Beth Kitson
@drbethkitson.bsky.social
Research Associate, Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge.
Reposted by Beth Kitson
Following some recent high-profile political defections, @alfiesteer.bsky.social and Dr @emmapeplow.bsky.social have delved into the History of Parliament's #OralHistory archive to explore some historical cases of MPs who 'crossed the floor' and changed their party affiliation.
Crossing the Floor: Tales from the Oral History Project - The History of Parliament
Political defections, commonly known in Westminster parlance as ‘Crossing the Floor’, have been a phenomenon in Parliament since at least the 17th century.
historyofparliament.com
January 16, 2026 at 2:55 PM
Following some recent high-profile political defections, @alfiesteer.bsky.social and Dr @emmapeplow.bsky.social have delved into the History of Parliament's #OralHistory archive to explore some historical cases of MPs who 'crossed the floor' and changed their party affiliation.
Reposted by Beth Kitson
Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research.
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
January 15, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Please help spread the word on this, especially to those who may be feeling cold winds towards their research.
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
We’ve opened the call for our International Fellowships, enabling early career researchers to work for two years at a UK research institution
www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/funding/sche...
Really looking forward to @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk Annual Conference. Please do get in touch if you're coming along!
Booking is now open for the Bennett School of Public Policy Annual Conference
Speakers inc. Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, & keynote João Vale de Almeida, former senior EU Ambassador
🗓️26 March 2026
🕙10:00-18:30
📍Churchill College, Cambridge & Online
🎟️ bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/conference
Speakers inc. Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, & keynote João Vale de Almeida, former senior EU Ambassador
🗓️26 March 2026
🕙10:00-18:30
📍Churchill College, Cambridge & Online
🎟️ bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/conference
January 14, 2026 at 8:39 PM
Really looking forward to @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk Annual Conference. Please do get in touch if you're coming along!
Reposted by Beth Kitson
I'm assuming @bsky.app may be seeing the effects of an X-odus, so re-sharing the @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk starter pack.
go.bsky.app/UX4T67L
go.bsky.app/UX4T67L
January 9, 2026 at 5:37 PM
I'm assuming @bsky.app may be seeing the effects of an X-odus, so re-sharing the @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk starter pack.
go.bsky.app/UX4T67L
go.bsky.app/UX4T67L
Thrilled to be joining the @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk team!
(And to have such a lovely commute this morning)
(And to have such a lovely commute this morning)
January 5, 2026 at 6:38 PM
Thrilled to be joining the @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk team!
(And to have such a lovely commute this morning)
(And to have such a lovely commute this morning)
Three (of many) favourites from Anna Ancher: Painting Light.
December 30, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Three (of many) favourites from Anna Ancher: Painting Light.
'Isn't history sometimes written by the losers?'
This is perfection.
This is perfection.
happy holidays all! 🗃️
the energy i am taking into 2026 (and thanks to notorious enablers and collaborators forcing the whole department to also take):
the energy i am taking into 2026 (and thanks to notorious enablers and collaborators forcing the whole department to also take):
December 19, 2025 at 7:24 PM
'Isn't history sometimes written by the losers?'
This is perfection.
This is perfection.
Reposted by Beth Kitson
Pressures on current tenants in terms of evictions and rents are easing a bit, but competition for new tenancies is still tough - check out the findings from GR's latest survey
We run surveys of our supporters to take the temperature of the renter population, and understand the biggest issues you’re facing.
Today we’re publishing findings of the latest survey, run in the final months of the Renters’ Rights Bill’s passage through Parliament 🧵
Today we’re publishing findings of the latest survey, run in the final months of the Renters’ Rights Bill’s passage through Parliament 🧵
December 19, 2025 at 11:19 AM
Pressures on current tenants in terms of evictions and rents are easing a bit, but competition for new tenancies is still tough - check out the findings from GR's latest survey
'people are being denied a social home due to fears they will not be able to keep up with their living costs, and the report found 71% of housing associations said the benefit restrictions were a key reason for this.'
This has been happening for years, certainly for as long as I've been in the sector. It gives the lie to claims by the right that our welfare system is too generous. Regardless, I'm glad this research is out.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
People on lowest incomes being denied access to social housing, research finds
Benefit claimants having applications denied for being deemed too risky by housing associations, says Crisis
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 10:01 PM
'people are being denied a social home due to fears they will not be able to keep up with their living costs, and the report found 71% of housing associations said the benefit restrictions were a key reason for this.'
Behind the scenes in Ede and Ravenscroft's wig-room, 1920s vs 2025 www.ft.com/content/e035...
December 7, 2025 at 9:17 PM
Behind the scenes in Ede and Ravenscroft's wig-room, 1920s vs 2025 www.ft.com/content/e035...
December 7, 2025 at 11:02 AM
“The brutal irony is that the generative AI tools affecting novelists are likely trained on millions of pirated novels scraped from shadow libraries without the consent or remuneration of authors"
www.cam.ac.uk/stories/gene...
www.cam.ac.uk/stories/gene...
Half of UK novelists believe AI is likely to replace their work entirely, report finds
A new report involving hundreds of literary creatives from across the UK fiction publishing industry reveals widespread fears over copyright violation, lost income, and the future of the art form, as ...
www.cam.ac.uk
December 5, 2025 at 2:30 PM
“The brutal irony is that the generative AI tools affecting novelists are likely trained on millions of pirated novels scraped from shadow libraries without the consent or remuneration of authors"
www.cam.ac.uk/stories/gene...
www.cam.ac.uk/stories/gene...
Reposted by Beth Kitson
December 2, 2025 at 8:48 AM
For the first time in a long old while, I have finally lived somewhere long enough to join AND use the local library, is this what happiness looks like??
December 1, 2025 at 9:50 AM
For the first time in a long old while, I have finally lived somewhere long enough to join AND use the local library, is this what happiness looks like??
'This is a context in which it is important to have a more consistent sense of priorities than the government has so far maintained.'
For lots more on yesterday's Budget - both the big picture and the impact on household living standards - see our @resolutionfoundation.org overnight response: www.resolutionfoundation.org/publications...
Stairway to headroom • Resolution Foundation
The Chancellor’s second tax-rising budget arrived under dark clouds, but forecasts came in better than feared. But even though she was saved from the worst predictions of past weeks, the Chancellor st...
www.resolutionfoundation.org
November 27, 2025 at 1:07 PM
'This is a context in which it is important to have a more consistent sense of priorities than the government has so far maintained.'
'Everything is Television'
www.derekthompson.org/p/why-everyt...
www.derekthompson.org/p/why-everyt...
November 26, 2025 at 10:22 AM
'Everything is Television'
www.derekthompson.org/p/why-everyt...
www.derekthompson.org/p/why-everyt...
Even just looking at the chart titles here has reminded me how everything is now content and everyone is a content creator.
This chart (which applies even more to social media than it did to TV) lives in my head rent free.
Social media enveloping traditional media means everything and everyone is now competing in the entertainment market. Boring stuff like policy that affects millions of lives doesn’t stand a chance.
Social media enveloping traditional media means everything and everyone is now competing in the entertainment market. Boring stuff like policy that affects millions of lives doesn’t stand a chance.
November 23, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Even just looking at the chart titles here has reminded me how everything is now content and everyone is a content creator.
'Concern over a deeply unequal society and a lopsided economy is where the wealth tax-ers and I start – but doing something about it requires deep-rooted changes to give more people a fairer share.'
Aditya Chakrabortty on the wealth tax
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Aditya Chakrabortty on the wealth tax
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
What does the left want? A wealth tax. What will that accomplish? Very little | Aditya Chakrabortty
Imposing a 1% levy on the super-rich isn’t a policy, it’s pantomime. Tackling inequality in Britain will require much more far-reaching changes, says Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 10:03 AM
'Concern over a deeply unequal society and a lopsided economy is where the wealth tax-ers and I start – but doing something about it requires deep-rooted changes to give more people a fairer share.'
Aditya Chakrabortty on the wealth tax
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Aditya Chakrabortty on the wealth tax
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Beth Kitson
I think this counts as successful research impact. Turning your archive work into a bestselling trade book, which is then optioned as a feature film. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Bad Bridgets podcast about crime among Irish women in US inspires film
Margot Robbie’s company to make movie based on Northern Ireland academics’ stories of poverty and prison
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 11:15 AM
I think this counts as successful research impact. Turning your archive work into a bestselling trade book, which is then optioned as a feature film. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...
Reposted by Beth Kitson
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
🧵
🧵
November 6, 2025 at 8:43 PM
A List of Things Said to Have Been Ruined by Women
🧵
🧵
I had never considered patient satisfaction as anything other than an outcome on its own. Fascinating (if unsurprising really) to read the direct impact on health outcomes, that @samfr.bsky.social cites: bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/1/...?
October 19, 2025 at 8:32 PM
I had never considered patient satisfaction as anything other than an outcome on its own. Fascinating (if unsurprising really) to read the direct impact on health outcomes, that @samfr.bsky.social cites: bmjopen.bmj.com/content/3/1/...?
Reposted by Beth Kitson
EXC: English councils will still be poorer in 2029 than they were in 2010, according to the IfG.
Report finds councils are increasingly providing social care and little else. Libraries, youth services, parks, all falling by the wayside.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Report finds councils are increasingly providing social care and little else. Libraries, youth services, parks, all falling by the wayside.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
English councils to remain poorer than in 2010 despite funding rise, says report
Exclusive: Impact of austerity cannot be undone by end of parliament despite above-inflation funding, analysis finds
www.theguardian.com
October 15, 2025 at 4:32 PM
EXC: English councils will still be poorer in 2029 than they were in 2010, according to the IfG.
Report finds councils are increasingly providing social care and little else. Libraries, youth services, parks, all falling by the wayside.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Report finds councils are increasingly providing social care and little else. Libraries, youth services, parks, all falling by the wayside.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reminded of @stephenkb.bsky.social's excellent column on AI and the curriculum.
"It is knowledge that allows you to deploy and use your skills."
www.ft.com/content/1369...
"It is knowledge that allows you to deploy and use your skills."
www.ft.com/content/1369...
Technological change means that workers will probably need to retrain multiple times during a career. Better to use uni years to develop general skills because the immediately marketable ones will depreciate quickly.
September 19, 2025 at 10:49 AM
Reminded of @stephenkb.bsky.social's excellent column on AI and the curriculum.
"It is knowledge that allows you to deploy and use your skills."
www.ft.com/content/1369...
"It is knowledge that allows you to deploy and use your skills."
www.ft.com/content/1369...
And on housing and academia: "But we have had Oxford University academics seeking our help simply to eat... The cost-of-living crisis is an obvious factor, but housing, particularly the complex rental market, is also a big driver."
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
Academics at prestigious university 'rely on charities for food and showers'
Unprecedented demand on income is leaving lecturers at Oxford University on the brink - those in need seek support, food and even a shower from charity Oxford Gatehouse
www.mirror.co.uk
September 18, 2025 at 9:07 AM
And on housing and academia: "But we have had Oxford University academics seeking our help simply to eat... The cost-of-living crisis is an obvious factor, but housing, particularly the complex rental market, is also a big driver."
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...
www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...