Matthew Kelly
@matthewjkelly.bsky.social
Historian of Britain & Ireland at Northumbria University. Beginning new work on the history of ornithology in twentieth-century Britain.
Pinned
Matthew Kelly
@matthewjkelly.bsky.social
· Dec 23
We can all identify with this harassed fella. ‘The Minor Official’ from George Birmingham’s ‘Irishmen All’ (1913). Illustration by Jack B. Yeats.
Thought Anna Funder’s Wifedom brilliant. Perhaps the most effective dissection of patriarchy I’ve read. Here’s some reasons why I liked it as a historian.
November 11, 2025 at 8:17 AM
Thought Anna Funder’s Wifedom brilliant. Perhaps the most effective dissection of patriarchy I’ve read. Here’s some reasons why I liked it as a historian.
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
Breaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society.
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
If Labour want a fairer society, they must argue for it
Labour must make the political argument: taxes are the critical downpayment we all pay to live in a fairer society.
It now seems all but certain that direct taxes will rise in the forthcoming Budget...
renewal.org.uk
November 10, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Breaking the tax pledge is the right call...and politically sulphurous. Reeves must argue, far more forcefully, that taxes are *the* essential downpayment we all pay for a fairer society.
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Patrick Diamond and I wrote for @renewaljournal.bsky.social. Key points in 🧵 👇
renewal.org.uk/blog/if-labo...
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
What's the German word for the joy one feels when a friend publishes a book?
November 5, 2025 at 1:28 PM
What's the German word for the joy one feels when a friend publishes a book?
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
Labour needs to stop fooling itself and lean in to the political logic of its choices. It is a high taxing, high spending government. www.ft.com/content/00a5...
November 6, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Labour needs to stop fooling itself and lean in to the political logic of its choices. It is a high taxing, high spending government. www.ft.com/content/00a5...
Lost as Labour candidate in 92 to mate pretending to be a Liberal Democrat who promised to ban IT coursework.
No amount of pontificating about the degradations of Thatcherism was going to beat that.
No amount of pontificating about the degradations of Thatcherism was going to beat that.
Did you take part in a mock election at your UK school or college between 1983 and 2001?
Share your memories for a research project on young people and democracy in modern Britain!
Write to us about your experiences here: forms.office.com/e/FNAwjfFR7f
Share your memories for a research project on young people and democracy in modern Britain!
Write to us about your experiences here: forms.office.com/e/FNAwjfFR7f
November 7, 2025 at 6:12 PM
Lost as Labour candidate in 92 to mate pretending to be a Liberal Democrat who promised to ban IT coursework.
No amount of pontificating about the degradations of Thatcherism was going to beat that.
No amount of pontificating about the degradations of Thatcherism was going to beat that.
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
I'm sure if any serious attempt was made to do this there would be heads on spikes. It's quite hard to transition to a higher tax and lower consumption economic model, but the current one is clearly creating lots of problems we're no longer able to grow our way out of
November 3, 2025 at 1:32 PM
I'm sure if any serious attempt was made to do this there would be heads on spikes. It's quite hard to transition to a higher tax and lower consumption economic model, but the current one is clearly creating lots of problems we're no longer able to grow our way out of
Mad but fascinating.
Prob reveals legislation partly drafted based on maps rather than on-site checks, meaning Bowood ‘Lane’ effectively misclassified, creating an obligation. Can leg be amended to avoid?
Parody of a planning dispute, when local amenity society wins ‘modification’ to proposals.
Prob reveals legislation partly drafted based on maps rather than on-site checks, meaning Bowood ‘Lane’ effectively misclassified, creating an obligation. Can leg be amended to avoid?
Parody of a planning dispute, when local amenity society wins ‘modification’ to proposals.
My latest: Move over bat tunnel, here’s the wild story of how HS2 were forced to build a multi-million pound bridge for a road that… doesn’t actually exist.
How HS2 built a bridge to nowhere
A state-of-the-art road bridge has been built deep in the heart of rural Buckinghamshire. Designed to carry traffic over the HS2 railway, there's just one tiny problem - there's no actual road.
martinrobbins.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Mad but fascinating.
Prob reveals legislation partly drafted based on maps rather than on-site checks, meaning Bowood ‘Lane’ effectively misclassified, creating an obligation. Can leg be amended to avoid?
Parody of a planning dispute, when local amenity society wins ‘modification’ to proposals.
Prob reveals legislation partly drafted based on maps rather than on-site checks, meaning Bowood ‘Lane’ effectively misclassified, creating an obligation. Can leg be amended to avoid?
Parody of a planning dispute, when local amenity society wins ‘modification’ to proposals.
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
Great trespass along the River Dart today to kick off @righttoroam.bsky.social's 9 river trespasses in November - protesting the inadequacy & unworkability of the Govt's 9 river walks pledge
We trespassed in an estate owned in the Cayman Islands & later met up with kayakers from Friends of the Dart
We trespassed in an estate owned in the Cayman Islands & later met up with kayakers from Friends of the Dart
November 2, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Great trespass along the River Dart today to kick off @righttoroam.bsky.social's 9 river trespasses in November - protesting the inadequacy & unworkability of the Govt's 9 river walks pledge
We trespassed in an estate owned in the Cayman Islands & later met up with kayakers from Friends of the Dart
We trespassed in an estate owned in the Cayman Islands & later met up with kayakers from Friends of the Dart
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
Published today: 'Atlantic Isles: Travel and Identity in the British and Irish West, 1880–1940', by Gareth Roddy bit.ly/4nwj9Y2
Gareth's book is the latest title in the Society's New Historical Perspectives series @uolpress.bsky.social. Available Open Access and in paperback print #Skystorians 1/2
Gareth's book is the latest title in the Society's New Historical Perspectives series @uolpress.bsky.social. Available Open Access and in paperback print #Skystorians 1/2
October 30, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Published today: 'Atlantic Isles: Travel and Identity in the British and Irish West, 1880–1940', by Gareth Roddy bit.ly/4nwj9Y2
Gareth's book is the latest title in the Society's New Historical Perspectives series @uolpress.bsky.social. Available Open Access and in paperback print #Skystorians 1/2
Gareth's book is the latest title in the Society's New Historical Perspectives series @uolpress.bsky.social. Available Open Access and in paperback print #Skystorians 1/2
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
We need a critique of AI in academic publishing. Following my decision not to sign an AI addendum to my contract with Cambridge University Press, I wrote this short essay which is now out in the Dublin Review of Books.
👇
drb.ie/move-over-fo...
👇
drb.ie/move-over-fo...
Move over for AI - DRB
Katja Bruisch writes: I recently completed a scholarly monograph – an environmental, economic and energy history of peat in imperial and Soviet Russia. After years of thinking and writing, I approache...
drb.ie
October 30, 2025 at 11:01 AM
We need a critique of AI in academic publishing. Following my decision not to sign an AI addendum to my contract with Cambridge University Press, I wrote this short essay which is now out in the Dublin Review of Books.
👇
drb.ie/move-over-fo...
👇
drb.ie/move-over-fo...
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
Great to see @kbruisch.bsky.social’s superb essay on AI and Academic publishing and its extractive dimensions up on the DRB. @historytcd.bsky.social drb.ie/move-over-fo...
Move over for AI - DRB
Katja Bruisch writes: I recently completed a scholarly monograph – an environmental, economic and energy history of peat in imperial and Soviet Russia. After years of thinking and writing, I approache...
drb.ie
October 30, 2025 at 9:56 AM
Great to see @kbruisch.bsky.social’s superb essay on AI and Academic publishing and its extractive dimensions up on the DRB. @historytcd.bsky.social drb.ie/move-over-fo...
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
This is great news - delighted that Sunil will be our visiting Wiles Lecturer in History at QUB next May. The book is outstanding.
October 26, 2025 at 8:44 AM
This is great news - delighted that Sunil will be our visiting Wiles Lecturer in History at QUB next May. The book is outstanding.
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
It's here!
Get your copy at reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/contest...
Get your copy at reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/contest...
October 25, 2025 at 1:31 PM
It's here!
Get your copy at reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/contest...
Get your copy at reaktionbooks.co.uk/work/contest...
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
I have taken the difficult decision this morning to rain on @plaidcymru.bsky.social's parade.
"Plaid Cymru's Nature Blind Spot"
nation.cymru/opinion/the-...
"Plaid Cymru's Nature Blind Spot"
nation.cymru/opinion/the-...
The Missing Agenda: Plaid Cymru’s Nature Blind Spot
Eben Myrddin Muse This weekend Welsh politics is comprehending a new political reality, confirmed by Caerphilly’s electorate – Plaid Cymru are the rising force in Welsh politics, the presumptive gover...
nation.cymru
October 25, 2025 at 8:45 AM
I have taken the difficult decision this morning to rain on @plaidcymru.bsky.social's parade.
"Plaid Cymru's Nature Blind Spot"
nation.cymru/opinion/the-...
"Plaid Cymru's Nature Blind Spot"
nation.cymru/opinion/the-...
A major intervention on a highly sensitive issue, the politics of rape in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.
On advance access: "(Un)Remembering Sexual Violence in South African History"
by Emily Bridger (@uoearchhist.bsky.social)
#OpenAccess
doi.org/10.1093/past...
by Emily Bridger (@uoearchhist.bsky.social)
#OpenAccess
doi.org/10.1093/past...
(Un)Remembering Sexual Violence in South African History*
Abstract. South Africa is a country known for its high rates of gender-based and sexual violence. Historical research demonstrates that such issues are not
doi.org
October 24, 2025 at 9:48 AM
A major intervention on a highly sensitive issue, the politics of rape in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa.
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
This is interesting: the idea of the "post-industrial" or "deindustrialised" region is really pervasive, when in fact there's a lot of historical specificity that's missed out. The trajectory and technology of mining, diversification of industry, local/national tensions eg motor industry...
Why do rustbelts vote radical right? Studying the German Ruhr area, @nilsblossey.bsky.social, @lstoetze.bsky.social and I show: it’s not just about deindustrialization, but also about the original industrialization. Where coal is buried deeper and mining started later, the AfD is stronger today 1/12
October 20, 2025 at 9:44 AM
This is interesting: the idea of the "post-industrial" or "deindustrialised" region is really pervasive, when in fact there's a lot of historical specificity that's missed out. The trajectory and technology of mining, diversification of industry, local/national tensions eg motor industry...
@marcmulholland.bsky.social is providing virtuoso threads on Irish history atm. Check out his feed.
October 19, 2025 at 9:40 AM
@marcmulholland.bsky.social is providing virtuoso threads on Irish history atm. Check out his feed.
Wonderful piece by Roy Foster on writing his landmark text Modern Ireland in the 1980s.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Might have been subtitled ‘The Strange Death of a Redmondite’.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Might have been subtitled ‘The Strange Death of a Redmondite’.
October 18, 2025 at 10:42 AM
Wonderful piece by Roy Foster on writing his landmark text Modern Ireland in the 1980s.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Might have been subtitled ‘The Strange Death of a Redmondite’.
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Might have been subtitled ‘The Strange Death of a Redmondite’.
Crass. The basic lack of dignity he‘s already bringing to the role.
Not once have I seen an explanation for why teenagers must hear things that upset them in virtue of the unspecified speech-acts being upsetting, nor have I ever seen an explanation for why teenagers will be forbidden to express displeasure with upsetting things.
October 16, 2025 at 10:23 AM
Crass. The basic lack of dignity he‘s already bringing to the role.
Published 75 years ago today. These early 80s covers remain so evocative for me. The shaggy hair (Aslan’s too), the knitwear, and the gorgeous burnished colouring. I can see now the children represent a middle-class, mildly boho ideal. Who doesn’t want Peter’s jumper?
October 16, 2025 at 7:44 AM
Published 75 years ago today. These early 80s covers remain so evocative for me. The shaggy hair (Aslan’s too), the knitwear, and the gorgeous burnished colouring. I can see now the children represent a middle-class, mildly boho ideal. Who doesn’t want Peter’s jumper?
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system.
Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts
Spending is controlled, not spiralling
Worklessness is near record lows
My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts
Spending is controlled, not spiralling
Worklessness is near record lows
My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
October 15, 2025 at 12:35 PM
There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system.
Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts
Spending is controlled, not spiralling
Worklessness is near record lows
My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts
Spending is controlled, not spiralling
Worklessness is near record lows
My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...
Reposted by Matthew Kelly
Hello all! You can get 25% off the already surprisingly reasonable price of WE HAVE COME TO BE DESTROYED if you pre-order at @waterstones.bsky.social between 14th and 17th October using the discount code OCTOBER25! Pls share. Link here: www.waterstones.com/book/we-have... #skystorians #histchild 🗃
October 14, 2025 at 7:43 AM
Hello all! You can get 25% off the already surprisingly reasonable price of WE HAVE COME TO BE DESTROYED if you pre-order at @waterstones.bsky.social between 14th and 17th October using the discount code OCTOBER25! Pls share. Link here: www.waterstones.com/book/we-have... #skystorians #histchild 🗃
Great piece from @marthagill.bsky.social on the state of Britain’s National Parks. Shocked highest levels of sewage discharge are on Dartmoor. Good account of historical reasons park authorities have such limited powers to manage greatest threats to park ecologies.
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
In our national parks sewage flows while the funds for co...
Underfunded, over-farmed and politically sidelined, Britain’s most treasured landscapes need more than protection
observer.co.uk
October 12, 2025 at 8:11 AM
Great piece from @marthagill.bsky.social on the state of Britain’s National Parks. Shocked highest levels of sewage discharge are on Dartmoor. Good account of historical reasons park authorities have such limited powers to manage greatest threats to park ecologies.
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
observer.co.uk/news/columni...
Read 1000s of pages of this guy & still can’t decide if he‘s any good. The thought essays are sophmoronic, & the supernatural aspects in this one tedious, but the quotidian banalities & anti-style style do compel, though Claire Lowdon’s take in the TLS hits a target. Is this reading as scrolling?
October 11, 2025 at 9:23 AM
Read 1000s of pages of this guy & still can’t decide if he‘s any good. The thought essays are sophmoronic, & the supernatural aspects in this one tedious, but the quotidian banalities & anti-style style do compel, though Claire Lowdon’s take in the TLS hits a target. Is this reading as scrolling?
Subsequent editions. I prefer the second, though lived with the Jack Yeats original for years.
October 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Subsequent editions. I prefer the second, though lived with the Jack Yeats original for years.