Alona Ferber
@aloner.bsky.social
Senior editor, @prospectmagazine.co.uk | Co-host, The Prospect Podcast | Ex: NS, Haaretz, TBI | UK, Israel/Palestine, feminism, politics, Ursula K Le Guin | Sign up to my newsletter: http://thebacklash.substack.com |
Pinned
The worst thing you can be (and four other reads)
Five things on gender inequality and the backlash against feminism
thebacklash.substack.com
“Don’t forget that the worst thing you can be is a girl”
New newsletter is out! with stuff on “feminisation”, Latvia, Russian post-feminism, the deepfake ecosystem and motherhood and writing, with links to stuff by @samanthaellis.bsky.social and others
thebacklash.substack.com/p/the-worst-...
New newsletter is out! with stuff on “feminisation”, Latvia, Russian post-feminism, the deepfake ecosystem and motherhood and writing, with links to stuff by @samanthaellis.bsky.social and others
thebacklash.substack.com/p/the-worst-...
Reposted by Alona Ferber
Today's migration stats illustrate the migration doom loop in action...
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
November 27, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Today's migration stats illustrate the migration doom loop in action...
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
(from my presentation at the IMF last week)
Reposted by Alona Ferber
So we are already back to the levels of migration of the early 2010s and declining faster... let's hope all those new restrictions, based on previous higher numbers, don't make Britain massively unattractive to those migrants the government DOES wish to attract.
Net migration fell sharply agaim to 204,000 in the year to June 2025, having been 344k in 2024 and 848k in 2023. But falling immigration has been the biggest secret - and it is time for the media and political debate to catch up with this change
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cn...
UK net migration fell to 204,000 in year to June - live updates
Net migration, the difference between those entering and leaving the country, was 345,000 in 2024 according to revised figures.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 9:56 AM
So we are already back to the levels of migration of the early 2010s and declining faster... let's hope all those new restrictions, based on previous higher numbers, don't make Britain massively unattractive to those migrants the government DOES wish to attract.
Join us this evening
I will be speaking tomorrow at this event at the LSE, with @aloner.bsky.social
all welcome
www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-...
all welcome
www.lse.ac.uk/middle-east-...
Israeli Domestic Politics since October 7
6.00pm Thursday 27 November | Alona Ferber, Yossi Mekelberg, Yair Wallach | Free event at LSE
www.lse.ac.uk
November 27, 2025 at 8:00 AM
Join us this evening
Reposted by Alona Ferber
The Chancellor has scrapped the two-child limit, benefitting more than half a million families.
In April 2025, out of families impacted by the limit:
- 6 in 10 had 3 children.
- 6 in 10 had at least one person in work.
- And 6 in 10 are receiving a health or disability benefit.
In April 2025, out of families impacted by the limit:
- 6 in 10 had 3 children.
- 6 in 10 had at least one person in work.
- And 6 in 10 are receiving a health or disability benefit.
November 26, 2025 at 1:45 PM
The Chancellor has scrapped the two-child limit, benefitting more than half a million families.
In April 2025, out of families impacted by the limit:
- 6 in 10 had 3 children.
- 6 in 10 had at least one person in work.
- And 6 in 10 are receiving a health or disability benefit.
In April 2025, out of families impacted by the limit:
- 6 in 10 had 3 children.
- 6 in 10 had at least one person in work.
- And 6 in 10 are receiving a health or disability benefit.
Reposted by Alona Ferber
Matt: we need measures to improve fertility - it's one of our biggest problems!
Also Matt: No not like that. I meant white people only.
Also Matt: No not like that. I meant white people only.
Reflections on the budget from the head of Students4Reform
November 26, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Matt: we need measures to improve fertility - it's one of our biggest problems!
Also Matt: No not like that. I meant white people only.
Also Matt: No not like that. I meant white people only.
Let's take a moment to applaud the fact the two-child limit has been scrapped, a measure which has been described as "the worst social policy ever", writes @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social for @prospectmagazine.co.uk /1
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/716...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/716...
At last: a budget that ends the two-child limit
The government should be applauded for scrapping the cruel policy, but tackling poverty requires more
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Let's take a moment to applaud the fact the two-child limit has been scrapped, a measure which has been described as "the worst social policy ever", writes @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social for @prospectmagazine.co.uk /1
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/716...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/716...
Reposted by Alona Ferber
Whatever else this government do (and there's plenty of issues with this budget) ministers will always be able to point to this as an incredible important contribution to the country's future. Almost half a million kids taken out of poverty.
Scrapping the two-child limit in full is a monumental decision. Well done to all involved in the Child Poverty Strategy, and everyone who has made the case against the policy.
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
OBR says scrapping costs £3 billion in 2029-30 and will lift 450,000 out of poverty
November 26, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Whatever else this government do (and there's plenty of issues with this budget) ministers will always be able to point to this as an incredible important contribution to the country's future. Almost half a million kids taken out of poverty.
Reposted by Alona Ferber
Join me at @propublica.org in one of the most rewarding jobs in journalism, guiding collaborative investigative projects in local newsrooms around the country as a senior editor with our Local Reporting Network!
We’d love to see your application by Dec 8.
We’d love to see your application by Dec 8.
Senior Editor, Local Reporting Network
Remote, United States
job-boards.greenhouse.io
November 26, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Join me at @propublica.org in one of the most rewarding jobs in journalism, guiding collaborative investigative projects in local newsrooms around the country as a senior editor with our Local Reporting Network!
We’d love to see your application by Dec 8.
We’d love to see your application by Dec 8.
Reposted by Alona Ferber
Delighted to hear that Chancellor Reeves will be scrapping the two-child limit *in full* - and getting rid of the degrading and humiliating “rape clause”. The scrapping of 2 child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty. #AutumnBudget #Budget2025
November 26, 2025 at 1:37 PM
Delighted to hear that Chancellor Reeves will be scrapping the two-child limit *in full* - and getting rid of the degrading and humiliating “rape clause”. The scrapping of 2 child limit will lift 450,000 children out of poverty. #AutumnBudget #Budget2025
Reposted by Alona Ferber
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
November 26, 2025 at 1:04 PM
Good morning to Brazilian reporter Manuela Borges, who’s been waiting eleven years for this petty moment. ❤️ 🇧🇷
Reposted by Alona Ferber
As bad as your day might be, it could be worse, you could be the person who accidentally published the OBR's budget document a couple of hours early: obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...
obr.uk
November 26, 2025 at 11:59 AM
As bad as your day might be, it could be worse, you could be the person who accidentally published the OBR's budget document a couple of hours early: obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...
Way to steal Rachel Reeves' thunder
wth tho
lol here’s the full OBR book someone pressed publish early here’s the budget obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...
November 26, 2025 at 12:03 PM
Way to steal Rachel Reeves' thunder
Reposted by Alona Ferber
Key takeaways on Chancellor's policy choices from the accidentally published OBR doc.
- Now £22bn of headroom in 2029-30 (up from £9.9bn)
- £26bn in tax rises in 2029-30 (including extension income tax threshold freeze, NICS on salary sacrifice pensions)
obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...
- Now £22bn of headroom in 2029-30 (up from £9.9bn)
- £26bn in tax rises in 2029-30 (including extension income tax threshold freeze, NICS on salary sacrifice pensions)
obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...
obr.uk
November 26, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Key takeaways on Chancellor's policy choices from the accidentally published OBR doc.
- Now £22bn of headroom in 2029-30 (up from £9.9bn)
- £26bn in tax rises in 2029-30 (including extension income tax threshold freeze, NICS on salary sacrifice pensions)
obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...
- Now £22bn of headroom in 2029-30 (up from £9.9bn)
- £26bn in tax rises in 2029-30 (including extension income tax threshold freeze, NICS on salary sacrifice pensions)
obr.uk/docs/dlm_upl...
Reposted by Alona Ferber
🎧: Why does every platform seem to get worse over time? This week, @ellenhalliday.bsky.social and @aloner.bsky.social are joined on the Prospect Podcast by writer Cory Doctorow, who coined the term “enshittification”.
Cory Doctorow: How the internet went to sh*t
The journalist and activist visits Prospect HQ to discuss what tech giants have done to the internet—and how to fight back
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 11:43 AM
🎧: Why does every platform seem to get worse over time? This week, @ellenhalliday.bsky.social and @aloner.bsky.social are joined on the Prospect Podcast by writer Cory Doctorow, who coined the term “enshittification”.
It's @prospectmagazine.co.uk pod day! This week @ellenhalliday.bsky.social and I were joined by Cory Doctorow, the man who coined the term enshittification to describe what has happened to the internet. It was a delightful, though depressing, conversation
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/pro...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/pro...
Cory Doctorow: How the internet went to sh*t
The journalist and activist visits Prospect HQ to discuss what tech giants have done to the internet—and how to fight back
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 26, 2025 at 10:38 AM
It's @prospectmagazine.co.uk pod day! This week @ellenhalliday.bsky.social and I were joined by Cory Doctorow, the man who coined the term enshittification to describe what has happened to the internet. It was a delightful, though depressing, conversation
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/pro...
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/podcasts/pro...
Reposted by Alona Ferber
Israeli conductor @ilanvolkov.bsky.social decided to use his “biggest concert of the season” in London to speak out about the Gaza war: “Closing our eyes is not an option”, he tells @aloner.bsky.social.
The viral Israeli conductor: ‘Closing our eyes is not an option’
Ilan Volkov on his political intervention at the Proms—and why Gaza is all that matters
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 25, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Israeli conductor @ilanvolkov.bsky.social decided to use his “biggest concert of the season” in London to speak out about the Gaza war: “Closing our eyes is not an option”, he tells @aloner.bsky.social.
Reposted by Alona Ferber
'I am the daughter of immigrants' is this year's 'my father was a tool maker'.....🙄
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Shabana Mahmood is an avatar of open Britain – that’s what makes her fable about immigration so seductive | Nesrine Malik
‘She is the daughter of immigrants,’ supporters of her cruel asylum policies say. ‘How can she be wrong?’ Let me put them straight, says Guardian columnist Nesrine Malik
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 9:37 AM
'I am the daughter of immigrants' is this year's 'my father was a tool maker'.....🙄
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
“The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office”
Excellent piece from @sophiegilbert.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
Excellent piece from @sophiegilbert.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
President Piggy
This is what consequence-free misogyny looks like.
www.theatlantic.com
November 21, 2025 at 2:51 PM
“The fish rots from the head. The pig is in the Oval Office”
Excellent piece from @sophiegilbert.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
Excellent piece from @sophiegilbert.bsky.social
www.theatlantic.com/culture/2025...
Reposted by Alona Ferber
BREAKING: Reform UK's former Welsh leader and close Nigel Farage associate, Nathan Gill, sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for repeatedly taking bribes to spread pro-Russian propaganda
November 21, 2025 at 12:52 PM
BREAKING: Reform UK's former Welsh leader and close Nigel Farage associate, Nathan Gill, sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison for repeatedly taking bribes to spread pro-Russian propaganda
“I’m not sure which is worse, a total lack of self-awareness or just enough to recognise the problem but insufficient self-discipline to do anything about it”
(PS I am so the intended audience for this article)
(PS I am so the intended audience for this article)
How do I learn when to shut up in meetings? on.ft.com/444jJWn | opinion
How do I learn when to shut up in meetings?
It’s too late for me, but you can still follow my advice
on.ft.com
November 21, 2025 at 11:51 AM
“I’m not sure which is worse, a total lack of self-awareness or just enough to recognise the problem but insufficient self-discipline to do anything about it”
(PS I am so the intended audience for this article)
(PS I am so the intended audience for this article)
Reposted by Alona Ferber
"Record numbers of overseas-trained doctors are quitting the UK, leaving the NHS at risk of huge gaps in its workforce, with hostility towards migrants blamed for the exodus...the NHS is so heavily reliant on doctors from elsewhere – 42% of its entire medical workforce qualified overseas."
All those people, including current government, who falsely claim migrants are to blame for failings with the NHS, along with infrastructure in general, are in for one hell of a shock with how much worse things will get with Labour's anti-immigration policies.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Overseas-trained doctors leaving the UK in record numbers
Medical bodies warn that hostility towards migrants is behind a 26% rise in departures last year that imperils NHS
www.theguardian.com
November 21, 2025 at 9:58 AM
"Record numbers of overseas-trained doctors are quitting the UK, leaving the NHS at risk of huge gaps in its workforce, with hostility towards migrants blamed for the exodus...the NHS is so heavily reliant on doctors from elsewhere – 42% of its entire medical workforce qualified overseas."
Reposted by Alona Ferber
These same folks extremely committed to fighting antisemitism in universities
Exclusive: The U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify the swastika, nooses and the Confederate flag as hate symbols.
The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
The military service drafted a new policy that classifies them as “potentially divisive.”
U.S. Coast Guard will no longer classify swastikas, nooses as hate symbols
The military service, which falls under the Department of Homeland Security, has drafted a new policy that classifies such items “potentially divisive.”
www.washingtonpost.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:34 PM
These same folks extremely committed to fighting antisemitism in universities
Reposted by Alona Ferber
This is a nuts story. An AI chatbot and image platform left millions of images exposed. They show what people are actually using the AI for: taking random women's yearbook, graduation, and social media photos and making super realistic hardcore porn with them
www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
Massive Leak Shows Erotic Chatbot Users Turned Women’s Yearbook Pictures Into AI Porn
Chatbot roleplay and image generator platform SecretDesires.ai left cloud storage containers of nearly two million of images and videos exposed, including photos and full names of women from social me...
www.404media.co
November 19, 2025 at 3:28 PM
This is a nuts story. An AI chatbot and image platform left millions of images exposed. They show what people are actually using the AI for: taking random women's yearbook, graduation, and social media photos and making super realistic hardcore porn with them
www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
www.404media.co/ai-porn-secr...
My longread from the latest edition of our mag about the razing of Gaza in this war. One man who grew up in Rafah, the city in southern Gaza that has been largely destroyed, told me this: “you can say you miss your city if it still exists. It’s gone, you know”
“Soldiers testify that they have been told to burn down houses they have stayed in by pouring oil on curtains, books and mattresses.”
Read @aloner.bsky.social’s report on the destruction of Gaza’s cities.
Read @aloner.bsky.social’s report on the destruction of Gaza’s cities.
‘The directive was nothing left’: How Gaza’s cities were destroyed
Israel has razed large parts of the Gaza Strip since the war began in October 2023. The evidence points to systemic destruction
www.prospectmagazine.co.uk
November 19, 2025 at 10:01 AM
My longread from the latest edition of our mag about the razing of Gaza in this war. One man who grew up in Rafah, the city in southern Gaza that has been largely destroyed, told me this: “you can say you miss your city if it still exists. It’s gone, you know”