Brenda Morgan-Klein
@beamorgan-klein.bsky.social
Former academic (adult and post school education, sociology) Interests: politics, community activism, place making, art, architecture, making, nature and gardening.
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary:
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
November 29, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Perfect Tom Stoppard story from DTel obituary:
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
His response to a letter from Harold Pinter canvassing support for a proposal to have the Comedy Theatre in London rechristened the Pinter Theatre, “Have you thought, instead, of changing your name to Harold Comedy?”
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Ask people what changes were most significant during the 1960s and you usually hear about the counterculture and the sexual revolution. In reality the major change for many families was getting an indoor toilet.
It is genuinely hard for most people to grasp how poor the past was.
November 9, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Ask people what changes were most significant during the 1960s and you usually hear about the counterculture and the sexual revolution. In reality the major change for many families was getting an indoor toilet.
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Having illustrated the problem of X ignoring its legal duties, I want to build an effective coalition for intervention. If you are or know people on X receiving racist abuse, rape threats, I would welcome receipts of one rejected attempt to report to the platform an indefensible case
Thanks for this kind note. I hope to do something useful with this by Nov/Dec (new Ofcom powers, new EHRC chair). I'd like more women + ethnic minorities to go through (futile) process of reporting shocking stuff (eg rape threats, p-word, n-word) & share receipts with me of one egregious example
October 11, 2025 at 7:29 AM
Having illustrated the problem of X ignoring its legal duties, I want to build an effective coalition for intervention. If you are or know people on X receiving racist abuse, rape threats, I would welcome receipts of one rejected attempt to report to the platform an indefensible case
Is the emergent ‘Your Party’ yet another, perhaps catastrophic, failure of the left and progressive politics.
open.substack.com/pub/htsf/p/c...
open.substack.com/pub/htsf/p/c...
Corbyn/Sultana: The Fiasco Party
A long-read on the fantasy politics that lie behind the platitudes
open.substack.com
August 12, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Is the emergent ‘Your Party’ yet another, perhaps catastrophic, failure of the left and progressive politics.
open.substack.com/pub/htsf/p/c...
open.substack.com/pub/htsf/p/c...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Pleased this is finally published after I proposed it a few years ago. A lot of work by brilliant colleagues & some expected and some shocking findings. It’ll upset some (it’s a long time ago etc) but if a uni can’t speak truth to its own power what’s its point? www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Edinburgh University had ‘outsized’ role in creating racist scientific theories, inquiry finds
Investigation finds one of Britain’s oldest and most prestigious universities benefited from transatlantic slavery and was haven for white supremacist theories
www.theguardian.com
July 27, 2025 at 6:15 AM
Pleased this is finally published after I proposed it a few years ago. A lot of work by brilliant colleagues & some expected and some shocking findings. It’ll upset some (it’s a long time ago etc) but if a uni can’t speak truth to its own power what’s its point? www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
💊The NHS is battling "medieval" levels of untreated illness in some of Britain's poorest communities – at a cost to the health service of about £50bn a year, or the same as the defence budget.
My big read from Barrow, Blackpool, Burnley and Blackburn:
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
My big read from Barrow, Blackpool, Burnley and Blackburn:
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
June 30, 2025 at 7:27 AM
💊The NHS is battling "medieval" levels of untreated illness in some of Britain's poorest communities – at a cost to the health service of about £50bn a year, or the same as the defence budget.
My big read from Barrow, Blackpool, Burnley and Blackburn:
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
My big read from Barrow, Blackpool, Burnley and Blackburn:
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Farage's non-dom tax break gives up over £30 billion in current tax revenue (£33.9 billion) to raise about £1.6 billion instead at £250k/head. It then gives away the £1.6 billion raised in tax cuts as if it was new revenue! (Could give away £1.6 billion from the current tax keep £32 billion)
The amounts involved are very large. The Office for Budget Responsibility's assessment of the recent Conservative and Labour non-dom reforms says they raise a net £33.9bn from 2026/27 to 2029/30 (most of which is from the Conservative March 2024 reforms):
June 23, 2025 at 9:37 AM
Farage's non-dom tax break gives up over £30 billion in current tax revenue (£33.9 billion) to raise about £1.6 billion instead at £250k/head. It then gives away the £1.6 billion raised in tax cuts as if it was new revenue! (Could give away £1.6 billion from the current tax keep £32 billion)
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
In 2002, I uncovered grooming gangs in Scotland. Nobody cared when I wrote the story. No action was taken.
Today, I wrote about it again.
Once more, nobody seems to care.
Is it because ethnicity was not a factor? And offenders were white as well as Asian?
www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2524...
Today, I wrote about it again.
Once more, nobody seems to care.
Is it because ethnicity was not a factor? And offenders were white as well as Asian?
www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2524...
Grooming has been in Scotland for decades. We need an inquiry now
Twenty-five years ago I embarked on the most disturbing and personally upsetting investigation of my career.
www.heraldscotland.com
June 19, 2025 at 3:49 PM
In 2002, I uncovered grooming gangs in Scotland. Nobody cared when I wrote the story. No action was taken.
Today, I wrote about it again.
Once more, nobody seems to care.
Is it because ethnicity was not a factor? And offenders were white as well as Asian?
www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2524...
Today, I wrote about it again.
Once more, nobody seems to care.
Is it because ethnicity was not a factor? And offenders were white as well as Asian?
www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2524...
Why the processes of writing matter. How AI undermines this & a beautiful description of the joy of engaging with writing and ideas. Losing all this may be catastrophic.
open.substack.com/pub/briankla...
open.substack.com/pub/briankla...
The Death of the Student Essay—and the Future of Cognition
One professor's reflections on the end of an era, as AI tools such as ChatGPT have murdered the student essay (RIP). Here's why that threatens the future of human cognition—and how to save ourselves.
open.substack.com
June 19, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Why the processes of writing matter. How AI undermines this & a beautiful description of the joy of engaging with writing and ideas. Losing all this may be catastrophic.
open.substack.com/pub/briankla...
open.substack.com/pub/briankla...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
in Holyrood today Lorna Slater quoted an AI telling her that, because of higher public spending, some people in Scotland are better off than in England
if only she’d had the intellectual curiosity to ask where the funding for that higher public spending comes from (as i just did 👇)
if only she’d had the intellectual curiosity to ask where the funding for that higher public spending comes from (as i just did 👇)
June 18, 2025 at 5:22 PM
in Holyrood today Lorna Slater quoted an AI telling her that, because of higher public spending, some people in Scotland are better off than in England
if only she’d had the intellectual curiosity to ask where the funding for that higher public spending comes from (as i just did 👇)
if only she’d had the intellectual curiosity to ask where the funding for that higher public spending comes from (as i just did 👇)
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
All political parties agreed to the Scottish Child Poverty Reduction targets in 2017.
240,000 children in Scotland are in poverty.
@jrf-uk.bsky.social have launched a toolkit to ensure that the manifestos of these political parties will meet these targets by the end of the next parliament.
240,000 children in Scotland are in poverty.
@jrf-uk.bsky.social have launched a toolkit to ensure that the manifestos of these political parties will meet these targets by the end of the next parliament.
June 2, 2025 at 9:41 AM
All political parties agreed to the Scottish Child Poverty Reduction targets in 2017.
240,000 children in Scotland are in poverty.
@jrf-uk.bsky.social have launched a toolkit to ensure that the manifestos of these political parties will meet these targets by the end of the next parliament.
240,000 children in Scotland are in poverty.
@jrf-uk.bsky.social have launched a toolkit to ensure that the manifestos of these political parties will meet these targets by the end of the next parliament.
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
What is it we mean when we talk about "social democracy"?
Here, Renewal editors past and present reflect on the meaning of social democracy, and what it means to be a social democrat.
renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
Here, Renewal editors past and present reflect on the meaning of social democracy, and what it means to be a social democrat.
renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
Renewal editors reflect on the meaning of social democracy
Renewal is a journal of social democracy, but social democracy has always been a contested concept - and one understood variously as an ideology, a movement, a historical phenomenon, or even a desired...
renewal.org.uk
May 31, 2025 at 7:03 AM
What is it we mean when we talk about "social democracy"?
Here, Renewal editors past and present reflect on the meaning of social democracy, and what it means to be a social democrat.
renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
Here, Renewal editors past and present reflect on the meaning of social democracy, and what it means to be a social democrat.
renewal.org.uk/blog/renewal...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
People are unaware of high care costs, the cost of caring yourself, or long waiting lists.
Most of us hope the social care system will be there for us in times of need. But the system we have currently is inadequate.
Our latest analysis has found a ‘care expectation gap’ 🔽 1/4
Most of us hope the social care system will be there for us in times of need. But the system we have currently is inadequate.
Our latest analysis has found a ‘care expectation gap’ 🔽 1/4
May 28, 2025 at 8:54 AM
People are unaware of high care costs, the cost of caring yourself, or long waiting lists.
Most of us hope the social care system will be there for us in times of need. But the system we have currently is inadequate.
Our latest analysis has found a ‘care expectation gap’ 🔽 1/4
Most of us hope the social care system will be there for us in times of need. But the system we have currently is inadequate.
Our latest analysis has found a ‘care expectation gap’ 🔽 1/4
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Our model of care provision is also hollowing out local democracy by drastically eating into state capacity the local level
We have an aging society. The frailest and most vulnerable groups of elderly with major care needs are a rapidly growing population. Care for such people is difficult and labour intensive. Doing that on the cheap is not sustainable. The mass importation of poorly paid carers has deferred a reckoning
May 11, 2025 at 8:04 PM
Our model of care provision is also hollowing out local democracy by drastically eating into state capacity the local level
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Pay attention Scotland. If this is happening to projects in English waters (where it’s cheaper and easier to build a wind farm) then most of the Scottish pipeline is simply not going to happen. SNP rhetoric around the economic opportunity of renewables is dangerously deluded.
May 7, 2025 at 8:31 AM
Pay attention Scotland. If this is happening to projects in English waters (where it’s cheaper and easier to build a wind farm) then most of the Scottish pipeline is simply not going to happen. SNP rhetoric around the economic opportunity of renewables is dangerously deluded.
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
It's impossible to say this often enough. Many people feel worse off (and not just financially) now than a year ago. Work out what you can do to make life feel less of a battle for people relying on public services.
What will keep Labour in power, the only thing that will keep them in power, is improving people’s lives. Basically making life less shit, per @dylandifford.bsky.social. Spending time on messaging that you are like Reform really, if you squint, is a waste of energy, resources, and integrity. 25/n
May 5, 2025 at 8:18 AM
It's impossible to say this often enough. Many people feel worse off (and not just financially) now than a year ago. Work out what you can do to make life feel less of a battle for people relying on public services.
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
"This clip absolutely rinses the intelligence impairment of Farage. Well done, Trade Union. #ukpolitics
April 30, 2025 at 11:32 AM
"This clip absolutely rinses the intelligence impairment of Farage. Well done, Trade Union. #ukpolitics
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
❤️🩹 | NEW REPORT: Voters want bold action on health – and don’t see it as 'nanny statism'. Our new research with Public First shows that smarter public health policy isn’t just good for the nation – it could be a vote-winner too.
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
April 24, 2025 at 6:36 AM
❤️🩹 | NEW REPORT: Voters want bold action on health – and don’t see it as 'nanny statism'. Our new research with Public First shows that smarter public health policy isn’t just good for the nation – it could be a vote-winner too.
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
www.ippr.org/articles/the...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
The American War of Independence began 250 years ago today. What did those redcoats say about the rebels in their private letters and journals? Here’s your weekend read markurban.substack.com/p/its-250-ye...
It's 250 Years Since The American Revolution Started
What the Redcoats thought of the rebels
markurban.substack.com
April 19, 2025 at 8:08 AM
The American War of Independence began 250 years ago today. What did those redcoats say about the rebels in their private letters and journals? Here’s your weekend read markurban.substack.com/p/its-250-ye...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Obviously things have got dramatically worse in the US recently, and I don't want to diminish that, but I've been at *so many* conferences in the UK on topics like empire, humanitarianism and development where multiple speakers from the Global South have been denied visas or held at the border
I just attended a conference in the US. We had one speaker detained and two others turned away at the border.
There are great conferences and science in the US, but with the way things are right now, it’s too risky to attend.
April 14, 2025 at 10:10 AM
Obviously things have got dramatically worse in the US recently, and I don't want to diminish that, but I've been at *so many* conferences in the UK on topics like empire, humanitarianism and development where multiple speakers from the Global South have been denied visas or held at the border
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
At least 31 civilians slaughtered by two Russian ballistic missiles in Sumy's city centre as people headed to church for Palm Sunday.
2 of the dead are children.
Putin's deadly strikes haven't stopped.
His commitment to war is ongoing, savage & shameless.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
2 of the dead are children.
Putin's deadly strikes haven't stopped.
His commitment to war is ongoing, savage & shameless.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Russian missile strike kills at least 31 in Ukrainian city of Sumy
Volodymyr Zelenskyy says dozens killed and wounded on ‘ordinary city street’ while going to church for Palm Sunday
www.theguardian.com
April 13, 2025 at 11:43 AM
At least 31 civilians slaughtered by two Russian ballistic missiles in Sumy's city centre as people headed to church for Palm Sunday.
2 of the dead are children.
Putin's deadly strikes haven't stopped.
His commitment to war is ongoing, savage & shameless.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
2 of the dead are children.
Putin's deadly strikes haven't stopped.
His commitment to war is ongoing, savage & shameless.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
A lovely story from just down the road from us, but I feel the crux of what is happening isn't fully explored. This is a church turning itself into a much-needed community centre at a time when public funds for such centres are being cut. It is charity meeting a need created by government failure.
Selkirk church kitchen expansion starts £2m overhaul plans
A Borders church needs more room to cope with growing numbers at lunch clubs and coffee mornings.
www.bbc.co.uk
April 8, 2025 at 9:17 AM
A lovely story from just down the road from us, but I feel the crux of what is happening isn't fully explored. This is a church turning itself into a much-needed community centre at a time when public funds for such centres are being cut. It is charity meeting a need created by government failure.
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Just about every economist has explained why Trump's tariffs are irrational, if considered in economic terms. But Trump's tariffs are about political power, not economics. This is the protectionism of the protection racket. My Eastern Eye column this week
www.easterneye.biz/donald-trump...
www.easterneye.biz/donald-trump...
Comment: Trump new world order brings Orwell’s 1984 dystopia to life
Trump tariffs are ultimately about political power, not economics
www.easterneye.biz
April 8, 2025 at 6:51 AM
Just about every economist has explained why Trump's tariffs are irrational, if considered in economic terms. But Trump's tariffs are about political power, not economics. This is the protectionism of the protection racket. My Eastern Eye column this week
www.easterneye.biz/donald-trump...
www.easterneye.biz/donald-trump...
Reposted by Brenda Morgan-Klein
Yet another SNP minister repeats the lie that the SCP is lifting children out of poverty. The child poverty rate in Scotland is static. I fully support the SCP, it is contributing to keeping more children from going into poverty, but it is NOT lifting them out. ScotGov MUST stop lying about this.
👨👩👧👦One of our new benefits, the Scottish Child Payment, has been hailed as “game changing” by charities and is helping to lift tens of thousands of children out of poverty.
Since its launch in 2021, £163,793,987 has been paid to families in Glasgow. 6/
Since its launch in 2021, £163,793,987 has been paid to families in Glasgow. 6/
April 7, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Yet another SNP minister repeats the lie that the SCP is lifting children out of poverty. The child poverty rate in Scotland is static. I fully support the SCP, it is contributing to keeping more children from going into poverty, but it is NOT lifting them out. ScotGov MUST stop lying about this.