One of my most prized possessions is my mum's old copy of Gramsci's Prison Notebooks, with her marginalia. Last year it sadly fell apart.

Turns out my partner has been secretly working to restore it, as a birthday present. Here it is, all rebound, with my mum's and my initials added on the spine.

Contra Adam Curtis, it is not true and never has been true that British xenophobia and racism are confined to "the old industrial towns".

Here’s an interesting insight in how Reform UK does local politics. This is Farage and Anderson in front of the newly restored winding wheels of Silverhill colliery, which have recently been made into a monument.

The project draws on my ethnographic PhD work and I'm so happy to see it out in the world. It comes with a beautiful scroller (two-towns.common-wealth.org) and is discussed in this brilliant piece in today's Guardian t.co/hKzkIPZ0yt

How did Britain's post-industrial towns become hubs of badly paid work and disenchanted politics?
They were not forgotten or 'left behind', but actively remade.
My report for
@cmmonwealth.bsky.social

two-towns.common-wealth.org