Stephen Baker
@stephenbaker.bsky.social
Socialist. Trade unionist. Strummer of strings. Co.Down. Researches, writes & teaches. Radical whore of sociology. "...clean living under difficult circumstances." Proudly Paddystinian.
Reposted by Stephen Baker
The Public Policy Catastrophe of our student loans system rolls on. Young and middle-aged people are squeezed till the pips squeak while our university system collapses. Well done everyone! You stupid clowns. 🤡 www.ft.com/content/277a...
Will student loans be the next mis-selling scandal?
[FREE TO READ] Graduates are in uproar about Budget changes to loan repayment terms, and they have a point
www.ft.com
January 24, 2026 at 2:03 PM
The Public Policy Catastrophe of our student loans system rolls on. Young and middle-aged people are squeezed till the pips squeak while our university system collapses. Well done everyone! You stupid clowns. 🤡 www.ft.com/content/277a...
Reposted by Stephen Baker
Press Ombudsperson Susan McKay chairing an event in the Linenhall on Public Media Ireland in the event of reunification pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/portalfil...
January 14, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Press Ombudsperson Susan McKay chairing an event in the Linenhall on Public Media Ireland in the event of reunification pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/portalfil...
Reposted by Stephen Baker
Great to attend the launch - in the Linen Hall Library - of another significant contribution to preparations for a potential reunified Ireland.
Expertly chaired by Susan McKay.
An essential conversation about the future of public service broadcasting on our shared island.
Expertly chaired by Susan McKay.
An essential conversation about the future of public service broadcasting on our shared island.
January 14, 2026 at 5:36 PM
Great to attend the launch - in the Linen Hall Library - of another significant contribution to preparations for a potential reunified Ireland.
Expertly chaired by Susan McKay.
An essential conversation about the future of public service broadcasting on our shared island.
Expertly chaired by Susan McKay.
An essential conversation about the future of public service broadcasting on our shared island.
Reposted by Stephen Baker
DCU and @ulsteruni.bsky.social report makes the case for a new public broadcaster in the event of a reunified Ireland.
In a report launched yesterday researchers from UU and DCU have considered what might happen to Public Service Media in a reunified Ireland.
Read more: launch.dcu.ie/4b0WctE
In a report launched yesterday researchers from UU and DCU have considered what might happen to Public Service Media in a reunified Ireland.
Read more: launch.dcu.ie/4b0WctE
January 15, 2026 at 10:28 AM
DCU and @ulsteruni.bsky.social report makes the case for a new public broadcaster in the event of a reunified Ireland.
In a report launched yesterday researchers from UU and DCU have considered what might happen to Public Service Media in a reunified Ireland.
Read more: launch.dcu.ie/4b0WctE
In a report launched yesterday researchers from UU and DCU have considered what might happen to Public Service Media in a reunified Ireland.
Read more: launch.dcu.ie/4b0WctE
Reposted by Stephen Baker
How do you design public media for a country that does not (yet) exist?
A new blog post by Dr Phil Ramsey and Dr Roddy Flynn, about their report on what a new public service media organisation in a United Ireland could look like: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/psm-uni...
A new blog post by Dr Phil Ramsey and Dr Roddy Flynn, about their report on what a new public service media organisation in a United Ireland could look like: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/psm-uni...
January 23, 2026 at 11:30 AM
How do you design public media for a country that does not (yet) exist?
A new blog post by Dr Phil Ramsey and Dr Roddy Flynn, about their report on what a new public service media organisation in a United Ireland could look like: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/psm-uni...
A new blog post by Dr Phil Ramsey and Dr Roddy Flynn, about their report on what a new public service media organisation in a United Ireland could look like: www.mediareform.org.uk/blog/psm-uni...
Dear BBC,
Please, I beg you, wise the fuck up!
Please, I beg you, wise the fuck up!
January 22, 2026 at 1:26 PM
Dear BBC,
Please, I beg you, wise the fuck up!
Please, I beg you, wise the fuck up!
Reposted by Stephen Baker
Football's BEST VAR Moments
Football's BEST VAR Moments
YouTube video by Michael Spicer
youtu.be
January 21, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Football's BEST VAR Moments
Mark Carney has a great speech writer: "We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition." But what sort of rupture is the former Governor of Bank of England, now Canadian PM, talking about? Is it a break from the politics and economics that ate democracy, grew inequality, trashed the planet?
January 21, 2026 at 8:13 AM
Mark Carney has a great speech writer: "We are in the midst of a rupture, not a transition." But what sort of rupture is the former Governor of Bank of England, now Canadian PM, talking about? Is it a break from the politics and economics that ate democracy, grew inequality, trashed the planet?
Listening to Trump speaking at the White House ahead of going to Davos. This energy...
January 20, 2026 at 7:13 PM
Listening to Trump speaking at the White House ahead of going to Davos. This energy...
Reposted by Stephen Baker
To be fair to a certain group of commentators, if you put aside literally everything Trump has ever said or done, it was really hard to see all this coming.
January 19, 2026 at 8:58 PM
To be fair to a certain group of commentators, if you put aside literally everything Trump has ever said or done, it was really hard to see all this coming.
Reposted by Stephen Baker
Important to point out that people do not become homeless. They are MADE homeless. And with homelessness rising from a few hundred people to over 17k in the last decade it’s clear that the government are in the homelessness business.
What a headline! The govt should be ashamed! #Spéirgorm #Spéirghorm RTE news : Older adults becoming homeless a 'growing crisis'
www.rte.ie/news/2026/01...
www.rte.ie/news/2026/01...
Older adults becoming homeless a 'growing crisis'
A report by the Simon Community has highlighted what it calls the "growing crisis" in the number of older adults becoming homeless.
www.rte.ie
January 19, 2026 at 7:44 PM
Important to point out that people do not become homeless. They are MADE homeless. And with homelessness rising from a few hundred people to over 17k in the last decade it’s clear that the government are in the homelessness business.
You know, the more I think about it, this guy, Graeme Hall, the "dog doctor" is the answer. Isn't he.
January 19, 2026 at 5:47 PM
You know, the more I think about it, this guy, Graeme Hall, the "dog doctor" is the answer. Isn't he.
Reposted by Stephen Baker
I know major world politics is going mad, but since Trump 2.0, that’s just everyday.
I’ve written my first of 2026 on the ongoing madness in Ulster ✍🏼💭
#IrishPolitics #Spéirghorm
🔗 shorturl.at/u6bUX
I’ve written my first of 2026 on the ongoing madness in Ulster ✍🏼💭
#IrishPolitics #Spéirghorm
🔗 shorturl.at/u6bUX
The Man Nobody Voted For Will Now Lead Nobody Anywhere: A Masterclass in Political Absurdism
How Northern Ireland’s establishment perfected the art of crisis management by ensuring there’s nothing left to manage
shorturl.at
January 18, 2026 at 7:03 PM
I know major world politics is going mad, but since Trump 2.0, that’s just everyday.
I’ve written my first of 2026 on the ongoing madness in Ulster ✍🏼💭
#IrishPolitics #Spéirghorm
🔗 shorturl.at/u6bUX
I’ve written my first of 2026 on the ongoing madness in Ulster ✍🏼💭
#IrishPolitics #Spéirghorm
🔗 shorturl.at/u6bUX
Reposted by Stephen Baker
Reposted by Stephen Baker
This is a really good essay from Juliet Jacques on intellectuals & the politics of the media. novaramedia.com/2026/01/15/t...
Today’s Public Intellectuals Are More Likely to Serve Power Than Challenge It | Juliet Jacques
30 years ago, the BBC invited Palestinian thinker Edward Said to deliver six lectures on the public intellectual, writes Juliet Jacques. Can you imagine something so outlandish happening today?
novaramedia.com
January 18, 2026 at 9:50 PM
This is a really good essay from Juliet Jacques on intellectuals & the politics of the media. novaramedia.com/2026/01/15/t...
Andrew Rosindell quits Tories and defects to Reform UK
And once more…
And once more…
January 18, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Andrew Rosindell quits Tories and defects to Reform UK
And once more…
And once more…
“State violence deliberately creates dystopian, unequal playing fields. First the life is taken, then the justification is issued, then the cover-ups spin and spin for decades.”
State violence in the USA follows the patterns of British state violence
belfastmedia.com/renee-good-s...
belfastmedia.com/renee-good-s...
ANDRÉE MURPHY: Justification of Renee Good's killing followed a familiar template
WHEN the American Department of Homeland Security ICE militia murdered Renee Nicole Good they followed a tried and tested method for state murder: justification and cover-up.
belfastmedia.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:24 PM
“State violence deliberately creates dystopian, unequal playing fields. First the life is taken, then the justification is issued, then the cover-ups spin and spin for decades.”
January 17, 2026 at 8:06 PM
I can just imagine, all those Tories defecting to Reform, protesting about how the Tory administrations they once served in “broke Britain”, someday sitting in a coalition government with their old Conservative Party chums, giving the UK another kicking.
January 15, 2026 at 10:21 PM
I can just imagine, all those Tories defecting to Reform, protesting about how the Tory administrations they once served in “broke Britain”, someday sitting in a coalition government with their old Conservative Party chums, giving the UK another kicking.
Embarrassing
Machado presented Trump with her Nobel award at White House meeting
Machado presented Trump with her Nobel award at White House meeting
January 15, 2026 at 9:47 PM
Embarrassing
Machado presented Trump with her Nobel award at White House meeting
Machado presented Trump with her Nobel award at White House meeting
Reposted by Stephen Baker
January 15, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Flamengo are exploring the possibility of loaning Lucas Paqueta back to West Ham in an effort to seal a move for the Brazil international this month.
Is this something Reform could do for the Tories with regards Jenrick?
Is this something Reform could do for the Tories with regards Jenrick?
January 15, 2026 at 6:09 PM
Flamengo are exploring the possibility of loaning Lucas Paqueta back to West Ham in an effort to seal a move for the Brazil international this month.
Is this something Reform could do for the Tories with regards Jenrick?
Is this something Reform could do for the Tories with regards Jenrick?
It's ridiculous Reform presenting itself as a party opposed to the elites as it fills up with Tories who held office in a previous government. But Reform has always been ridiculous and it hasn't hurt them so far. I suspect they'll pivot from insurrectionists to the "natural party of government" soon
January 15, 2026 at 5:08 PM
It's ridiculous Reform presenting itself as a party opposed to the elites as it fills up with Tories who held office in a previous government. But Reform has always been ridiculous and it hasn't hurt them so far. I suspect they'll pivot from insurrectionists to the "natural party of government" soon
I've moved this picture into my 'favourites' so that it's easier to find. It's gonna get a lot of use in the future.
January 15, 2026 at 5:04 PM
I've moved this picture into my 'favourites' so that it's easier to find. It's gonna get a lot of use in the future.
Imagine being unveiled by Nigel Farage, in public. Imagine that,
Nigel Farage is currently unveiling Robert Jenrick as a defector at his 430 press conference.
Nigel Farage says “hand on heart” he wasn’t going to unveil Robert Jenrick as a defector at his second press conference of the day, planned at 430.
January 15, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Imagine being unveiled by Nigel Farage, in public. Imagine that,