William Cullerne Bown
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williamcb.bsky.social
William Cullerne Bown
@williamcb.bsky.social
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Today I argue Keir Starmer can only be understood in the context of deep shifts in the character of our politics that are still hard to grasp

open.substack.com/pub/williamc...
Trump, Starmer and the populist tide
Old concepts such as left vs right, trust and class aren't enough to explain the trouble we're in
open.substack.com
"My name is Nigel, King of Kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
November 18, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Reform lack gorm.
November 18, 2025 at 9:04 AM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
In a spell-binding move, Reform run, cash-strapped, Kent County Council repaints the yellow 'Keep Clear' lines outside a school that closed 10 years ago

news.sky.com/story/reform...
Reform council repaints road markings for school which closed in 2016
Kent County Council sold the disused school site to a government agency in March, but has repainted yellow zigzags and "School Keep Clear" warnings.
news.sky.com
November 18, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
What is really going on in this society that elected Donald Trump president a second time?
 
I wrote about three stubborn myths about Trump’s support – and why America has experienced a de-alignment rather than a rightward realignment.
 
My new piece for @zeit.de – and some thoughts in English:
Unterstützung von Donald Trump: Die Irrtümer über Donald Trumps Rückhalt
Rechtsruck, multiethnische Koalition, Held einfacher Leute: Trump gilt als fest verankert. Doch diese Überzeugung beruht auf drei großen Missverständnissen.
www.zeit.de
November 17, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Oxford v-c Irene Tracey with some carefully phrased caution/criticism around REF people, culture and environment metric, plus govt's international student fee levy, in interview with @resprofnews.bsky.social @francesjones.bsky.social.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...
Oxford VC says REF ‘must do what it says on the can’ - Research Professional News
Irene Tracey also warns of “unintended consequences” from government’s planned international student fee levy
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Graduates
Most organisations haven't yet reduced their workforce across the board due to #AI. However, more expect declines next year. That's why we don't yet see big #productivity gains but do see a slowdown in hiring. #dataisbeautiful
"State of AI": bit.ly/3LuVzh2
Effect on UK job market: bit.ly/450jtbv
November 17, 2025 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Very meta
#BBCNews inexplicably just went live to this like it was a breaking news story which backfired pretty quickly because Sally Philips said FUCK and they had to apologise
November 17, 2025 at 1:58 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Europe’s rush to adopt AI in public services risks repeating mistakes in digital identity and procurement, writes Tech Policy Press Contributing Editor Amber Sinha. He urges governments to set clear goals and resist vendor-driven agendas to ensure technology truly serves the public.
AI Procurement and the Capture of Public Purpose | TechPolicy.Press
As the EU ramps up AI adoption, Amber Sinha raises questions about public procurement, vendor influence, and how governments ensure accountability.
buff.ly
November 17, 2025 at 2:05 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
"Already, England has privatised much of the NHS. Indeed, my colleagues down south consider that NHS England is too far gone to bring it back under public ownership. Certainly, with the direction of UK politics, such an opinion seems warranted."
Will Scottish independence improve Scotland’s healthcare?
Egalitarian ideals shape Scotland’s distinct health policies, but independence raises a key question: party agenda or public belief?
bylines.scot
November 15, 2025 at 9:28 AM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
The only way to raise serious revenue is to raise a tax which everybody pays. Raising a tax which someone else pays rarely raises the revenue needed and creates endless pressure from special interest groups. Compare and contrast Mr Osborne's 2 1/2% VAT increase with his pasty tax. #omnishambles
November 14, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
That’s three London football clubs with uncomfortable proximity to Trump.
November 13, 2025 at 5:07 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
"If you want a picture of the future, imagine Liz Truss grovelling for the attention of a far-right billionaire - forever"
November 13, 2025 at 2:33 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
“The Far Right doesn’t stay within borders. It’s at work everywhere and it works in sync. The strength in one area magnifies the strength in another. It’s a global threat.”
The Far Right Hits The BBC
The assault on free media gathers pace
open.substack.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Reform UK Ltd gets 92% of its funding from climate change deniers and fossil fuel corporate interests, provoking negative reactions.
A new survey reveals negative attitudes to Reform UK Ltd
Reform UK Ltd gets 92% of its funding from climate change deniers and fossil fuel corporate interests, provoking negative reactions
centralbylines.co.uk
November 12, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Qanon believers, you are in for a hell of a plot twist.
November 12, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Our leading news organizations turned a cache of ultimately-innocuous emails into a scandal-coded weeklong series of front page stories leading into the 2016 election. If they do not cover the "emails from notorious pedophile implication the President" emails with the same fervor, it's curious!
November 12, 2025 at 2:43 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
wtf is going on man. Major evidence has been dropped that implicates The president of the United States in a child rape scheme and cover up and both msnbc and cnn and interviewing some clown directors about films coming out this weekend.

The information ecosystem in this country is broke man.
November 12, 2025 at 2:58 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
The email that’s most newsworthy in my mind is the one that Epstein sent to Ghislaine Maxwell in 2011.

1. This was years before Trump ran for office.

2. It appears that Ghislaine Maxwell lied to DOJ officials during her meeting with them a couple months ago.
November 12, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Explains why Jeffries has gotten bold about calling the Republicans a “pedophile protection program” - House Dems already had the dirt in hand
Breaking News: House Democrats released emails in which Jeffrey Epstein alleged that Donald Trump knew of the convicted sex offender's conduct and “spent hours at my house” with a victim.
Epstein Alleged in Emails That Trump Knew of His Conduct
In a message obtained by Congress, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein wrote that Donald J. Trump spent hours at his house with one of Mr. Epstein’s victims.
nyti.ms
November 12, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Back in the day (~2010ish), I was involved in turning a scholarly journal from closed to open access. So it's interesting and encouraging to read this report by @theblochian.bsky.social:
www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-v...
Chaos is coming for scholarly publishing - Research Professional News
Buckling of commercial models alongside maturing of community-led efforts promises major shifts, says Caroline Edwards
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 9:30 AM
Streeting isn’t *essential* to the stability of the Cabinet but there’s an element of truth to this because Starmer’s government is originally a coalition.
November 12, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Got it.
November 12, 2025 at 10:09 AM
Reposted by William Cullerne Bown
Pleasure to interview MP & science committee member Emily Darlington (@emily4mk.bsky.social)

She wants to see the UK go back to a place where “amazing scientists” were “household names”, but “with a bit more diversity, a few more women in the mix”.

www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-p...
MP calls for bigger R&D budgets outside of science department - Research Professional News
Science committee member Emily Darlington also wants more power for chief scientific advisers
www.researchprofessionalnews.com
November 12, 2025 at 10:13 AM