Marianne O'Doherty
@marianneodoherty.bsky.social
Medievalist. Likes maps, birds, nature, cycling, cider and primates. She/her.
All I can say after seeing the wall of nasty coverage of the removal of the 2 child benefit cap is that Dara O Brain was right in his book Tickling the English. The English really do hate children. For Exhibit B I also point you to the tumbleweeds when we came 37 out of 38 OECD countries for...
November 27, 2025 at 11:13 PM
All I can say after seeing the wall of nasty coverage of the removal of the 2 child benefit cap is that Dara O Brain was right in his book Tickling the English. The English really do hate children. For Exhibit B I also point you to the tumbleweeds when we came 37 out of 38 OECD countries for...
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
Removing the two-child limit accounts for less than 1 per cent of social security bill. To remove 450,000 children out of poverty, that's pretty good return on investment.
November 27, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Removing the two-child limit accounts for less than 1 per cent of social security bill. To remove 450,000 children out of poverty, that's pretty good return on investment.
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
Some sympathy for this potentially made up woman but I wonder how the poster feels about the numerous people who would love to be able to call a house their own and form relationships with their neighbours but can't because of the housing market. Does their emotional plea count for anything?
November 27, 2025 at 7:36 AM
Some sympathy for this potentially made up woman but I wonder how the poster feels about the numerous people who would love to be able to call a house their own and form relationships with their neighbours but can't because of the housing market. Does their emotional plea count for anything?
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
Threshold for repaying student loans to converge with minimum wage on.ft.com/3M2AYkD
Threshold for repaying student loans to converge with minimum wage
Surprise move from chancellor means some university graduates in England may have to pay back debts sooner
on.ft.com
November 26, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Threshold for repaying student loans to converge with minimum wage on.ft.com/3M2AYkD
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
Would love some in-depth numbers on what the majority of 20-30 somethings basically paying a 9% higher marginal tax rate has actually done to economic behaviour. Feels very under-discussed bsky.app/profile/igma...
Student loan repayment thresholds frozen for a further three years.
More debt burden falling on graduates.
And even more reason to cut university places by 20-30%.
More debt burden falling on graduates.
And even more reason to cut university places by 20-30%.
November 26, 2025 at 1:00 PM
Would love some in-depth numbers on what the majority of 20-30 somethings basically paying a 9% higher marginal tax rate has actually done to economic behaviour. Feels very under-discussed bsky.app/profile/igma...
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
It beggars belief that Labour are taxing universities’ most lucrative revenue streams at a time when three quarters of them are in the red
November 25, 2025 at 9:54 PM
It beggars belief that Labour are taxing universities’ most lucrative revenue streams at a time when three quarters of them are in the red
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
The Economic Impact of Brexit
Other
siepr.stanford.edu
November 24, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Still reeling from the Stanford report on Brexit. Reduced GDP by up to 8% and investment by as much as 18%. The UK Treasury would have £40 billion more each year if Britain had remained in the EU. Devastating self-immolation.
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
Hey, Labour. Maybe tax gambling a bit. That will raise a few quid
November 24, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Hey, Labour. Maybe tax gambling a bit. That will raise a few quid
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
We pour billions into saving an economically tiny steel industry whilst actively destroying one of our largest export industries. (Yes, higher education to overseas students who already massively subsidise UK students, are counted as exports).
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 24, 2025 at 7:37 AM
We pour billions into saving an economically tiny steel industry whilst actively destroying one of our largest export industries. (Yes, higher education to overseas students who already massively subsidise UK students, are counted as exports).
This is important framing. The surplus we get from international fees is spent on home students already. This move will cut the money universities have to spend on home students. And we're supposed to trust that they will take it and distribute it fairly to poorer students. What possible...
"University students in England get two-thirds of funding of a decade ago, analysis finds"
University students in England get two-thirds of funding of a decade ago, analysis finds
University leaders says planned levy on international student fees will leave many institutions even worse off
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:24 AM
This is important framing. The surplus we get from international fees is spent on home students already. This move will cut the money universities have to spend on home students. And we're supposed to trust that they will take it and distribute it fairly to poorer students. What possible...
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
I'm sure those poorer British students will benefit greatly from grants to attend the universities that no longer exist because Labour have bankrupted them.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 24, 2025 at 8:15 AM
I'm sure those poorer British students will benefit greatly from grants to attend the universities that no longer exist because Labour have bankrupted them.
If their aim is to raise revenue this won't work because it will contribute to the destruction of the entities from which it is trying to raise revenue. If their aim is to shut down universities then this will help them achieve that. It's worth comparing the treatment of universities to...
I’d love to see UUK, UCU, UCEA, the Russell group, the funding councils, research charities, hell pretty much every university stakeholder to stand together and say to the Govt in one voice - Stop fucking around with our universities.
You are destroying us, and you will miss us when we’re gone.
You are destroying us, and you will miss us when we’re gone.
i: Reeves to unveil £600m raid on foreign student
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
university fees #TomorrowsPapersToday
November 24, 2025 at 8:16 AM
If their aim is to raise revenue this won't work because it will contribute to the destruction of the entities from which it is trying to raise revenue. If their aim is to shut down universities then this will help them achieve that. It's worth comparing the treatment of universities to...
'Competition will be great for Universities', they said. 'It will ensure the best departments are rewarded'.
'It is notable that in the last Research Excellence Framework exercise the Department of American Studies at Nottingham was ranked third in the Area Studies unit of assessment and was one of the top-performing units across the whole of the University of Nottingham.' 1/2
RED ALERT: the University of Nottingham is threatening to close its Department of American Studies, putting all staff at risk of redundancy, and ending any American specialist knowledge in the Faculty of Arts.
Sign the petition here to save jobs:
www.change.org/p/save-ameri...
Sign the petition here to save jobs:
www.change.org/p/save-ameri...
November 23, 2025 at 7:59 PM
'Competition will be great for Universities', they said. 'It will ensure the best departments are rewarded'.
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
Still my favourite example of why AI may be artificial, but it's definitely not intelligent
November 21, 2025 at 10:58 PM
Still my favourite example of why AI may be artificial, but it's definitely not intelligent
Bit of Stone Ross, in memory and all that...
November 21, 2025 at 8:05 PM
Bit of Stone Ross, in memory and all that...
I just don't think we are taking the interaction of this tech with our cognitive processes and known psychological weaknesses as a species anything like seriously enough. The tech companies want us to think this kind of thing is an aberration and a distraction. I'm no psychologist, but you...
I am by no means a prominent public intellectual, but my inbox is increasingly filled with messages from people who have been convinced by sycophantic chatbots that they have discovered revolutionary theories that entirely upend our scientific understanding of the universe.
November 21, 2025 at 8:45 AM
I just don't think we are taking the interaction of this tech with our cognitive processes and known psychological weaknesses as a species anything like seriously enough. The tech companies want us to think this kind of thing is an aberration and a distraction. I'm no psychologist, but you...
Ooh a challenge for the Old English bods! Scip Scipsunu?
November 21, 2025 at 8:38 AM
Ooh a challenge for the Old English bods! Scip Scipsunu?
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
"Students at the University of Staffordshire have said they feel “robbed of knowledge and enjoyment” after a course they hoped would launch their digital careers turned out to be taught in large part by AI"
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
‘We could have asked ChatGPT’: students fight back over course taught by AI
Staffordshire students say signs material was AI-generated included suspicious file names and rogue voiceover accent
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:32 AM
"Students at the University of Staffordshire have said they feel “robbed of knowledge and enjoyment” after a course they hoped would launch their digital careers turned out to be taught in large part by AI"
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
www.theguardian.com/education/20...
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
Bellingcat’s contact email has always been a magnet for people with fairly unusual views; paranoid delusions, sprawling conspiracies, the works. But recently, the pattern has shifted, we’re seeing more and more emails clearly written with ChatGPT.
November 19, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Bellingcat’s contact email has always been a magnet for people with fairly unusual views; paranoid delusions, sprawling conspiracies, the works. But recently, the pattern has shifted, we’re seeing more and more emails clearly written with ChatGPT.
We also have employers saying it is making it easier for weak candidates to write good job applications, making shortlisting tougher and more random. And when you see it used to write appeals or complaints... Oh boy. 10 page rants in which half the grounds or more are made up, but you don't know...
My timeline is demonstrating that the main use-case for GenAI is temporarily elevating crackpots, weirdos, and dumbasses to levels approaching normalcy long enough to waste other people's time.
November 19, 2025 at 5:02 PM
We also have employers saying it is making it easier for weak candidates to write good job applications, making shortlisting tougher and more random. And when you see it used to write appeals or complaints... Oh boy. 10 page rants in which half the grounds or more are made up, but you don't know...
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu
November 18, 2025 at 9:44 AM
This mural has gone up in Kingston, ostensibly for Christmas but AI has ensured it's actually to celebrate the return of our dark lord Cthulhu
It's snowing outside.
November 19, 2025 at 8:00 AM
It's snowing outside.
Reposted by Marianne O'Doherty
'Nottingham will be the only Russell Group university not to teach modern foreign languages degrees if it approves plans to close a swath of courses including Spanish and French as well as music and dozens of others.' 1/3
University of Nottingham considers axing language and music degrees
Total of 48 degrees could disappear from Russell Group institution, with falling revenues and rising costs blamed
www.theguardian.com
November 18, 2025 at 7:01 PM
'Nottingham will be the only Russell Group university not to teach modern foreign languages degrees if it approves plans to close a swath of courses including Spanish and French as well as music and dozens of others.' 1/3
I found this interview with Pichai extraordinarily soft and naive. These tech companies are now political actors and should be challenged robustly like politicians. The obvious question: what is the point of a unreliable technology?, was not asked. We wouldn't let Nike off for producing...
"...the current state-of-the-art AI technology is prone to some errors."
And the award for Epic Understatement Of The Day goes to....
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
And the award for Epic Understatement Of The Day goes to....
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Don't blindly trust what AI tells you, Google boss tells BBC
Sundar Pichai candidly acknowledged concerns about inaccurate answers generated by Google's models.
www.bbc.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 8:13 AM
I found this interview with Pichai extraordinarily soft and naive. These tech companies are now political actors and should be challenged robustly like politicians. The obvious question: what is the point of a unreliable technology?, was not asked. We wouldn't let Nike off for producing...
A country where this is possible is not a serious country. No legal aid for people illegally persecuted like this = justice denied.
“It broke my heart, that was my savings towards a new car,” one woman who paid Milne tens of thousands of pounds told us. “He has just wiped me out.”
Who is Andrew Milne - the solicitor sending "very aggressive" letters to Sheffield homeowners?
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...
Who is Andrew Milne - the solicitor sending "very aggressive" letters to Sheffield homeowners?
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk/a-london-law...
A London lawyer bought hundreds of Sheffield freeholds. Then the ‘very aggressive’ letters arrived
Exclusive: The Tribune can reveal that Andrew Milne has threatened leaseholders with high court action. It ‘broke my heart’ one woman says
www.sheffieldtribune.co.uk
November 18, 2025 at 7:59 AM
A country where this is possible is not a serious country. No legal aid for people illegally persecuted like this = justice denied.