Cllr Dr Alex Powell
@apowelllaw.bsky.social
4.6K followers 2K following 820 posts
Oxford City Councillor and Associate Professor in Law at the University of Warwick. Research: gender, sexuality, law; migration; legal theory; and law and popular culture Views my own, obviously.
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apowelllaw.bsky.social
Promoted by and on behalf of Alex Powell (Oxfordshire Green Party), 12A Merlin Road, Oxford OX4 6EP.
Reposted by Cllr Dr Alex Powell
carolinerussell.bsky.social
Appalling transphobia and hateful gender critical ideology on open display at Conservative Party conference.

Glad to see it challenged by the lone voice of my London Assembly colleague @andrewboff.bsky.social who is a reliable trans ally, in the audience in a trans rights are human rights T shirt.
News headline from independent. Black background with white text “gender critical activists accused of ‘hateful’ remarks after suggesting trans rights supporters have ‘broken brains’

Labour MP said was appalled but not surprised. 

Red text Millie Cooke political correspondent in Manchester

Coloured circles with links to social media
Reposted by Cllr Dr Alex Powell
chrisjarvisdiy.bsky.social
On Monday, Oxford City Council near-unanimously supported the Green Party motion which made clear our city stands against the far right and against regressive migration policy - from banning asylum seekers from working to scrapping family reunion.
Oxford City Council backs city's minority communities in vote
A Green party motion called on Oxford City Council to oppose far right rhetoric.
www.bbc.co.uk
Reposted by Cllr Dr Alex Powell
maxmorris.bsky.social
Very proud of my fellow Green councillors for proposing this motion. "We are a rich tapestry, we are strengthened by our diversity, and we must stand up as a council and as a city for that diversity, unite against the far right and the divisive narratives of them." www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Oxford City Council backs city's minority communities in vote
A Green party motion called on Oxford City Council to oppose far right rhetoric.
www.bbc.co.uk
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Proud to have proposed this motion to council on Monday night. Oxford is wonderful because of it's diverse communities and, as the local authority, it was important for Oxford City council to take a stand in support of those communities.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Oxford City Council backs city's minority communities in vote
A Green party motion called on Oxford City Council to oppose far right rhetoric.
www.bbc.co.uk
apowelllaw.bsky.social
The growth in Green membership is stunning. It really speaks to the hunger across the UK for a return to a politics of hope and solidarity and politicians who are unafraid to challenge the extreme inequality which drives division in our society.
greenparty.org.uk
The Green surge continues ... We’ve just passed 90,000 members! 💚

People everywhere are joining the movement for real change.

Want hope to be normal again? Join the Green Party today ↩️
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Hey! Yes, I should be able to!
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Feminist Greens are good and take a zero tolerance approach to Transphobia. Most of the people outside of conference are not current members of the party.
apowelllaw.bsky.social
The Green party overtaking the Lib Dems by membership is a huge moment which speaks to the status of the Greens as the fastest growing political movement in the UK.
greenparty.org.uk
Green Party membership is soaring — we’re now bigger than the Lib Dems 💚

Real hope. Real change.

Join the Green Party today.
Reposted by Cllr Dr Alex Powell
tom--scott.bsky.social
Green Party Deputy Leader @mothinali.bsky.social:

"It wasn't Muslims, it wasn't immigrants, it wasn't black & brown people that privatised our key infrastructure, sold off our key services, dismantled our industry, underfunded our NHS. Immigrants are the backbone of our NHS!"
#GPC25
apowelllaw.bsky.social
'National Renewal' seems to be a meaningless signifier. Is demonising migrants who made their lives here national renewal? Is passing restrictive anti-protest laws akin to Orban's Hungary national renewal?

Labour is a party of authoritarian bureaucracy and managed decline, terrified by real change
zackpolanski.bsky.social
Rattled, much?

A speech about unity, community and cohesion.

About the 99% Vs the 1%.

I'm not surprised the Labour Party didn't quite get that....

Join.greenparty.org.uk
Labour party response to Zacks speech. Guardian.com/livefeed
Reposted by Cllr Dr Alex Powell
majagrundler.bsky.social
I am looking for UK immigration law practitioners to fill in a short survey about their engagement with legal academic work. There is also an option to take part in an interview at the end. Please do consider taking part and share with your networks:

app.onlinesurveys.jisc.ac.uk/s/northumbri...
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Thank you! Looking forward to meeting you in due course!!
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Thank you! I shall still be Oxford based. Just with added train commutes to brighten my life 😂
apowelllaw.bsky.social
And, just like that, a chapter closes. After 5 years at Oxford Brookes today is my last day. I am grateful for the wonderful colleagues I have had over the past 5 years but also excited to meet new colleagues as I start at the University of Warwick tomorrow.

One last view from my office window.
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Me, 'I need an update on an engineer visit'

Stupid automated triage system - 'you'd like to extend your contract? Have I understood you correctly'

The answer is never yes. Not once. Just vast amounts of wasted time fighting to get to a human 😡
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Had no wifi since September 19th and my god if I have to go through to that Vodafone robo-call idiocy one more time I swear to god. These things exist solely to wind you up so much you give up on trying to resolve the issue, you will not convince me otherwise.
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Better late than never. But this still does not appreciate the immense harm and fear that has affected many communities while the government prevaricated over whether or not calling out racism was to its electoral advantage.
bestforbritain.org
Strong moment as Keir Starmer calls out the racism we’ve seen in recent weeks and months:

"Labour is proud of Britain's flags but if they are painted alongside graffiti telling a Chinese takeaway owner to 'go home', that's not pride - it's racism."
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Note for journalists, sometimes you don't have to treat policy proposals like they are evidence based or thought out. Rather like Reform saying they would end ILR, this is just stupid and the world would be a better place if we laughed at anyone suggesting that these criteria should be applied.
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Shame on the Labour Party.

And you know the worst thing. This won't work in terms of stemming the far-right. It never does. All it does is legitimise their racist narratives that frame migrants as a harm or a risk to our communities. By every metric, this is stupid and contemptable policy.
apowelllaw.bsky.social
That is, of course, putting aside the fact that people who migrate to the UK, regardless of where they come from, make huge and valued contributions to our communities every day. This kind of policy is just dog whistle nastiness that divides communities rather than bringing them together.
apowelllaw.bsky.social
This response is utterly deranged. As if a doctor is not already contributing. The UK has an aging population with a birth rate well below what it would need to be to sustain the care needs of that population. Even from a purely reductive, economic extractive framing this kind of policy is idiotic.
implausibleblog.bsky.social
Krishnan Guru Murthy, "Isn't it a bit insulting to say to an Indian doctor who is working 60-70 hours a week that in order to get settled status he's got to volunteer?"

Rachel Reeves, "We want people to contribute if they come to our country"

Labour have gone utterly bonkers
apowelllaw.bsky.social
Yes, because appeasement of fascists has famously always worked...
paulbrand.bsky.social
Mahmood warns Labour members “you may not always like what I do”.

She says she will have to question “Assumptions and legal constraints that have lasted for a generation or more.”

But she says that’s the way to preserve a tolerant country and hold back the far right.