Tom Rank
@tomrank.bsky.social
Reflections on literature, education - and other ramblings. Was @literaryconnect in the other place 😀
http://www.literaryconnections.co.uk/
http://www.literaryconnections.co.uk/
Reposted by Tom Rank
Oh, as a teaching aid it would be absolutely useless. (Unlike Baz Luhrmann’s marvellous Romeo + Juliet)
February 17, 2026 at 10:56 PM
Oh, as a teaching aid it would be absolutely useless. (Unlike Baz Luhrmann’s marvellous Romeo + Juliet)
Reposted by Tom Rank
So the week after Synod, Reform UK hires Church House and uses it to launch their campaign to repeal the Equality Act. You couldn’t make this up, CofE peeps.
February 17, 2026 at 10:05 PM
So the week after Synod, Reform UK hires Church House and uses it to launch their campaign to repeal the Equality Act. You couldn’t make this up, CofE peeps.
Reposted by Tom Rank
Cllr David Wimble, Reform Cabinet member for economic development at Kent County Council, says he might defund Margate's Turner Contemporary Gallery to spite the local MP Polly Billington.
A pretty bleak threat from the Reform party on Kent county council...
Reform threatens to pull funding for Margate’s Turner Gallery as ‘naked retribution for local MP exposing Kent savings lies' - via Polly Billington MP
Reform threatens to pull funding for Margate’s Turner Gallery as ‘naked retribution for local MP exposing Kent savings lies' - via Polly Billington MP
February 12, 2026 at 10:36 PM
Cllr David Wimble, Reform Cabinet member for economic development at Kent County Council, says he might defund Margate's Turner Contemporary Gallery to spite the local MP Polly Billington.
Reposted by Tom Rank
They raided the jailed children to steal their letters.
The problem, in federal officials' minds, wasn't confining children in prison-camp conditions; it was that the children could tell the public about it.
The problem, in federal officials' minds, wasn't confining children in prison-camp conditions; it was that the children could tell the public about it.
“I don’t want to be in this place I want to go to my school.”
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
- 7 year old imprisoned by ICE for 70 days in a concentration camp in Texas.
Today, after @propublica.org published this story, the camp was raided to confiscate letters from the children.
www.propublica.org/article/ice-...
February 17, 2026 at 8:01 PM
They raided the jailed children to steal their letters.
The problem, in federal officials' minds, wasn't confining children in prison-camp conditions; it was that the children could tell the public about it.
The problem, in federal officials' minds, wasn't confining children in prison-camp conditions; it was that the children could tell the public about it.
Reposted by Tom Rank
I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.
February 17, 2026 at 9:00 PM
I spent my childhood inside of American concentration camps. I know one when I see one. And that is what ICE is building.
Reposted by Tom Rank
Quite a contrast between this and the Labour frontbench which is almost all state educated.
Something, something, everything is class
Something, something, everything is class
Welcome to Reform’s front bench
Yusuf, Hampton School, £29,916 per year
Jenrick, Wolverhampton Grammar, £17,835 per year
Farage, Dulwich College, £30,618 per year
Tice, Uppingham School, £58,176 per year
Braverman, Heathfield School, defunct private school
The authentic voice of the working class
Yusuf, Hampton School, £29,916 per year
Jenrick, Wolverhampton Grammar, £17,835 per year
Farage, Dulwich College, £30,618 per year
Tice, Uppingham School, £58,176 per year
Braverman, Heathfield School, defunct private school
The authentic voice of the working class
February 17, 2026 at 9:14 PM
Quite a contrast between this and the Labour frontbench which is almost all state educated.
Something, something, everything is class
Something, something, everything is class
Reposted by Tom Rank
Finally got round to reading this superb piece by @jamesbowes01.bsky.social.
If you haven't read it, it is a brilliant exposition of the Earned Settlement changes: the numbers who will be likely affected, and the implications of how they would interact with some other forthcoming changes (badly).
If you haven't read it, it is a brilliant exposition of the Earned Settlement changes: the numbers who will be likely affected, and the implications of how they would interact with some other forthcoming changes (badly).
'The new rules won’t simply mean a longer wait for ILR. They will mean many people don’t qualify for ILR at all and have to leave the country'. @jamesbowes01.bsky.social on the government's earned settlement proposals ukandeu.ac.uk/remigration-...
Remigration by stealth? The government’s earned settlement proposals - UK in a changing Europe
James Bowes analyses the potential impact of the UK government's proposed changes to its settlement schemes to both new migrants and migrants already in the UK.
ukandeu.ac.uk
February 16, 2026 at 5:44 PM
Finally got round to reading this superb piece by @jamesbowes01.bsky.social.
If you haven't read it, it is a brilliant exposition of the Earned Settlement changes: the numbers who will be likely affected, and the implications of how they would interact with some other forthcoming changes (badly).
If you haven't read it, it is a brilliant exposition of the Earned Settlement changes: the numbers who will be likely affected, and the implications of how they would interact with some other forthcoming changes (badly).
Reposted by Tom Rank
Note that unemployment is increasing as net migration is plummeting. Especially young people who are meant to be most at risk from migrant labour.
I'm not saying they are connected. In fact, that's the point. The nativist argument always was that migration meant unemployment.
Well, maybe not...
I'm not saying they are connected. In fact, that's the point. The nativist argument always was that migration meant unemployment.
Well, maybe not...
February 17, 2026 at 8:50 PM
Note that unemployment is increasing as net migration is plummeting. Especially young people who are meant to be most at risk from migrant labour.
I'm not saying they are connected. In fact, that's the point. The nativist argument always was that migration meant unemployment.
Well, maybe not...
I'm not saying they are connected. In fact, that's the point. The nativist argument always was that migration meant unemployment.
Well, maybe not...
Reposted by Tom Rank
never, ever trust a regime that jails a film director like Jafar Panahi
Catch Jafar Panahi's Oscar-nominated and Palme d’Or-winning IT WAS JUST AN ACCIDENT showing 18th, 26th Feb, 2nd, 5th, 10th, 13th & 18th March. 🎟️ buff.ly/Fn9vsDx
February 17, 2026 at 4:07 PM
never, ever trust a regime that jails a film director like Jafar Panahi
"Across every major adaptation, from Merle Oberon in 1939 to Kaya Scodelario in 2011, not one Cathy has been portrayed by a Yorkshirewoman, let alone an actor from Bradford, the cultural heartland of the novel’s setting and the city in which it was written."
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
Wuthering slights: why are film-makers afraid of casting Yorkshire actors as Cathy Earnshaw?
Wuthering Heights is inseparable from its landscape – but northern actors seldom get the lead role, instead are pigeonholed as stereotypical or supporting characters. This Bradford-born actor objects
www.theguardian.com
February 17, 2026 at 3:12 PM
"Across every major adaptation, from Merle Oberon in 1939 to Kaya Scodelario in 2011, not one Cathy has been portrayed by a Yorkshirewoman, let alone an actor from Bradford, the cultural heartland of the novel’s setting and the city in which it was written."
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
www.theguardian.com/film/2026/fe...
Reposted by Tom Rank
As ever, Braverman's stupidity approaches the level of performance art - here complaining about identity politics/equalities policy in one sentence, and then about the (supposedly unjust) underperformance of a particular intersectional ethnic/gender group in the next.
archive.ph/0YJjq
archive.ph/0YJjq
February 17, 2026 at 2:59 PM
As ever, Braverman's stupidity approaches the level of performance art - here complaining about identity politics/equalities policy in one sentence, and then about the (supposedly unjust) underperformance of a particular intersectional ethnic/gender group in the next.
archive.ph/0YJjq
archive.ph/0YJjq
"Anahita, who is in her early 20s, has lost at least one eye, possibly both" #Iran
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘Deliberate targeting of vital body parts’: X-rays taken after Iran protests expose extent of catastrophic injuries
Exclusive: Expert analysis of images from one hospital suggests severe trauma to the face, chest and genitals was caused by metal birdshot and high-calibre bullets
www.theguardian.com
February 17, 2026 at 2:18 PM
"Anahita, who is in her early 20s, has lost at least one eye, possibly both" #Iran
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
Reposted by Tom Rank
Cities like Bradford have thousands of run down homes and huge mills ripe for conversion. Yet building is still being focused on green fields in the suburbs. When did Labour stop believing in urban renewal and start backing wealthy building developers?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Clayton Heights site may be built on after green belt status lost
The land is now classified as
www.bbc.co.uk
February 17, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Cities like Bradford have thousands of run down homes and huge mills ripe for conversion. Yet building is still being focused on green fields in the suburbs. When did Labour stop believing in urban renewal and start backing wealthy building developers?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Tom Rank
Years ago I worked in a 900 pupil primary school. We had 6 deaf pupils. I took all assemblies and taught the pupils sign language. Our assemblies were mostly silent. Kids talked in class with no noise….I had to teach staff so they would know what was going on. Inclusion isn’t always difficult. 🙂
It was a real pleasure to meet with the impressive members of the deaf health charity @signhealth.bsky.social Youth Advisory Board (YAB) and their interpreters in Parliament yesterday to discuss issues facing young deaf people.
February 17, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Years ago I worked in a 900 pupil primary school. We had 6 deaf pupils. I took all assemblies and taught the pupils sign language. Our assemblies were mostly silent. Kids talked in class with no noise….I had to teach staff so they would know what was going on. Inclusion isn’t always difficult. 🙂
Reposted by Tom Rank
Braverman says children are taught about gender rather than facts, and to view the UK with "shame".
Criticising schools can be politically risky, as many parents tend to view their kids' particular school, and teachers, with affection, and might dislike being told they are in fact rubbish.
Criticising schools can be politically risky, as many parents tend to view their kids' particular school, and teachers, with affection, and might dislike being told they are in fact rubbish.
February 17, 2026 at 11:36 AM
Braverman says children are taught about gender rather than facts, and to view the UK with "shame".
Criticising schools can be politically risky, as many parents tend to view their kids' particular school, and teachers, with affection, and might dislike being told they are in fact rubbish.
Criticising schools can be politically risky, as many parents tend to view their kids' particular school, and teachers, with affection, and might dislike being told they are in fact rubbish.
Reposted by Tom Rank
Why AI writing is so generic, boring, and dangerous: Semantic ablation
Why AI writing is so generic, boring, and dangerous: Semantic ablation
The subtractive bias we're ignoring
opinion Just as the community adopted the term "hallucination" to describe additive errors, we must now codify its far more insidious counterpart: semantic ablation.…
dlvr.it
February 16, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Why AI writing is so generic, boring, and dangerous: Semantic ablation
Reposted by Tom Rank
Join us for our next OWC #Shakespeare webinar on 2 March at 6pm.
In this online event, Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social will be discussing #CYMBELINE with Kim Gilchrist.
Register for your free ticket: shakespeare-webinar-cymbeline.eventbrite.co.uk
In this online event, Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social will be discussing #CYMBELINE with Kim Gilchrist.
Register for your free ticket: shakespeare-webinar-cymbeline.eventbrite.co.uk
English Faculty/OWC Shakespeare Webinar: Cymbeline
In this free webinar, Professor Emma Smith will be discussing the new edition of Cymbeline from Oxford World's Classics.
shakespeare-webinar-cymbeline.eventbrite.co.uk
February 17, 2026 at 10:51 AM
Join us for our next OWC #Shakespeare webinar on 2 March at 6pm.
In this online event, Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social will be discussing #CYMBELINE with Kim Gilchrist.
Register for your free ticket: shakespeare-webinar-cymbeline.eventbrite.co.uk
In this online event, Emma Smith @oldfortunatus.bsky.social will be discussing #CYMBELINE with Kim Gilchrist.
Register for your free ticket: shakespeare-webinar-cymbeline.eventbrite.co.uk
Reposted by Tom Rank
This simplistic rhetoric is so frustrating.
Between 2024 and 2025, the leading 'small boat' nationalities were Eritrean (17%), Afghan (13%), Iranian (11%), Sudanese (10%), and Somali (8%).
We currently have NO workable deportation treaties with these countries. And that's if you ignore the
Between 2024 and 2025, the leading 'small boat' nationalities were Eritrean (17%), Afghan (13%), Iranian (11%), Sudanese (10%), and Somali (8%).
We currently have NO workable deportation treaties with these countries. And that's if you ignore the
February 17, 2026 at 9:40 AM
This simplistic rhetoric is so frustrating.
Between 2024 and 2025, the leading 'small boat' nationalities were Eritrean (17%), Afghan (13%), Iranian (11%), Sudanese (10%), and Somali (8%).
We currently have NO workable deportation treaties with these countries. And that's if you ignore the
Between 2024 and 2025, the leading 'small boat' nationalities were Eritrean (17%), Afghan (13%), Iranian (11%), Sudanese (10%), and Somali (8%).
We currently have NO workable deportation treaties with these countries. And that's if you ignore the
Reposted by Tom Rank
More info, from the instagram account that posted the video
February 17, 2026 at 7:29 AM
More info, from the instagram account that posted the video
Reposted by Tom Rank
Also, if you borrow an author's book from a library in the UK, that author gets more than 12 pence per loan in Public Lending Rights. Any author can earn up to £6,600 per year this way.
Someone said to me, "I'm sorry but I got your book from a library." Nobody should ever apologise for that. You read my book! That's brilliant! I grew up hanging out in libraries and the idea of a world without them fills me with dread. Without libraries, authors, like readers, will only suffer.
February 17, 2026 at 8:08 AM
Also, if you borrow an author's book from a library in the UK, that author gets more than 12 pence per loan in Public Lending Rights. Any author can earn up to £6,600 per year this way.
Reposted by Tom Rank
Cuts to overseas aid by the UK are set to go further and faster than those made by the Trump administration in the US, as Sir Keir Starmer’s government wrestles with funding pressures
www.ft.com/content/ad52...
www.ft.com/content/ad52...
UK overseas aid cuts to outstrip those of Trump administration
Spending will drop 27% this year from 2024 levels to help fund higher defence budget
www.ft.com
February 16, 2026 at 7:51 AM
Cuts to overseas aid by the UK are set to go further and faster than those made by the Trump administration in the US, as Sir Keir Starmer’s government wrestles with funding pressures
www.ft.com/content/ad52...
www.ft.com/content/ad52...
Reposted by Tom Rank
The government should review those chosen to draft the new national curriculum because the list has a ‘deeply concerning lack of diversity’, according to an open letter with nearly 100 signatories
Lack of diversity among curriculum drafters ‘deeply concerning’
Open letter with nearly 100 signatories calls for a ‘more diverse range’ of drafters to write the new national curriculum, warning there is a risk of ‘narrow’ content
www.tes.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:05 AM
The government should review those chosen to draft the new national curriculum because the list has a ‘deeply concerning lack of diversity’, according to an open letter with nearly 100 signatories
Reposted by Tom Rank
My Beautiful Laundrette, between Omar's father and Johnny: "I don't want my son in this... underpants-cleaning condition. I want him reading in college. You tell him. You go to college. He must have knowledge. We all must, now if we're to see clearly what is being done and to whom in this country."
February 17, 2026 at 7:39 AM
My Beautiful Laundrette, between Omar's father and Johnny: "I don't want my son in this... underpants-cleaning condition. I want him reading in college. You tell him. You go to college. He must have knowledge. We all must, now if we're to see clearly what is being done and to whom in this country."
Reposted by Tom Rank
Am reminded of this bit of satire (which I cowrote) 15 or so years ago.
February 16, 2026 at 9:34 PM
Am reminded of this bit of satire (which I cowrote) 15 or so years ago.
Reposted by Tom Rank
..who is going to break it to him that Jesus was a middle eastern jew?
February 16, 2026 at 10:15 PM
..who is going to break it to him that Jesus was a middle eastern jew?