Pauline Stafford
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pstafford.bsky.social
Pauline Stafford
@pstafford.bsky.social

Historian of early Middle Ages, Grandmother, Leftwing, Labour, Leeds, British, European. Emerita Prof University of Liverpool

Pauline Stafford is Professor Emerita of Early Medieval History at Liverpool University and a visiting professor at Leeds University in England. Dr. Stafford is a former vice-president of the Royal Historical Society. .. more

History 50%
Philosophy 24%

This is awful news. Stephen was an outstanding historian of early medieval England. As his recent work on Domesday Book showed he had so much more to give. This is a huge loss to the subject - and obviously to his family and friends.
St Peter's College have set up a page for people to record their memories of Stephen which will be shared with his family and posted on a tribute page as appropriate.
Link here: www.history.ox.ac.uk/article/step...

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

St Peter's College have set up a page for people to record their memories of Stephen which will be shared with his family and posted on a tribute page as appropriate.
Link here: www.history.ox.ac.uk/article/step...

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

It me! Online attendance also available; book on Eventbrite: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/professor-...
PhD funding for early career historians completing a doctorate.

Applications are invited for the Society's Centenary PhD Fellowships for the academic year 2026-27 bit.ly/49MzqmT.

Two awards of £8500 per student, held jointly with @ihr.bsky.social. Closing date: 31 January 2026 #Skystorians

Read, consider and inwardly digest - these figures tell so much about British politics now , including the similarities which unite the two ‘blocs’ of current psephology.
From the British Election Study: share of supporters who are aged 66+ *or* have a personal income <£20k and household income <£40k

Reform - 48%
Conservative - 45%
Lib Dem - 35%
Green - 30%
Labour - 28%
The US granted visas to Jews but only allowed 30,000 in from Germany a year. You had to wait for your number to come up.

Meet Robert Smallbones. An unassuming British diplomat who 'hacked' this system so effectively (saving 48 THOUSAND Jews) the UK government kept his scheme secret for decades /1 🧵
Keir Starmer says he won’t yield on UK’s position on Greenland under pressure from US president.

“I will not yield. Britain will not yield on our principles and values about the future of Greenland and the threats of tariffs.”

Just stop at ‘ Did they think’?
From the British Election Study: share of supporters who are aged 66+ *or* have a personal income <£20k and household income <£40k

Reform - 48%
Conservative - 45%
Lib Dem - 35%
Green - 30%
Labour - 28%

Fascinating on attitudes to work derived from a series of studies - but ironic that central one produced by AI not human researchers.

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

The paradox of work..

(This one is a journey.)

as.ft.com/r/70411e16-a...
The paradox of work
[FREE TO READ] Why it brings misery into our lives — but also meaning
as.ft.com

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Something I don't say all that often but this column in the Tel is really worth a read, both for what it says and as a sign of where the UK right are on Trump

www.telegraph.co.uk/business/202...
This will get massively overshadowed today and as ever the devil is in the detail, but is should be one of the best things Labour has done. It has the potential to improve the lives and finances of millions of people.
www.businessgreen.com/news/4524489...
'A national project to turn the tide': Government unveils £15bn Warm Homes Plan
Long-awaited plan aims to help millions of families to cut energy bills by installing solar panels, batteries, heat pumps, and insulation
www.businessgreen.com

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

The editorial board of the NYT counts up the personal corruption of Donald Trump - at least $1.4bn so far:

www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | How Trump Has Used the Presidency to Make at Least $1.4 Billion
The president took an oath to serve the American people. Instead, he’s focused his second term on enriching himself and his family.
www.nytimes.com
Trump: "I should have gotten the Nobel prize for each war...I saved millions and millions of people...and don't let anyone tell you that Norway doesn't control the shots. It's in Norway. Norway controls the shots. It's a joke. They've lost such prestige.“

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

There’s balance; and then there’s BBC balance when it comes to the Labour party.
not only is this an appalling take which attacks Starmer for the actions of a lunatic and not the lunatic, but also strays well beyond ‘unbiased’ reporting

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Rare Hodges W
also, side note, but why are these deranged outbursts by a deranged racist & misogynist ‘embarrassing’ for Starmer, who’s trying to prop up a security alliance in the face of madness, and not ‘embarrassing’ for the journalists working on these stories who’ve done so much to sanewash Trump?

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

One of my fave political stories ever: when Maine’s GOP then-Gov LePage thought that not signing bills by deadline meant they’d die.

So he ignored all these Dem bills, thinking it’d kill them.

But in Maine, if Gov just does nothing (rather than veto), a bill becomes law.

So they all became law.

Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Thanks for sharing - impressive research.
If I was President of the United States, the last thing I’d do is start questioning territorial claims based on ‘people arriving in boats hundreds of years ago’.

Withdrawal of need-based US assistance has opened the way for Russian and Chinese strategic aid designed to create permanent dependency and reduction of sovereignty. Total miscalculation of US interest on Trump’s part - quite apart from humanitarian disaster.
The inkless doodles of Eadburg, an 8th-c. nun, discovered by new technology: now published by Jessica Hendy-Hodgkinson in EME doi.org/10.1111/emed... (Open access)

So if we’re into crude power games . . .
Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.
Deutsche Bank here with the good stuff.
Game on.
If you read one thing today, it should be this

Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’

www.thetimes.com/article/01ba...
Iran report says 16,500 dead in ‘genocide under digital darkness’
Witnesses tell of the brutality inflicted on those taking part in anti-regime protests
www.thetimes.com
Donald Trump threatens 10% tariffs on UK and Nigel Farage who has positioned himself as the president's best mate in Britain drops out of a much promoted interview on the BBC.

Strange.

Almost like the two things are connected.