Morgan Jones
@morganj0nes.bsky.social
3.2K followers 1.5K following 830 posts
the labour party's 2nd most important irish morgan? I've written a book about the anti-brexit movement that will come out at some point and i co-edit @renewaljournal.bsky.social. email me @ [email protected]
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Reposted by Morgan Jones
Reposted by Morgan Jones
dmk1793.bsky.social
I enormously enjoyed this conversation with David Runciman about the history of compulsory voting, how it came to be adopted in countries like Belgium and Australia, and what it could for British politics today.
ppfideas.bsky.social
NEW EPISODE OUT NOW!

In today’s episode David talks to political historian @dmk1793.bsky.social about whether voting should be required by law and what might change if non-participation was no longer an option. Why have some countries made voting compulsory?

Find us at...🎧 ppfideas.com
Reposted by Morgan Jones
henrymance.ft.com
I know this is uncomfortable to admit, but there is a small area in England's second city where people are just not integrated with the rest of society. Many of them hold views that arguably go against British values.

Yes, we need to talk about the Tory conference in Manchester.
Reposted by Morgan Jones
whstancil.bsky.social
it was in this moment, where the infamous white nationalist followed by the vice president of the united states shared the cartoon show that neo-Nazis had made about me, that I realized the modern world had gone mad and must end
Reposted by Morgan Jones
renewaljournal.bsky.social
"It is hard now to think of a touch point for Big Tech with the UK state that does not fall under the auspices of the Blairites"

@williamcb.bsky.social analyses the government's relationship with Big Tech in light of the recent Cabinet reshuffle
Britain's Big Tech problem
The essence of a banana republic is that the state has the legal form of a republic but substantive power resides elsewhere, in the hands of American corporations backed by a US state that considers t...
renewal.org.uk
Reposted by Morgan Jones
jayzedbee.bsky.social
I genuinely find myself more british than these people just because imo britain is 100x better than a slavery fueled rich persons dystopia
beijingpalmer.bsky.social
it's weird to me how much Gulf states seem to dominate the imagination of the UK right at the moment. I assume it's largely about who's giving them money, but I also think "Dubai expat" is a common social type in their circles.
robfordmancs.bsky.social
I was on a panel at Conservative conference today where the UAE model was seriously proposed as a direction to take Britain’s immigration system.
morganj0nes.bsky.social
I spent a few days campaigning in Milton Keynes last year and was actually surprised at how... nice (and green!) it was. My fault for believing the (un)hype, new towns are good, etc etc etc

labourlist.org/2024/06/labo...
Reposted by Morgan Jones
beijingpalmer.bsky.social
it's weird to me how much Gulf states seem to dominate the imagination of the UK right at the moment. I assume it's largely about who's giving them money, but I also think "Dubai expat" is a common social type in their circles.
robfordmancs.bsky.social
I was on a panel at Conservative conference today where the UAE model was seriously proposed as a direction to take Britain’s immigration system.
mthrjo.bsky.social
Or the maid, with the employer with grabby hands and nothing to eat but bread and noodles, no bedroom, and no way to leave.

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
morganj0nes.bsky.social
Sure Chris Philp, just do the exact same bit, why not
morganj0nes.bsky.social
He's just repeating what I've always thought was a mildly funny Sajid Javid bit here.

www.gov.uk/government/s...
morganj0nes.bsky.social
hearing the dissonant honk of an 8 year old playing the recorder: That's real Britain.
se13ed.bsky.social
Now in Yr 3 they all do exactly the same stuff British primary school children have always done - practicing the recorder, cutting up crepe paper with scissors, learning about the Egyptians for some reason, going on school trips to see the Cutty Sark. They're all becoming little Londoners. (3/end)
Reposted by Morgan Jones
paintingsoflondon.bsky.social
Good morning! This week's theme is the River Thames.
------
'Bridge in London' (1908) by Mstislav Dobuzhinsky

(Private collection)
Reposted by Morgan Jones
geftokingmongoose.bsky.social
when you have that one friend who didn't pick up a subculture with everyone else but you're still cool
Behind the scenes image from one of the Hellraiser movies showing Clive Barker in street clothes holding the Lament Configuration and surrounded by the cenobites in costume
morganj0nes.bsky.social
Between everyone who lives in the UK today
morganj0nes.bsky.social
b) people do feel good about a shared sense of humour/sets of cultural references and indeed culture and if you want to talk about a positive view of patriotism that's a good point to build from
morganj0nes.bsky.social
Yes, tbh quite a lot of the specifics of the specifics pass me by for obvious reasons, but I think it's true that a) no one I have ever met goes ham for the White Cliffs Downton etc stuff but
morganj0nes.bsky.social
If you think this is a bad elucidation of it, do you think there is a shared sense of humour or set of references in the UK today? Or do you think this is just not something the country has?
morganj0nes.bsky.social
But what do I know, I'm not even British, so maybe my ideas of what could be positive about the national identity are skewed.
morganj0nes.bsky.social
Honestly, not really. I think appreciating fun, maybe trashy but quite universal bits of culture is important (and also doesn't preclude appreciating other stuff. You can think the Wembley lasagne is funny and still enjoy Anniversaries)
Reposted by Morgan Jones
gbentl.bsky.social
State of the nation novel that follows the lives of 12 diverse, seemingly unconnected people living in London, interspersed with vignettes about the dismantling of wet wipe island. At the end of the book it's revealed they all flushed wetwipes that contributed to the island.
morganj0nes.bsky.social
but I think if you see attempting to engage with problems of national cohesion through focusing on the harmless, nice things about Britain as wholesale offensive I think you have sealed yourself off from far too many conversations with people you might agree with on the bigger picture
morganj0nes.bsky.social
This article? No tbh. I think you can disagree with the argument (that focusing on commonalities and good humour is not a way to make communities more cohesive, and that that is not ultimately a good aim, but wrt to that my view is who am I to argue with HNH) or think the examples are naff,