@gordonmckelvie
Medieval Historian and UCU branch officer. Senior lecturer at Winchester University. Research on popular protest, political culture, warfare, rumour/conspiracy theories in England and Scotland, c.1300-1600. Views also on union stuff and politics
Publication of my short #PenguinMonarchs book on Henry VII on #WorldBookDay is wonderful. Enjoy the early #Tudor conspiracies, tragedies & @jodyhewgill.bsky.social‘s amazing cover painting. Thanks to the team @penguinrandomhouse.bsky.social
The number of commentators/journalists salivating at blaming Starmer for ruining the “special relationship” is genuinely pathetic
If anyone ruined it- if it even really exists- here’s a reminder of who did it.
The Spectator published this attack on me & colleagues just as the High Court is considering Sussex’s request for review of the Office for Students fine. It accuses us of ‘repressing’ our students. The magazine ignored my request for to reply. Please disseminate.
alanlester.co.uk/blog/smearin...
A brilliant initiative. Like much of Labour's work drowned out by other events.
If ever you needed a front page to capture the crass yet also dangerous silliness of so much of our media, and the impact of right wing nationalism which has done so much harm through a history from which some seem so unable to learn
A photo montage of labour campaigners out in the Gorton and Denton by-election.
Over 300 activists out today across Gorton & Denton (despite the rain) - here’s a snapshot.
Turns out (says @jburnmurdoch.ft.com) it's not so much an oversupply of graduates in the UK (the same would be true of other similar countries but it's not) as an undersupply of the kind of jobs that a better-performing, more productive economy would supply.
BBC reporting that Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
There is no precedent for a senior member of the royal family being placed under arrest in modern British history. A seismic moment for the monarchy.
More dodgy stuff that never makes UK-wide media. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
"We can use robots to do ultrasounds on pregnant women"
these fucking weirdos
They hate every worker and every patient. They don't believe in skill or expertise or humanity. They fetishize automation because they care about controlling people, not helping people thrive.
Are you interested in joining our team? scottishhistoricalreview.org/news/express...
I don’t know if I’ve missed anything but is there any equivalent of History Reclaimed for historians on the left/pro-EU side still going?
I’ve been saying it for a while, the green economy is the economic opportunity of this century. Here’s a great example - £204m of public money for offshore wind unlocks £3.4 billion of private money - to build factories and ports.
Shouldn’t a political party not have some sort of election to be leader? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Illustration from a medieval manuscript showing a figure in armor operating a large crossbow, with a humorous modern caption "when you've been invited to a meeting that could have been an email." The background includes detailed floral designs.
Big Monday energy 😅
#MedievalMonday
Shelfmark: MS. Bodl. 264
Seven Select Committee Chairs have written jointly to the Prime Minister calling for an explicit ban on cryptocurrency donations in the forthcoming Elections Bill.
This is not an argument about digital assets. It is an argument about democratic integrity.
This is another reason why we voted Labour!
Stronger parental leave rights for millions of working families will be introduced from April, Labour confirms.
They are part of the Employment Rights Act 2025 and the measures to enact the rules are being laid before Parliament today.
1/2
According to these figures London is safer than many if not all major North American cities. In 2025, there were 1.1 killings for every 100,000 residents of London, compared to 2.8 in New York, 5.6 in Los Angeles, 10.5 in Houston and 12.3 in Philadelphia
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
"High-end food production is closely tied to government consumption," said Ian Lahiffe, a consultant specialising in Chinese agriculture. "Domestic demand was hit after restrictions were put on government banquets, and producers suddenly found themselves sitting on stock they had to sell overseas.
So how did you become the world’s biggest exporter of caviar?
Well Xi Jinping’s anti corruption campaign meant it was harder to serve at government banquets and so we had to do something with all that stock
www.ft.com/content/e020...
Today the Sunday Times discusses the decline in students studying A-level and beyond. I believe this is reversible. I believe it is necessary. And I’m glad to have some of my words on the importance of the discipline and the vibrancy of our degrees in English at York in the article.
Things are going great over at X, The Everything App
Important piece here, particularly what it has to say about any notions of Scottish exceptionalism - the idea that Scotland is somehow more compassionate a society than England. Complete nonsense as social attitude studies have said for years and obvious to anyone
Over a third of GCSE, AS and A-level exam papers in 2023 made no mention of women at all.
"Of the 991 history exam questions set in 2023, 357 featured a named individual, but only 31 were women – and nine of those were references to Elizabeth I or her reign."
Dr Natasha R. Hodgson of Nottingham Trent University writes this week in The Conversation bit.ly/49ZqTiq
'An updated “code for ethical university governance” has been published calling for a “clearer separation between governance and management” and greater transparency on boards.' 1/2
The Facebook comments discussion is something to behold …
A blast from my past - the Medieval Soldier database takes nearly 300,000 military service records from 1369-1453 and makes them available as a searchable database.
An invaluable resource for understanding medieval warfare, society and the English medieval state. Learn more in the link. 🗃️
It’s good to have those stats (eg Open Days) as reassurance that you won’t just end up on the dole with a degree. But it’s never going to convince your Tories, Reform supporters or Maurice Glassmans of this world
Some excellent info here regarding employment prospects of humanities graduates. I fear, however, that the anti-humanities brigade just don’t want to know. The anti-HE and anti-humanities degree stance is an emotional and cultural one more than anything based on evidence or reason
