🗃️
👉Read open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Daithí Ó Corráin (@dublincityuni.bsky.social) on 'The British Government, Workmen’s Compensation, and the Civilian War Casualties of the Easter 1916 Irish Rebellion'
#Compensation #Civilian #Casualties #Injury 20thc 🗃️
👉Read open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
November 26, 2025 at 8:59 AM
📢Out now on #firstview!
Daithí Ó Corráin (@dublincityuni.bsky.social) on 'The British Government, Workmen’s Compensation, and the Civilian War Casualties of the Easter 1916 Irish Rebellion'
#Compensation #Civilian #Casualties #Injury 20thc 🗃️
👉Read open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Daithí Ó Corráin (@dublincityuni.bsky.social) on 'The British Government, Workmen’s Compensation, and the Civilian War Casualties of the Easter 1916 Irish Rebellion'
#Compensation #Civilian #Casualties #Injury 20thc 🗃️
👉Read open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Sometimes wonder if what the UK needs is a thinktank that doesn't do any new research, it just repeats obviously true statements that people try to ignore because they're inconvenient.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
November 25, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Sometimes wonder if what the UK needs is a thinktank that doesn't do any new research, it just repeats obviously true statements that people try to ignore because they're inconvenient.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
International students cross-subsidise home students. Your pension is paid for out of general taxation.
Had a brilliant time sharing my work at the @ihrbritainseminar.bsky.social seminar last week at @ihr.bsky.social. Really great discussion as well, facilitated by @colmpm.bsky.social, with lots of interesting questions. Thanks for having me!
November 25, 2025 at 10:53 AM
Had a brilliant time sharing my work at the @ihrbritainseminar.bsky.social seminar last week at @ihr.bsky.social. Really great discussion as well, facilitated by @colmpm.bsky.social, with lots of interesting questions. Thanks for having me!
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
The organisers of a recent witness seminar @ihr.bsky.social on Conservatism and Unionism reflect in this new opinion article on the tensions that emerged in the final third of the twentieth century and their implications for the present. historyandpolicy.org/opinion-arti...
Conservatism and Unionism in the UK - History & Policy
The team of historians behind an AHRC-funded research project reflect on the fracturing of Conservatism and Unionism in the the UK in the final third of the twentieth century, and the insights into th...
historyandpolicy.org
November 25, 2025 at 10:28 AM
The organisers of a recent witness seminar @ihr.bsky.social on Conservatism and Unionism reflect in this new opinion article on the tensions that emerged in the final third of the twentieth century and their implications for the present. historyandpolicy.org/opinion-arti...
My go-to example of this is the University of Lancashire, which has over 25,000 students and 3,000 staff primarily in Preston and Burnley. What happens if institutions like that go under, do we think?
I don't think (successive) governments who ignore the financial crisis in universities really realise what it will look like in cities, including northern cities like mine, if the higher education sector collapses. Newcastle's economy is *really fucking really* propped up by students
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 23, 2025 at 11:17 PM
My go-to example of this is the University of Lancashire, which has over 25,000 students and 3,000 staff primarily in Preston and Burnley. What happens if institutions like that go under, do we think?
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Alongside mooted restrictions on salary sacrifice - which universities make a lot of use of to pay for pensions - this is not shaping up to be a great budget for a sector already mired in cutbacks and redundancies.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 23, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Alongside mooted restrictions on salary sacrifice - which universities make a lot of use of to pay for pensions - this is not shaping up to be a great budget for a sector already mired in cutbacks and redundancies.
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
'It is notable that in the last Research Excellence Framework exercise the Department of American Studies at Nottingham was ranked third in the Area Studies unit of assessment and was one of the top-performing units across the whole of the University of Nottingham.' 1/2
RED ALERT: the University of Nottingham is threatening to close its Department of American Studies, putting all staff at risk of redundancy, and ending any American specialist knowledge in the Faculty of Arts.
Sign the petition here to save jobs:
www.change.org/p/save-ameri...
Sign the petition here to save jobs:
www.change.org/p/save-ameri...
Sign the Petition
SAVE AMERICAN STUDIES TEACHING AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM
www.change.org
November 23, 2025 at 1:38 PM
'It is notable that in the last Research Excellence Framework exercise the Department of American Studies at Nottingham was ranked third in the Area Studies unit of assessment and was one of the top-performing units across the whole of the University of Nottingham.' 1/2
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
'the home office is inhabited by an ancient spirit of malice that possesses all who take up the role' is a pretty good thesis tbh
Home Office: How dare people say we are acting like the far-right?
Also the Home Office: These far-right graphics look great, let's copy them.
Also the Home Office: These far-right graphics look great, let's copy them.
November 21, 2025 at 4:13 PM
'the home office is inhabited by an ancient spirit of malice that possesses all who take up the role' is a pretty good thesis tbh
My talk at @ihr.bsky.social / @ihrbritainseminar.bsky.social on British perceptions of the Northern Irish Civil Rights Movement is this Thursday! Come along in person, or join online!
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
‘Out of sight and out of mind?’: British Perceptions of the Northern Irish Civil Rights Movement
www.history.ac.uk
November 17, 2025 at 10:48 AM
My talk at @ihr.bsky.social / @ihrbritainseminar.bsky.social on British perceptions of the Northern Irish Civil Rights Movement is this Thursday! Come along in person, or join online!
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
www.history.ac.uk/news-events/...
Reposted by Patrick WJ Thompson
Truly a battle of wits
November 14, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Truly a battle of wits