Ewan Gibbs
@ewangibbs.bsky.social
Historian of work, energy, industry and protest. Author of Coal Country. Now writing An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class. Not getting that much more right wing as I get older.
Pinned
Ewan Gibbs
@ewangibbs.bsky.social
· Nov 14
Coal Country - University of London Press
The flooding and subsequent closure of Scotland’s last deep coal mine in 2002 brought a centuries long saga to an end. Villages and towns across the densely populated Central Belt owe their existence ...
uolpress.co.uk
My book, Coal Country: The Meaning and Memory of Deindustrialization in Postwar Scotland is the first book-length account of the end of coal mining in Scotland through the memories of miners and their families. It is available to download for free on this link, or you can also buy paper copies.
I’m never leaving twitter. You just don’t get this on here.
February 19, 2026 at 2:04 PM
I’m never leaving twitter. You just don’t get this on here.
Imagining a world where Gorbachev converted to Shia Islam in 1989 after being urged to do so by Ayatollah Khomeini.
February 17, 2026 at 9:25 PM
Imagining a world where Gorbachev converted to Shia Islam in 1989 after being urged to do so by Ayatollah Khomeini.
Reposted by Ewan Gibbs
You might be interested in this review. I wrote of Sue Jane Taylor's ‘Oilwork: North Sea Diaries’.
I would definitely be interested in receiving a copy of the essay
I would definitely be interested in receiving a copy of the essay
Works in oil from years in the North Sea - Ian Fraser
Review of: Oilwork: The North Sea Diaries, by Sue Jane Taylor (Birlinn, £14.99) FOR a brief decade from 1973, it […]
www.ianfraser.org
February 17, 2026 at 12:39 PM
You might be interested in this review. I wrote of Sue Jane Taylor's ‘Oilwork: North Sea Diaries’.
I would definitely be interested in receiving a copy of the essay
I would definitely be interested in receiving a copy of the essay
North Sea oil brought big changes to small places in the Scottish Highlands and Northern Islands. I've published a new essay about how oil rig manufacturing at the Cromarty Firth and the Sullom Voe terminal in Shetland transformed work, community and everyday life.
Northern Scotland's Late Oil-Fuelled Industrialisation | 7 | Labour Mo
Northern Scotland experienced profound transformations during the late twentieth century through the discovery and exploitation of North Sea oil and gas. This
www.taylorfrancis.com
February 17, 2026 at 12:26 PM
North Sea oil brought big changes to small places in the Scottish Highlands and Northern Islands. I've published a new essay about how oil rig manufacturing at the Cromarty Firth and the Sullom Voe terminal in Shetland transformed work, community and everyday life.
Laura got me this print of the Wandering Minstrels by Glasgow artist, William Dobbie.
I’m a big fan but concerned it also resonates with how I’ve felt wandering into the Horse Shoe with my pals just a bit too well!
I’m a big fan but concerned it also resonates with how I’ve felt wandering into the Horse Shoe with my pals just a bit too well!
February 16, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Laura got me this print of the Wandering Minstrels by Glasgow artist, William Dobbie.
I’m a big fan but concerned it also resonates with how I’ve felt wandering into the Horse Shoe with my pals just a bit too well!
I’m a big fan but concerned it also resonates with how I’ve felt wandering into the Horse Shoe with my pals just a bit too well!
Reposted by Ewan Gibbs
@scotindustria.bsky.social I would bet there are loads of parallels with the death of steel here in UK.
@ewangibbs.bsky.social @sticknetwork.bsky.social @mininglandscapes.bsky.social
@ewangibbs.bsky.social @sticknetwork.bsky.social @mininglandscapes.bsky.social
Axios/Pittsburgh: New book explains how Pittsburgh moved "Beyond Steel"
www.axios.com/local/pittsb...
www.axios.com/local/pittsb...
A new book rethinks Pittsburgh's steel legacy
An economist argues Pittsburgh's economy shifted long before steel collapsed.
www.axios.com
February 16, 2026 at 11:44 AM
@scotindustria.bsky.social I would bet there are loads of parallels with the death of steel here in UK.
@ewangibbs.bsky.social @sticknetwork.bsky.social @mininglandscapes.bsky.social
@ewangibbs.bsky.social @sticknetwork.bsky.social @mininglandscapes.bsky.social
Just saw a picture of a ‘rising star’ of Britain’s nasty online far right wearing an identical jumper to one I also own. Worry it’s now cursed but I don’t want to let them win!
February 15, 2026 at 8:13 PM
Just saw a picture of a ‘rising star’ of Britain’s nasty online far right wearing an identical jumper to one I also own. Worry it’s now cursed but I don’t want to let them win!
Felt very uplifting leaving the football under a bright sky yesterday. Spring is on the way!
February 15, 2026 at 1:05 PM
Felt very uplifting leaving the football under a bright sky yesterday. Spring is on the way!
Glory glory to the Hibees!
February 14, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Glory glory to the Hibees!
The Epstein files unveiled the realities class, power and limits on democracy.
This is the most perceptive discussion on the implications I’ve heard . @piercepenniless.bsky.social interviews investigative journalists Ethan Shone and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/399w...
This is the most perceptive discussion on the implications I’ve heard . @piercepenniless.bsky.social interviews investigative journalists Ethan Shone and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/399w...
On Politics: Mandelson and the Private Life of Power
open.spotify.com
February 13, 2026 at 7:19 PM
The Epstein files unveiled the realities class, power and limits on democracy.
This is the most perceptive discussion on the implications I’ve heard . @piercepenniless.bsky.social interviews investigative journalists Ethan Shone and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/399w...
This is the most perceptive discussion on the implications I’ve heard . @piercepenniless.bsky.social interviews investigative journalists Ethan Shone and @petergeoghegan.bsky.social open.spotify.com/episode/399w...
Reposted by Ewan Gibbs
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
February 11, 2026 at 4:58 PM
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
A much clearer day for running 🏃♂️
February 13, 2026 at 8:29 AM
A much clearer day for running 🏃♂️
Jim Ratcliffe is best known as the unpopular Manchester United owner and today he has been in the news for saying that 'the UK has been colonised by immigrants'. We need to understand Ratcliffe's as an energy billionaire who made his power and money by closing workplaces and opposing unions 🧵
'UK has been colonised by immigrants', says INEOS boss and Man Utd co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe
In an interview with Sky News's Ed Conway, Sir Jim says Britain faces profound political, social and economic challenges, among them an unprecedented rise in immigration in recent years.
news.sky.com
February 12, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Jim Ratcliffe is best known as the unpopular Manchester United owner and today he has been in the news for saying that 'the UK has been colonised by immigrants'. We need to understand Ratcliffe's as an energy billionaire who made his power and money by closing workplaces and opposing unions 🧵
Grey but dry day run 🏃♂️
February 12, 2026 at 8:32 AM
Grey but dry day run 🏃♂️
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
February 11, 2026 at 4:58 PM
My new book, An Injury to All: The Unmaking of the British Working Class, is now listed in Verso's trade catalogue for 2026.
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
You can find it here: versobooks.com/en-gb/pages/...
Last year, Scotland's only oil refinery closed at Grangemouth, leading to over 400 job losses and threatening thousands more. I worked with Riyoko Shibe interviewing Grangemouth workers as they faced redundancy. We'll presenting research at MMU in Manchester tomorrow. Come along!
February 9, 2026 at 5:30 PM
Last year, Scotland's only oil refinery closed at Grangemouth, leading to over 400 job losses and threatening thousands more. I worked with Riyoko Shibe interviewing Grangemouth workers as they faced redundancy. We'll presenting research at MMU in Manchester tomorrow. Come along!
Charles I sacrificed advisers as he tried to keep power in the face of rising parliamentary scrutiny and raging disapproval. It was differences with his subjects in Scotland which precipitated the conflict that brought about his downfall.
February 9, 2026 at 1:53 PM
Charles I sacrificed advisers as he tried to keep power in the face of rising parliamentary scrutiny and raging disapproval. It was differences with his subjects in Scotland which precipitated the conflict that brought about his downfall.
Reposted by Ewan Gibbs
"If McSweeney has a genuine talent, it's as a con man."
A Farewell to Morgan McSweeney
What a fantastic week. Peter Mandelson toasted to charcoal, the government being forced to make public all communications about him, the pos...
averypublicsociologist.blogspot.com
February 9, 2026 at 12:14 PM
"If McSweeney has a genuine talent, it's as a con man."
Monday motivation.
February 9, 2026 at 10:53 AM
Monday motivation.
Reposted by Ewan Gibbs
"Eighty-two years after his execution by the Gestapo on June 16, 1944, the Jewish historian and resistance fighter Marc Bloch will be inducted into the Pantheon on June 23... His family requested that 'the far right, in all its forms, be excluded from any participation in the ceremony.'"
Marc Bloch, historien et résistant juif, entrera au Panthéon le 23 juin
Marc Bloch, historien et résistant juif, entrera au Panthéon le 23 juin
La date du 16 juin avait été dans un premier temps pressentie pour son entrée au Panthéon, mais la cérémonie a dû être décalée de quelques jours en raison du G7 à Evian-les-Bains.
www.lemonde.fr
February 8, 2026 at 7:02 PM
"Eighty-two years after his execution by the Gestapo on June 16, 1944, the Jewish historian and resistance fighter Marc Bloch will be inducted into the Pantheon on June 23... His family requested that 'the far right, in all its forms, be excluded from any participation in the ceremony.'"
Reposted by Ewan Gibbs
Right that the prime minister has resigned. His successor, Keir Starmer, has a very difficult inheritance.
Morgan McSweeney resigns as Downing Street chief of staff
Exit of Mandelson protégé comes as Sir Keir Starmer seeks to stave off leadership speculation
www.ft.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:33 PM
Right that the prime minister has resigned. His successor, Keir Starmer, has a very difficult inheritance.
Thinking of all the PolProfs, adults in the room and serious people at this time.
February 8, 2026 at 3:51 PM
Thinking of all the PolProfs, adults in the room and serious people at this time.