I have a post on the @york.ac.uk Social Change blog, on the launch of the report of the Community Wealth Building Commission for York & North Yorkshire, set up by @ynymayor.bsky.social @davidskaith.bsky.social, and on which I was honoured to serve as a commissioner. blogs.york.ac.uk/social-chang...

Some tremendous guesses in the replies. You were right to suspect that this wasn't the work of a card-carrying socialist. :-) It's actually Pope Pius XI in "Quadragesimo Anno" (1931)

Without googling — which critic of capitalism said this, and when did they say it?

Notre-Dame de Paris, from the left bank of the Seine, taken this morning.

Extremely informative visualisation of how this deeply disappointing Labour government has lost ground on both its left and right, to both Greens and to Reform. It also shows how the shape of British politics can no longer be contained within a First Past the Post system.

Looking forward to this conference in Paris tomorrow, organised under the auspices of @leaypi.bsky.social 's Chair at the @college-de-france.fr - "Socialism and Liberal Egalitarianism: a necessary dialogue". We all need a horizon of hope beyond capitalism! www.college-de-france.fr/en/agenda/sy...

32 years ago today since John Smith’s heart attack and sudden death. It felt like a tragedy at the time, but the scale of the disaster only becomes fully clear in retrospect. It’s hard to imagine that Britain would not now be in much better shape now had he lived to become Prime Minister.

If you're within striking distance of York, the 'Picturing Grief' exhibition runs until Sunday 10 May at Thin Ice Press. Six artists respond to work on grief from the AHRC Grief Project @uoyphilosophy.bsky.social @hrcyork.bsky.social at the University of York projectinggrief.com/pg-exhibition

Let’s hear it for the Greenford Garrincha! #Saka (Pictures via @poorlydrawnarsenal.com ) #COYG!

This has not been discussed in parliament. If the British military are aiding and abetting war crimes in Lebanon, and our politicians have not even explained to us why this is happening, in what sense are we living in a genuinely democratic society any more?

Hugely looking forward to this event in York @york.ac.uk next Tuesday, 24 March, when we'll be hosting Alex Gourevitch (Brown University) to talk about "Strikes and the Ideological Bind of the Fair Contract". Hosted by @uoyphilosophy.bsky.social, the Department of Politics, and @ycpt.bsky.social

Looking forward to this event tomorrow at the the Chinese University of Hong Kong -- where along with Lucas Stanczyk and Roger Chung, I'll be one of the commentators on Jiewuh Song's Lanson Lecture on "Climate Change, Health, and the Right to a Healthy Environment".

... and so -- as someone working in a Philosophy department @uoyphilosophy.bsky.social in an Arts & Humanities faculty @hrcyork.bsky.social -- it means a great deal to me receive this kind of recognition from across disciplinary boundaries, from the national academy for Social Sciences. 2/3

Happy International Women’s Day! #IWD26 #IWD #InternationalWomensDay (Clearly it should be a Bank Holiday, and everyone should therefore have a day off work tomorrow.)

No, no, no. *Britain* does *not* “back war with Iran”. Instead, Britain has been thrown into an illegal war with Iran by an idiotic Prime Minister with who has no backbone, no ideas, and no clue. Britain’s involvement in this destructive lunacy is on one man - Keir Starmer.

There is such a concentration of spin, blather and nonsense in the “resignation” letter from Josh Simons. Exhibit A: Simons claims: “I talked to my board” Exhibit B: Baroness Sally Morgan, *Chair of the Board at Labour Together*, apparently takes a different view. How very puzzling.

The Josh Simons "resignation" letter really is a piece of work. Warm words for establishment journalists, alongside aggressive dismissal of independent journalism. Deference to power; contempt for those on the outside. This is exactly why Labour is now so terminally unpopular.

Delighted to be in Catania — my very first visit to Sicily — for what should be an amazing conference on “Justice in the XXI Century”, bringing together participants from across Europe and Latin America.

What is more disturbing is that Josh Simons, in WhatsApp messages sent to fellow MPs yesterday, appears to prejudge the outcome of the investigation, and to claim that he has been told that he has already been cleared. This raises questions of credibility of the process. 🧵 2/3

Here’s Harold Wilson’s holiday home on St Mary’s in the Scilly Isles. The kind of modest place that a committed public servant might go to relax with his family. Compare this to the insatiable avarice of many politicians today. Something has gone deeply wrong in our politics.

I have today written to Sir Laurie Magnus, Independent Adviser on Ministerial Standards, requesting consideration of whether public statements made by Josh Simons MP on 6 February 2026 constitute a breach of the Ministerial Code. Letter attached.

Today’s editorial in the @thetimes.com calls on Josh Simons to resign as a minister. It quotes in its concluding paragraph his curious and incoherent late night response to me on that other platform, from 6 February 2026. As Josh Simons himself might say, “HOWZATT?” 😂

I first posted (on that other platform) about the Labour Together smear campaign on 6 Feb. Exhibit 1: the (barely coherent) response I received from Josh Simons late that night, denying any wrongdoing. Exhibit 2: the *actual content* of the deal made with the private investigators at APCO 🧵1/3

The Josh Simons story isn't just about one minister commissioning smears on journalists. It's about a toxic political culture that was built to destroy Corbyn — and then walked straight into government. My piece for @tribunemagazine.bsky.social 🧵 1/4

How on Earth could a "Cabinet Office investigation" into Labour Together's dirty tricks and smear tactics hope to be impartial, while Josh Simons remains as a *Cabinet Office* minister? If Starmer wants an *impartial* investigation, Josh Simons needs to be removed from office.

I've written a short post on the broader implications of today's Sunday Times story on Josh Simons, Labour Together, and their dirty tricks against journalists: Power, Corruption and Lies: Labour Together and the Degradation of British Politics martinoneillyork.substack.com/p/power-corr...

Labour Together under Morgan McSweeney and then Josh Simons was an organisation funded by rich donors, waging a campaign of bullying, smears and deception, using mafia tactics against both journalists and the left. Yet Starmer has still failed to sack Josh Simons even now. 👇

What an amazing painting. Where is it hanging? Here’s a version with the glare taken off it for you.

Apropos of Chris Betram's @crookedfootball.bsky.social post on Crooked Timber today. (Link in next post.)

Vindication for Palestine Action from the High Court. And further shame on Keir Starmer, Yvette Cooper, David Lammy, and all the other cynical authoritarians who tried to silence legitimate protest against genocide. www.bostonreview.net/forum/the-re...