Stephen Meek
@stephenm65.bsky.social
Formerly Director of the Institute for Policy and Engagement at the University of Nottingham and a recovering (recovered?) civil servant. Now a freelance gun for hire. Please. Here for the fresher air.
Clearly the M-W compiler is not a fan of bike racing.
April 8, 2025 at 7:58 AM
Clearly the M-W compiler is not a fan of bike racing.
Reposted by Stephen Meek
Why, @washingtonpost.com, would you frame legal challenges to Trump's assault on democracy & the rule of law as driven by partisan, woke liberals? We need to make legible what is happening, & that it is citizens trying to save our basic American institutions & values, not partisan politics at work.
February 7, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Why, @washingtonpost.com, would you frame legal challenges to Trump's assault on democracy & the rule of law as driven by partisan, woke liberals? We need to make legible what is happening, & that it is citizens trying to save our basic American institutions & values, not partisan politics at work.
Reposted by Stephen Meek
Love to refer to award-winning scientists as ‘overseas labour’. Going to start referring to Erling Haaland, Mo Salah and William Saliba as ‘overseas labour’ we have become reliant upon.
February 4, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Love to refer to award-winning scientists as ‘overseas labour’. Going to start referring to Erling Haaland, Mo Salah and William Saliba as ‘overseas labour’ we have become reliant upon.
Not even fire. Oh wait a minute.
Trump addresses the World Economic Forum:
"Nothing can destroy coal. Not the weather. Not a bomb. Nothing. It might make it a little smaller. It might make it a little different shaped."
"Nothing can destroy coal. Not the weather. Not a bomb. Nothing. It might make it a little smaller. It might make it a little different shaped."
January 23, 2025 at 4:55 PM
Not even fire. Oh wait a minute.
100%. Saying "Cummings is right" is such a lazy response. There are big capacity and capability issues in the civil service, some from inertia, some from resource constraints and some from eight years of crises and resets under a succession of PMs (several under the same one). But.. (thread)
The problem is that "blowing it up" is very easy and "fixing it" is very hard. The other thing is that, unlike the private sector, there isn't really a competitor to step in if you've blown yourself up.
December 5, 2024 at 6:56 PM
100%. Saying "Cummings is right" is such a lazy response. There are big capacity and capability issues in the civil service, some from inertia, some from resource constraints and some from eight years of crises and resets under a succession of PMs (several under the same one). But.. (thread)
Reposted by Stephen Meek
Big DG-level job at Defra: Chief Scientific Adviser www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi... (deadline: 1 Jan 2025...!)
Chief Scientific Adviser - Civil Service Jobs - GOV.UKGOV.UK
Search and apply for jobs in the UK Civil Service
www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk
December 1, 2024 at 9:25 PM
Big DG-level job at Defra: Chief Scientific Adviser www.civilservicejobs.service.gov.uk/csr/jobs.cgi... (deadline: 1 Jan 2025...!)
Reposted by Stephen Meek
🎓 We've made a starter pack of university policy institutes like us, and people who work for/are connected to them – do give it a follow!
We'll add to it as more institutes join, and let us know if there's anyone we should add! ⬇️
We'll add to it as more institutes join, and let us know if there's anyone we should add! ⬇️
November 19, 2024 at 1:01 PM
🎓 We've made a starter pack of university policy institutes like us, and people who work for/are connected to them – do give it a follow!
We'll add to it as more institutes join, and let us know if there's anyone we should add! ⬇️
We'll add to it as more institutes join, and let us know if there's anyone we should add! ⬇️
its the batty signal.
November 14, 2024 at 10:24 PM
its the batty signal.
If the UK Government wants to stop malign actors eavesdropping on its secure communications networks then it could do worse than relocate all its agents to the 100 mile long Faraday cage that is the East Midlands Mainline.
November 5, 2024 at 10:42 AM
If the UK Government wants to stop malign actors eavesdropping on its secure communications networks then it could do worse than relocate all its agents to the 100 mile long Faraday cage that is the East Midlands Mainline.
If you see this post, quote tweet a bridge. Barnes Bridge, London.
October 23, 2024 at 9:51 AM
If you see this post, quote tweet a bridge. Barnes Bridge, London.
Reposted by Stephen Meek
New post just out:
"Kemi Badenoch's Misdiagnosis"
Why her take on autism is wrong and why it really matters in fixing one of the biggest policy problems around: the crisis in special educational needs.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/k...
"Kemi Badenoch's Misdiagnosis"
Why her take on autism is wrong and why it really matters in fixing one of the biggest policy problems around: the crisis in special educational needs.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/k...
Kemi Badenoch's Misdiagnosis
Autism and the Special Needs Crisis
open.substack.com
October 20, 2024 at 8:05 AM
New post just out:
"Kemi Badenoch's Misdiagnosis"
Why her take on autism is wrong and why it really matters in fixing one of the biggest policy problems around: the crisis in special educational needs.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/k...
"Kemi Badenoch's Misdiagnosis"
Why her take on autism is wrong and why it really matters in fixing one of the biggest policy problems around: the crisis in special educational needs.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/k...
Reposted by Stephen Meek
For non-work reasons missing xonferences, unable to follow uk politics closely. What I see in peripheral vision is like driving past scene of an accident where emergency services personnel are letting themselves be chased around the burning wreck by drunk drivers while onlooking crowd jeers.
September 23, 2024 at 7:38 AM
For non-work reasons missing xonferences, unable to follow uk politics closely. What I see in peripheral vision is like driving past scene of an accident where emergency services personnel are letting themselves be chased around the burning wreck by drunk drivers while onlooking crowd jeers.
Reposted by Stephen Meek
PS. This has reminded me of this which is probably the greatest YouTube video ever:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3Q...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3Q...
Hlavní nadraží Praha - znělka 02 (Dlouhá verze)
YouTube video by Pavel Jirásek
www.youtube.com
September 13, 2024 at 8:24 PM
PS. This has reminded me of this which is probably the greatest YouTube video ever:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3Q...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=cD3Q...
I was wondering - does anyone know what happened to Oasis? Not heard anything about them for a while. Did they split up?
August 27, 2024 at 2:20 PM
I was wondering - does anyone know what happened to Oasis? Not heard anything about them for a while. Did they split up?
Taking an unfashionable position here, but should we stop being so horrible to Liz Truss? Not because I want to defend her record in Government in any way, but because she must be in a pretty fragile state. (short 🧵 sparked by the piece rather than a dig at the author).
I am in the I Paper for a change, being terribly beastly to poor Liz Truss
Liz Truss's lettuce humiliation makes it clear - it's over
The best way of defusing embarrassment is self-deprecation - a tactic utterly alien to her
inews.co.uk
August 15, 2024 at 9:56 AM
Taking an unfashionable position here, but should we stop being so horrible to Liz Truss? Not because I want to defend her record in Government in any way, but because she must be in a pretty fragile state. (short 🧵 sparked by the piece rather than a dig at the author).
Trying hard not to be excessively po-faced here... but is this funny? Would it be as hilarious if someone simpatico was on the receiving end of a Steve Bray or Led by Donkeys style stunt? To me this feels like bullying and a lousy way to conduct politics, however much I disagree with Liz Truss.
Former British Prime Minister Liz Truss abruptly ended a public event after a banner emblazoned with a giant image of a lettuce was stealthily unfurled behind her.
Liz Truss ambushed by giant lettuce at pro-Trump talk
Banner reading “I crashed the economy” is unfurled in stunt by activists.
www.politico.eu
August 14, 2024 at 11:34 AM
Trying hard not to be excessively po-faced here... but is this funny? Would it be as hilarious if someone simpatico was on the receiving end of a Steve Bray or Led by Donkeys style stunt? To me this feels like bullying and a lousy way to conduct politics, however much I disagree with Liz Truss.
Sometimes bluesky just feels like people live tweeting twitter.
August 13, 2024 at 9:38 AM
Sometimes bluesky just feels like people live tweeting twitter.
Reposted by Stephen Meek
The Grift Report: my SKETCH of legitimate concerns, not in any way endorsing violence, and Just Asking Questions. thecritic.co.uk/podcasting-w...
Podcasting while Britain burns | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
Look Kay, what should be at the front of all our minds are the poor victims of this terrible tragedy. They should be our only concern. But as I was writing on my Substack – there’s a free trial this…
thecritic.co.uk
August 9, 2024 at 3:51 PM
The Grift Report: my SKETCH of legitimate concerns, not in any way endorsing violence, and Just Asking Questions. thecritic.co.uk/podcasting-w...