@bobhudson.bsky.social
@bobhudson.bsky.social
Visiting Professor in Public Policy, Sunderland University. Sunderland AFC loyalist. Inveterate Remainer. Durham City, UK.
https://www.theguardian.com/profile/bob-hudson
Education
33%
Public Health
26%
BBC tells staff they cannot quote Trump line removed from Reith lecture
Journalists not allowed to repeat Rutger Bregman’s corruption claims against US president in coverage of edit
www.theguardian.com
Is it now a legal requirement in the UK that Trump is beyond criticism?
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
The budget, the British press, and the long shadow of Benefits Street
Why a TV show from 2014 is still easy shorthand for creating division.
open.substack.com
‘Benefits Street’! ‘Skivers’! Our media (sadly including the BBC) is incapable of treating child poverty as a serious issue. Do read this by @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social.
open.substack.com/pub/brokenbo...
open.substack.com/pub/brokenbo...
New analysis by the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk library estimates that Brexit is costing the Treasury up to £90bn a year in lost tax revenue, and the average Briton has seen a hit to GDP per head between £2,700 and £3,700. /4
The elephant will never leave the room will it?
We’ve moved from ‘social security’ to ‘welfare’; from minimum entitlements to food banks; and now reducing child poverty is rebadged as a ‘benefit street’ budget. What have we become?
Reith lecturer accuses BBC of cowardice for censoring his remarks on Trump
Dutch writer Rutger Bregman says claim that Trump was ‘most openly corrupt president in US history’ was removed
www.theguardian.com
This is all going somewhat under the radar. Pity, because it’s a shameful episode of bending the knee to Trump. www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
Reposted by Bob Hudson
New analysis by the @houseofcommons.parliament.uk library estimates that Brexit is costing the Treasury up to £90bn a year in lost tax revenue, and the average Briton has seen a hit to GDP per head between £2,700 and £3,700. /4
Three more ex-pupils at school with Nigel Farage reject ‘banter’ claims
Exclusive: Dulwich college contemporaries ‘rubbish’ Reform UK leader’s suggestion alleged racist taunts not intended to hurt
www.theguardian.com
Farage could have apologised. Instead he doubled down on his denials while the evidence stacks up against him. Do we seriously want this man to be PM?
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
All the findings from report into County Durham and Darlington trust's failings
Here are the findings from a report into breast surgery failings at County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT).
www.thenorthernecho.co.uk
Terrifyingly damning report on my local hospital - systemic failures of governance. www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/2564826...
US optimistic over Ukraine peace deal talks but ‘a few delicate details’ remain
Ukrainian official cites ‘common understanding’, but no sign territorial concessions or security guarantees are agreed
www.theguardian.com
The words ‘a few delicate details’ are working hard here aren’t they?
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
DWP to reassess hundreds of thousands of cases in carer’s allowance scandal
Damning official review finds many unpaid carers left with huge debt because of government failure
www.theguardian.com
Real investigative journalism by @patrickjbutler.bsky.social and @joshhalliday.bsky.social. Not that much of it about these days. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Yes, you never forget the bullies do you?
Architecture no longer considered a "professional degree" in USA
Students in the USA will receive lower loans under the terms of the One Big Beautiful Bill as architecture will not be considered a professional degree.
www.dezeen.com
Architecture, Accountancy, Nursing and more ‘deprofessionalised’ under Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill. That’s what authoritarian regimes do… www.dezeen.com/2025/11/24/a...
Nigel Farage responds to racism claims saying he never ‘tried to hurt anybody’
Reform leader denies racist or antisemitic behaviour ‘with intent’ at school, but says he can’t remember everything from 49 years ago
www.theguardian.com
Waking to the smoke-addled voice of Farage on #r4today saying the multiple ex-classmates who recalled his outright racism are…all mistaken… www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
BBC Chair Samir Shah and Robbie Gibb asked to explain why they drew up a plan, as revealed by Byline Times, to win back the "trust" of Reform voters, but haven't made similar plans for voters of any other party.
Gibb says Reform voters least likely to trust the BBC bylinetimes.com/2025/06/09/b...
Gibb says Reform voters least likely to trust the BBC bylinetimes.com/2025/06/09/b...
BBC Bosses Draw Up Plans to Win Over Reform Voters by Changing News and Drama Output
The Director General Tim Davie and other executives discussed altering BBC “story selection” in order to secure the "trust" of supporters of Nigel Farage’s party
bylinetimes.com
Astonishing answer! The job of the BBC is to faithfully report the news, not try to appeal to those inclined to support Reform.
Reposted by Bob Hudson
BBC Bosses Draw Up Plans to Win Over Reform Voters by Changing News and Drama Output
The Director General Tim Davie and other executives discussed altering BBC “story selection” in order to secure the "trust" of supporters of Nigel Farage’s party
bylinetimes.com
BBC Chair Samir Shah and Robbie Gibb asked to explain why they drew up a plan, as revealed by Byline Times, to win back the "trust" of Reform voters, but haven't made similar plans for voters of any other party.
Gibb says Reform voters least likely to trust the BBC bylinetimes.com/2025/06/09/b...
Gibb says Reform voters least likely to trust the BBC bylinetimes.com/2025/06/09/b...
It’s hard to decide which is more disturbing—that the president of the United States thinks that being disliked is a mitigating factor in the murder of a journalist; or that he considers reporters who ask questions he doesn’t like to be “insubordinate.” www.thebulwark.com/p/push-back-...
Push Back Against Trump’s Press Abuse
It’s long past time for the Fourth Estate to challenge the president’s unhinged hostility and unbridled misogyny.
www.thebulwark.com
Nothing in Trump’s America is normal. It shouldn’t be treated as such.
Prescott comes across as out of his depth even under the intensely mild and ineffectual questioning of DCMS committee.
He has repeatedly returned to one of the most bizarre lines in his report, that Panorama should have matched its Jan 6th episode with an "equally aggressive" one into Kamala.
He has repeatedly returned to one of the most bizarre lines in his report, that Panorama should have matched its Jan 6th episode with an "equally aggressive" one into Kamala.
Here’s the problem with the BBC’s notion of ‘balance’. Harris and Trump are not equivalent - only one of them incited an insurrection.
Reposted by Bob Hudson
Push Back Against Trump’s Press Abuse
It’s long past time for the Fourth Estate to challenge the president’s unhinged hostility and unbridled misogyny.
www.thebulwark.com
It’s hard to decide which is more disturbing—that the president of the United States thinks that being disliked is a mitigating factor in the murder of a journalist; or that he considers reporters who ask questions he doesn’t like to be “insubordinate.” www.thebulwark.com/p/push-back-...
Reposted by Bob Hudson
Prescott comes across as out of his depth even under the intensely mild and ineffectual questioning of DCMS committee.
He has repeatedly returned to one of the most bizarre lines in his report, that Panorama should have matched its Jan 6th episode with an "equally aggressive" one into Kamala.
He has repeatedly returned to one of the most bizarre lines in his report, that Panorama should have matched its Jan 6th episode with an "equally aggressive" one into Kamala.
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
‘Mahmood is just an addition to the ranks of Braverman, Badenoch, Patel and Sunak’ - powerful piece here by @nesrinemalik.bsky.social
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
‘That doesn’t exist’: Doge reportedly quietly disbanded ahead of schedule
Statement by Trump administration confirms longstanding suspicions that Musk-led agency is on its way out
www.theguardian.com
A failed Trump policy stunt uncritically copied by Reform councils and…failed again.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
Reduce child poverty? ‘Welfare giveaway’. Retain WFA - that this paper argued for? ‘Welfare giveaway’. Increase tax? A ‘burden’, a ‘grab’. You can’t win can you?
Lord Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover strengthens UK media’s rightwing tilt
Many fear competition and diversity will be diminished as Daily Mail owner wins race to buy newspaper
www.theguardian.com
This proposed tightening of a right-wing grip on our media isn’t getting the attention it needs… www.theguardian.com/media/2025/n...
UK gambling firms spent ‘astronomic’ £2bn on advertising last year
Calls for Rachel Reeves to increase taxes in budget as estimate outstrips duties collected from online casinos
www.theguardian.com
They won’t miss paying a bit more tax to help reduce child poverty will they? www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Yes, very good account of a world that is alien to most Durham students.
Trump says Ukraine deal is not ‘final offer’ as officials gather for Geneva summit
US president signals potential room for adjustments after Zelenskyy says proposals force Ukraine to choose between national dignity and losing the US
www.theguardian.com
It’s like trying to negotiate what to have for breakfast with a screaming toddler isn’t it? www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...