Dr Hayley Bennett
@haylesben.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in Social Policy, University of Edinburgh. Welfare state, social security, (un)employment, poverty, policy-making. Views own, RTs not endorsements. https://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/staff/hayley-bennett
When you ask your students how they felt doing a participant observation task on your methods course: lots felt “creepy”
November 11, 2025 at 2:14 PM
When you ask your students how they felt doing a participant observation task on your methods course: lots felt “creepy”
In today’s episode of Edinburgh Uni’s “let’s make random cuts here there and everywhere without any kind of strategy or comms process”… our printer has disappeared 🙄
November 6, 2025 at 8:24 PM
In today’s episode of Edinburgh Uni’s “let’s make random cuts here there and everywhere without any kind of strategy or comms process”… our printer has disappeared 🙄
Anas Sarwar @ipprscotland.bsky.social event outlining the need for governance reform in Scottish health services and more use of Scottish economic levers
October 29, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Anas Sarwar @ipprscotland.bsky.social event outlining the need for governance reform in Scottish health services and more use of Scottish economic levers
Next session at the @ipprscotland.bsky.social focussing on the health of Scotland’s democracy
October 29, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Next session at the @ipprscotland.bsky.social focussing on the health of Scotland’s democracy
FM John Swinney responding to Emma Jackson (Citizens Advice Scotland) question about growing needs in Scotland & improving collaboration. Swinney saying he welcomed the #Scotlanddemandsbetter march over the weekend
October 29, 2025 at 11:18 AM
FM John Swinney responding to Emma Jackson (Citizens Advice Scotland) question about growing needs in Scotland & improving collaboration. Swinney saying he welcomed the #Scotlanddemandsbetter march over the weekend
Attending the @ipprscotland.bsky.social event today. An excellent opening from @stephenboydippr.bsky.social reminding us on democratic threats & need for more policy innovation & now @graemeroy.bsky.social outlining fiscal pressures
October 29, 2025 at 9:50 AM
Attending the @ipprscotland.bsky.social event today. An excellent opening from @stephenboydippr.bsky.social reminding us on democratic threats & need for more policy innovation & now @graemeroy.bsky.social outlining fiscal pressures
October 25, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Listening to Darren Mcgarvey who is eloquent as ever about the problem of reactionary politics and elitism #scotlanddemandsbetter
October 25, 2025 at 1:56 PM
Listening to Darren Mcgarvey who is eloquent as ever about the problem of reactionary politics and elitism #scotlanddemandsbetter
Today was our @safety-nets.bsky.social Scottish round table where we gave an overview of stage 1 of the project to lots of important research & policy folk in Scotland. Thanks to @ccc-research.bsky.social for supporting the event & also to Mark & Ciara for travelling & presenting.
October 14, 2025 at 6:18 PM
Today was our @safety-nets.bsky.social Scottish round table where we gave an overview of stage 1 of the project to lots of important research & policy folk in Scotland. Thanks to @ccc-research.bsky.social for supporting the event & also to Mark & Ciara for travelling & presenting.
Yesterday was our first social policy seminar of the semester. A full house to listen to the excellent @gerrymccartney1.bsky.social talk about the effect of austerity on mortality rates, & his book (with David Walsh) “Social Murder”
October 4, 2025 at 6:42 AM
Yesterday was our first social policy seminar of the semester. A full house to listen to the excellent @gerrymccartney1.bsky.social talk about the effect of austerity on mortality rates, & his book (with David Walsh) “Social Murder”
Some more artwork for my office door from @povertyalliance.org “Scotland demands better” march (on 25th October in Edinburgh) just above my favourite photo by Kirsty Mackay “Tax the rich”.
September 23, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Some more artwork for my office door from @povertyalliance.org “Scotland demands better” march (on 25th October in Edinburgh) just above my favourite photo by Kirsty Mackay “Tax the rich”.
Academia has a culture of over-working; we are often spread very thin over numerous projects or tasks, with increasing workloads. I am trying to develop better habits around ideas of productivity & value. Someone recommended this book so I am giving it a go!
September 18, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Academia has a culture of over-working; we are often spread very thin over numerous projects or tasks, with increasing workloads. I am trying to develop better habits around ideas of productivity & value. Someone recommended this book so I am giving it a go!
This week is a 5 day strike at University of Edinburgh in response to management decisions and practices around £120m cuts & UCU’s concerns around workloads, teaching, and research quality.
September 9, 2025 at 12:57 PM
This week is a 5 day strike at University of Edinburgh in response to management decisions and practices around £120m cuts & UCU’s concerns around workloads, teaching, and research quality.
What a difference a few days in Edinburgh makes: The students are back, sun is shining, and the meadows is buzzing again!
September 5, 2025 at 4:24 PM
What a difference a few days in Edinburgh makes: The students are back, sun is shining, and the meadows is buzzing again!
Feels like winter has arrived in #Edinburgh today. The festival is well and truly over, the meadows are dark and empty by 9pm (and a bit creepy for walking home from work). Realised it’s 18 years to the day since I moved up here to start my 1+3 PhD at Edinburgh Uni.
September 3, 2025 at 8:38 PM
Feels like winter has arrived in #Edinburgh today. The festival is well and truly over, the meadows are dark and empty by 9pm (and a bit creepy for walking home from work). Realised it’s 18 years to the day since I moved up here to start my 1+3 PhD at Edinburgh Uni.
I'm preparing for the #festivalofpolitics event I'm speaking in on Friday (Holyrood 2026) & found this report from Stepchange Charity (medium.com/stepchange/s...) on unsecured personal debt in Scotland. Worrying numbers, but this stood out:
August 20, 2025 at 3:14 PM
I'm preparing for the #festivalofpolitics event I'm speaking in on Friday (Holyrood 2026) & found this report from Stepchange Charity (medium.com/stepchange/s...) on unsecured personal debt in Scotland. Worrying numbers, but this stood out:
The report not only highlights enduring inequality & deprivation in former coalfields, but importantly emphasises the need to critique approaches to economic development but focusing on what the authors term as an 'austerity model' to economic growth
August 6, 2025 at 9:46 AM
The report not only highlights enduring inequality & deprivation in former coalfields, but importantly emphasises the need to critique approaches to economic development but focusing on what the authors term as an 'austerity model' to economic growth
I wonder how many jobs have been lost in UK universities over the year. (Edinburgh Uni alone is looking to shed approx 2,000 jobs). I genuinely wonder whether over 2 year there will have been 40,000 jobs lost across HE sector via early retirement, redundancy, limited tutor roles & non-replacement
July 18, 2025 at 7:42 AM
I wonder how many jobs have been lost in UK universities over the year. (Edinburgh Uni alone is looking to shed approx 2,000 jobs). I genuinely wonder whether over 2 year there will have been 40,000 jobs lost across HE sector via early retirement, redundancy, limited tutor roles & non-replacement
Also, women are beyond fed up of working with such men and absorbing their workload due to weaponised incompetence (this section made me instantly mad!)
July 6, 2025 at 5:25 PM
Also, women are beyond fed up of working with such men and absorbing their workload due to weaponised incompetence (this section made me instantly mad!)
Glasgow and Edinburgh uni folks seeing the sights at the @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social #york
July 3, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Glasgow and Edinburgh uni folks seeing the sights at the @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social #york
Rhiannon and Joe presenting our WS3 findings at the @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social from the @safety-nets.bsky.social WS3 #york2025
July 2, 2025 at 4:23 PM
Rhiannon and Joe presenting our WS3 findings at the @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social from the @safety-nets.bsky.social WS3 #york2025
Insightful opening plenary by Prof Sophia Seung-Yoo Lee talking about Korea’s welfare state, labour market institutions, minimum wages, etc and failureto protect precarious workers #york2025 @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social
July 2, 2025 at 12:23 PM
Insightful opening plenary by Prof Sophia Seung-Yoo Lee talking about Korea’s welfare state, labour market institutions, minimum wages, etc and failureto protect precarious workers #york2025 @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social
Kicking off the @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social conference at York #york2025 with @aroumpakis.bsky.social & @enricoreuter.bsky.social giving the welcome speeches
July 2, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Kicking off the @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social conference at York #york2025 with @aroumpakis.bsky.social & @enricoreuter.bsky.social giving the welcome speeches
On route to @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social conference in York. Looking forward to our symposium @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social tomorrow on welfare state rescaling (& presenting a paper on local & devolved welfare) We’re at 4pm SLB/118
July 1, 2025 at 11:01 AM
On route to @easp-spa-2025.bsky.social conference in York. Looking forward to our symposium @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social tomorrow on welfare state rescaling (& presenting a paper on local & devolved welfare) We’re at 4pm SLB/118
Feels like the right day to get this guy back out from under the stairs! 😆 #lewiscapaldi
June 27, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Feels like the right day to get this guy back out from under the stairs! 😆 #lewiscapaldi