Stephen H. Jones
@stphnhwrdjns.bsky.social
Social scientist. Writes about religion and prejudice, society and politics. Teaches sociology and criminology. Rides bikes.
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
Fun fact: at the end of his career (and life), Malinowski was embarking on the study of the concept of 'Freedom'. He saw nationalism as the chief obstacle to human freedom. This is the tentative argument structure; pay attention to the paragraph at the bottom of the page.
November 10, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Fun fact: at the end of his career (and life), Malinowski was embarking on the study of the concept of 'Freedom'. He saw nationalism as the chief obstacle to human freedom. This is the tentative argument structure; pay attention to the paragraph at the bottom of the page.
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
Looks interesting: "we suggest that the call to ‘defund the police’ may not be the radical alternative that many would have us believe and instead call to ‘refund civil society’ by advocating for a ‘community first’ approach to resolve complex social problems."
Delighted to share our paper, where Dr Sam Weston, Dr Clare Griffiths , and I set out a vision for what a society with ‘considerable less need of being policed’ might look like….. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Children and young people’s perceptions of and interactions with the police: A case for ‘defunding the police’, ‘refunding civil society’ and introducing ‘community first’ - Samantha Weston, Clare Gri...
Louise Casey’s review revealed a series of concerns about London Metropolitan Police concluding that institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia pervades acro...
journals.sagepub.com
November 10, 2025 at 10:35 AM
Looks interesting: "we suggest that the call to ‘defund the police’ may not be the radical alternative that many would have us believe and instead call to ‘refund civil society’ by advocating for a ‘community first’ approach to resolve complex social problems."
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
![Cartoon by Stephen Collins for The Guardian. Script as follows:
[scene is Winston Churchill in a bbc studio, giving his 'finest hour' speech]
1
CHURCHILL:
The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us.
2
CHURCHILL:
Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war.
3
CHURCHILL:
If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free
and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sun-
BBC PRESENTER:
Thank you prime minister
4
BBC PRESENTER:
Mr hitler, your response?
5
HITLER [in the studio]:
Vell zis is hysterical woke nonsense as usual from mr Churchill
6
HITLER:
What we are proposing -
CHURCHILL:
Hang on
7
HITLER:
Let me finish - what we are proposing eez a simple power-sharing arrangement -
8
CHURCHILL:
What's he doing here
BBC PRESENTER:
It's important we hear both sides of the debate
9
CHURCHILL:
This isn't a debate
You don't debate fascists
10
HITLER:
Oh here we go with ze Godwins law!
11
HITLER:
Why must you people always compare ze things you don't like to 'fascists, Nazis, Hitler'...
CHURCHILL:
Because you are a fascist Nazi Hit-
12
HITLER [standing up, saluting]:
RAUSS!
BBC PRESENTER:
*Please* Mr Churchill let him speak
[ends]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:4m3we4apbjayclzcnhwe3pfp/bafkreibw4ldc3fhslbvxgy2oqrof2oys5kpgh7zu6a5f3usmx3lf4547qm@jpeg)
State of this. Is there any point in complaining to the broadcaster/Ofcom?
A national newspaper journalist went on a British TV channel to claim police stats showed asylum-seekers committed 44% of sex crimes in Dorset.
This shocking claim was treated as fact by the channel which promoted the clip on social media where it was amplified by AI.
Except... it's bollocks.
This shocking claim was treated as fact by the channel which promoted the clip on social media where it was amplified by AI.
Except... it's bollocks.
November 9, 2025 at 2:55 PM
State of this. Is there any point in complaining to the broadcaster/Ofcom?
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
New post just out:
Why the criminal justice system should be top of No. 10's "shit list".
No part of the public sector is more broken or brings with it greater political risk. As we saw these past two weeks.
It desperately needs a new approach.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/f...
Why the criminal justice system should be top of No. 10's "shit list".
No part of the public sector is more broken or brings with it greater political risk. As we saw these past two weeks.
It desperately needs a new approach.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/f...
Flashing Red
Why the criminal justice system should be top of No. 10's "shit list"
open.substack.com
November 8, 2025 at 8:56 AM
New post just out:
Why the criminal justice system should be top of No. 10's "shit list".
No part of the public sector is more broken or brings with it greater political risk. As we saw these past two weeks.
It desperately needs a new approach.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/f...
Why the criminal justice system should be top of No. 10's "shit list".
No part of the public sector is more broken or brings with it greater political risk. As we saw these past two weeks.
It desperately needs a new approach.
(£/free trial)
open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/f...
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
Guy Fawkes' signature before & after saying on Bluesky that he lets his cat go outside
November 6, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Guy Fawkes' signature before & after saying on Bluesky that he lets his cat go outside
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
“The Gaza of maps and memories is gone, replaced by a monochrome landscape of rubble stretching flat and still…. there's almost nothing left to orient you here, or identify the neighbourhoods that once held tens of thousands of people”.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Inside Gaza, BBC sees total devastation after two years of war
With endless rubble and destroyed streets as far as the eye can see, any plans for Gaza's future are a far cry from where it is today, writes Lucy Williamson.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 9:37 AM
“The Gaza of maps and memories is gone, replaced by a monochrome landscape of rubble stretching flat and still…. there's almost nothing left to orient you here, or identify the neighbourhoods that once held tens of thousands of people”.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
must-read analysis of how Musk's twitter is drenching new users with right-wing propaganda
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
Elon Musk is boosting the British right - and this shows how
news.sky.com
November 6, 2025 at 10:39 AM
must-read analysis of how Musk's twitter is drenching new users with right-wing propaganda
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
news.sky.com/story/the-x-...
Little known fact is that this book had a significant influence on the early work of the Wu Tang Clan.
It also introduced me to the marvelously creative curse “the devil sew up your arsehole from the inside”
November 6, 2025 at 8:14 AM
Little known fact is that this book had a significant influence on the early work of the Wu Tang Clan.
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
This is powerful stuff: the reasoning behind Pillay’s commission finding that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
“Children who were meant to be born from these reproductive specimens will never exist. Families will be forever changed and bloodlines may end.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
“Children who were meant to be born from these reproductive specimens will never exist. Families will be forever changed and bloodlines may end.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
November 4, 2025 at 7:44 AM
This is powerful stuff: the reasoning behind Pillay’s commission finding that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
“Children who were meant to be born from these reproductive specimens will never exist. Families will be forever changed and bloodlines may end.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
“Children who were meant to be born from these reproductive specimens will never exist. Families will be forever changed and bloodlines may end.”
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
If you want to understand the emotional end intellectual malaise of British politics, this piece by @mjrobbins.com is a pretty good place to start. It effectively describes a country that has gone mad. open.substack.com/pub/martinro...
November 3, 2025 at 7:20 AM
If you want to understand the emotional end intellectual malaise of British politics, this piece by @mjrobbins.com is a pretty good place to start. It effectively describes a country that has gone mad. open.substack.com/pub/martinro...
This is very good. The conclusion points to something I've long thought: that Starmer's leadership first started to go badly awry when he started chucking out all dissenting MPs.
November 2, 2025 at 3:32 PM
This is very good. The conclusion points to something I've long thought: that Starmer's leadership first started to go badly awry when he started chucking out all dissenting MPs.
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
Too much fatalism in this space. It would be entirely straightforward to achieve this goal before Easter [users abusing public voices + others in UK with go home P-word should expect tweet deleted + lose their accounts within 72 hours of posting it] if the platform decided to, or was made to do that
November 1, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Too much fatalism in this space. It would be entirely straightforward to achieve this goal before Easter [users abusing public voices + others in UK with go home P-word should expect tweet deleted + lose their accounts within 72 hours of posting it] if the platform decided to, or was made to do that
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
A world without Keir Starmer: Is it time to change the Labour leader? iandunt.substack.com/p/a-world-wi...
A world without Keir Starmer
Is it time to change the Labour leader?
iandunt.substack.com
October 31, 2025 at 10:59 AM
A world without Keir Starmer: Is it time to change the Labour leader? iandunt.substack.com/p/a-world-wi...
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
Most people in Britain are positive about universities (63%). Just 6% think they have a negative impact. A third of people are neutral. Universities may be struggling more with political elites than with general public, but could broaden their public reach too
www.moreincommon.org.uk/our-work/res...
www.moreincommon.org.uk/our-work/res...
Shared Institutions: public opinion on the university sector
At a time when trust in many British institutions is strained, our new research with UCL Policy Lab, Shared Institutions, finds that universities remain a source of national pride. Most Britons say un...
www.moreincommon.org.uk
October 31, 2025 at 12:20 PM
Most people in Britain are positive about universities (63%). Just 6% think they have a negative impact. A third of people are neutral. Universities may be struggling more with political elites than with general public, but could broaden their public reach too
www.moreincommon.org.uk/our-work/res...
www.moreincommon.org.uk/our-work/res...
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
Wrote about the dominance of "victims" in our political discourse, which included this fab chart @owenwntr.bsky.social www.economist.com/britain/2025...
October 30, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Wrote about the dominance of "victims" in our political discourse, which included this fab chart @owenwntr.bsky.social www.economist.com/britain/2025...
I tire of saying this kind of thing, but: if a Muslim religious leader followed Musk's example and actively called for pre-emptive inter-religious violence they'd likely be prosecuted for glorification of terrorism.
Elon Musk is a security risk to this country - partly by his inaction (when others directly incite violence during flashpoint moments) but increasingly through his proactive choices to use his own voice + reach to socialise political + inter-ethnic violence in our country.
But not taken seriously?
But not taken seriously?
October 30, 2025 at 10:43 AM
I tire of saying this kind of thing, but: if a Muslim religious leader followed Musk's example and actively called for pre-emptive inter-religious violence they'd likely be prosecuted for glorification of terrorism.
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
Important thread on the yet-again double standards of the UK national media regarding (the potential of) violent crime as well as hateful attitudes.
Wow - those are quite phenomenal headlines given the details of the story.
Ahh look, he’s just a ‘nerdy’ guy. No harm done.
You need to scroll down to paragraph 13 of the Sky piece to find the full story!
🧵
1/9
Ahh look, he’s just a ‘nerdy’ guy. No harm done.
You need to scroll down to paragraph 13 of the Sky piece to find the full story!
🧵
1/9
October 29, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Important thread on the yet-again double standards of the UK national media regarding (the potential of) violent crime as well as hateful attitudes.
This is 1) insane delusion and 2) potentially libellous about YouGov? Its method controls for political affiliation IIRC.
Oh, and my goodness the sour grapes! Labour finding out that he who lives by the FPTP electoral system dies by it too.
Oh, and my goodness the sour grapes! Labour finding out that he who lives by the FPTP electoral system dies by it too.
"We'd have won if not for those pesky polls"
Claiming Lab > Plaid switching is just about Reform is really unhelpful to Labour. Unhappy Labour voters have switched to Plaid in elections long before Reform (or UKIP) were on the scene.
And the rubbish about YouGov 🤯
labourhub.org.uk/2025/10/28/c...
Claiming Lab > Plaid switching is just about Reform is really unhelpful to Labour. Unhappy Labour voters have switched to Plaid in elections long before Reform (or UKIP) were on the scene.
And the rubbish about YouGov 🤯
labourhub.org.uk/2025/10/28/c...
October 29, 2025 at 12:06 PM
This is 1) insane delusion and 2) potentially libellous about YouGov? Its method controls for political affiliation IIRC.
Oh, and my goodness the sour grapes! Labour finding out that he who lives by the FPTP electoral system dies by it too.
Oh, and my goodness the sour grapes! Labour finding out that he who lives by the FPTP electoral system dies by it too.
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
A strategy based on 'well, what if everything political science tells us, everything economics tells us and everything history tells us is wrong?' is ending in a predictable fashion.
It's increasingly obvious that Labour's strategy - call it Starmerism, Blue Labour, whatever - has got it badly wrong. It has alienated the party's core vote while failing to win over those leaning to Reform. There was no shortage of people warning them they were getting it wrong either.
Three years ago, Labour was polling in the 50s.
October 28, 2025 at 12:07 PM
A strategy based on 'well, what if everything political science tells us, everything economics tells us and everything history tells us is wrong?' is ending in a predictable fashion.
There must surely be solid grounds for taking legal action against X for this, refusing to remove a blatantly libellous video that poses a real threat to the Sunder.
X won't be removing the dangerous defamatory fake clip which manipulates a clip about football to pretend I said something crass about grooming in Rotherham
October 27, 2025 at 10:19 AM
There must surely be solid grounds for taking legal action against X for this, refusing to remove a blatantly libellous video that poses a real threat to the Sunder.
Best political speech I have seen in years. Best denunciation of Islamophobia have seen period. Well worth your time (27 mins in).
STARTING SOON: Zohran Mamdani gives remarks about Islamophobia outside the Islamic Cultural Center of the Bronx
LIVE | Zohran Mamdani gives remarks on Islamophobia outside a mosque in the Bronx, NYC
YouTube video by Eyewitness News ABC7NY
www.youtube.com
October 24, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Best political speech I have seen in years. Best denunciation of Islamophobia have seen period. Well worth your time (27 mins in).
Reposted by Stephen H. Jones
I would hope that one of the many MPs who benefits from Sunder's tireless work would take up this case - the defamatory video needs removing urgently, and the person responsible needs to be found and held accountable
A very worrying escalation of online harassment.
Somebody has used a video of me saying "racism in football is a game of two halves" + put a fake voiceover on it saying "what I would say to the girls of Rotherham is it is a game of two halves"
x.com/EuropaIneffa...
Somebody has used a video of me saying "racism in football is a game of two halves" + put a fake voiceover on it saying "what I would say to the girls of Rotherham is it is a game of two halves"
x.com/EuropaIneffa...
Europa Ineffable on X: "In a recent panel at what looks like Labour conference, Sunder Katwala, wearing an England shirt, appeared to compare the R🦍 GANGS to a football match: "it's a game of two halves" 🥴 https://t.co/b5YNKyaQtu" / X
In a recent panel at what looks like Labour conference, Sunder Katwala, wearing an England shirt, appeared to compare the R🦍 GANGS to a football match
x.com
October 24, 2025 at 4:56 PM
I would hope that one of the many MPs who benefits from Sunder's tireless work would take up this case - the defamatory video needs removing urgently, and the person responsible needs to be found and held accountable