Trish Burns
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trishburns.bsky.social
Trish Burns
@trishburns.bsky.social
180 followers 310 following 27 posts
mum to four young adults, mathematician, foodbank worker, university after children: MSc: Inequality and Social Science at LSE. Interest: perceptions of hunger
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Trish Burns
ruthpatrick0.bsky.social
End of working week but this article from @madeleinepower.bsky.socialn is a must-read. A plethora of names to describe 'food aid' conceals the reality they're all experienced as food banks, with the key fault line not *type* of provision but *demographic* factors www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Free and equal? The realities of lived experiences of food aid in the UK | Journal of Social Policy | Cambridge Core
Free and equal? The realities of lived experiences of food aid in the UK
www.cambridge.org
January 16, 2026 at 5:52 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
crookedfootball.bsky.social
This, from @piercepenniless.bsky.social, @dannyhinduk.bsky.social and @lewisgoodall.com is very good indeed.
Podcast: Lewis Goodall, Dan Hind and James Butler · On Politics: The Bust-up at the BBC
www.lrb.co.uk
December 1, 2025 at 11:51 AM
Reposted by Trish Burns
henrytam.bsky.social
The key difference btw being citizens & being mere subjects is that the former are cooperative problem-solvers in their own governance.
It makes effective citizenship education vital for any democratic society.
citizen-network.org/library/citi... @moorsee.bsky.social @eddieplayfair.bsky.social
Citizen Network: Citizens as Cooperative Problem-Solvers
Henry Tam outlines how the essential skills of citizenship can be developed so that everyone can be involved.
citizen-network.org
January 13, 2026 at 10:10 AM
Reposted by Trish Burns
lseinequalities.bsky.social
Are those who object to inequality simply voicing their envy of the rich?

If so, we must dismiss the principled arguments of Plato, Jesus, Hobbes, Mill and Marx, argues @laywilliams.bsky.social

#LSEInequalitiesBlog

buff.ly/FR7N6jn
Concern about inequality is not mere envy
Are those who object to inequality simply voicing their envy of the richl? If so, we must dismiss the principled arguments of Plato, Jesus, Hobbes, Mill and Marx
buff.ly
January 13, 2026 at 10:41 AM
Reposted by Trish Burns
inequalitynews.bsky.social
📢 To those with privilege, equality will feel like oppression. So let's get oppressing... www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
No, private schools aren’t victims of ‘reverse discrimination’ – and Cambridge should know better | Lee Elliot Major
Trinity Hall’s plan to target elite schools sends the message that privilege equals talent, when the reality is that poorer students are already on the back foot, says professor of social mobility at ...
www.theguardian.com
January 11, 2026 at 1:21 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
lrb.co.uk
‘Starmer is only repeating the pattern established by Britain’s post-Brexit leaders. Each takes office lauded by the press as offering a new vision for British politics only to collapse on contact with reality.’

James Butler on Britains misery and Labour’s challenges.

www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
James Butler · Short Cuts: Labour’s Complacency
Only a terminally blithe technocrat could imagine that Reform will be punished for failing to grasp how the system works...
www.lrb.co.uk
January 11, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
ericdoherty.bsky.social
"Studies from all over the world have shown crop yields increase when food crops are partially shaded with solar panels. #Agrivoltaic yield increases are possible because of the microclimate created underneath the solar panels that conserves water" #Solar #climatesky
January 9, 2026 at 3:47 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
liambyrnemp.bsky.social
What Fujitsu and the Post Office Horizon scandal teaches us about populism
substack.com/@liambyrne/n...
What Fujitsu and the Post Office Horizon scandal teaches us about populism
A sense that 'things just aren't right' - and no-one is fixing them is rocket fuel for populists
substack.com
January 9, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
lsesociology.bsky.social
What is the sociology of hope? 💭

Join us on Wednesday 21 January for a webinar with a panel of sociologists as they explore how hope shapes societies and politics through sociological inquiry.

🎫 Free and open to all, register to attend.
Sociology of Hope | Book launch at LSE
Join us for our book talk, 'Sociology of Hope' | Wednesday 21 January 2026 | 6.30pm to 8pm | Online (via Zoom)
buff.ly
January 8, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
lsesociology.bsky.social
A new issue of the British Journal of Sociology (@bjsociology.bsky.social ) is out now!

Find the latest articles in the #BJS ➡️ buff.ly/iOzDsKw
January 6, 2026 at 1:35 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
ruthpatrick0.bsky.social
Meanwhile, it may be a new year but lots still to reflect on from the last. my first piece of 2026 in @bigissue.com calls on Labour to continue the work it began in 2025 in starting (at long last) to speak about social security as a force for good www.bigissue.com/opinion/bene...
Why the dehumanising narratives around benefits need to stop in 2026
Negative rhetoric around the welfare system can do lasting damage. Ruth Patrick explains what needs to change in the new year.
www.bigissue.com
January 4, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
lseblogs.bsky.social
Ten reasons to talk more about wealth inequality @lseinequalities.bsky.social 👇
Ten reasons to talk more about wealth inequality
What can be said and done about the gaps between rich and poor? What are the social, political and ecological harms caused by extreme concentrations of wealth?
blogs.lse.ac.uk
December 29, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Reposted by Trish Burns
inequalitynews.bsky.social
📊 Median gross annual earnings for full-time employees were £39,039 in April 2025, compared with £37,439 in April 2024, which is an increase of 4.3%. More details here 🔽 www.ons.gov.uk/employmentan...
Employee earnings in the UK - Office for National Statistics
Measures of employee earnings, using data from the Annual Survey for Hours and Earnings (ASHE).
www.ons.gov.uk
December 24, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Reposted by Trish Burns
brian-goldstone.bsky.social
Thank you, @npr.org, for including THERE IS NO PLACE FOR US on this list.

"A paradigm-shifting, immersive book... a trenchant exploration of how America's disinvestment in public housing and relentless pursuit of free-market growth have fueled housing insecurity for poor working families."
10 books to help you understand America as its 250th birthday approaches
Here are recommended reads about the United States — perfect for the history buff on your gift list, or anyone looking to learn more about how the U.S got to where it is today.
www.npr.org
December 22, 2025 at 6:40 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
henrytam.bsky.social
Renewables are the only dependable future sustained by a Net Zero Carbon target.
Climate crisis would persist if fossil fuel propagandists get away with their Gross Zero Credibility lies.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Green light for offshore wind farm to power 1m homes
The government has given permission for up to 79 turbines off the coast of Essex and Suffolk.
www.bbc.co.uk
December 18, 2025 at 3:20 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
ruthpatrick0.bsky.social
Fantastic to see @johnswinney.bsky.social cite our new analysis of the very real difference that the Scottish Child Payment is making in Scotland. Investment in social security is a good thing!
By @kittyjstewart.bsky.social @emmatominey.bsky.social @ilonapin.bsky.social @katejandersen.bsky.social
johnswinney.bsky.social John Swinney @johnswinney.bsky.social · Dec 12
New study from LSE, York & Glasgow universities shows the Scottish Child Payment is transforming lives.

Without it, 70,000 more children would face deprivation and food insecurity.

We will keep investing in families and lifting children out of poverty.
Scottish Child Payment | Food Insecurity | Deprivation
New analysis shows the Scottish child payment sharply reduces child deprivation and food insecurity, with no evidence of work disincentives. Discover the findings.
www.lse.ac.uk
December 12, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
ruthpatrick0.bsky.social
'I will never be sorry for standing my ground and standing up for what I believe is right.'

Vital, if hard to read, words from Stacey @changingrealities.bsky.social about why she won't be stopped from speaking out about poverty by trolls

www.changingrealities.org/blog/why-i-w...
It was a lot. I didn’t realise I’d be placed all over social media. I thought it would be just a couple of pictures for something, but it is what it is now. I have thought about it a lot this morning and I had to put my thoughts down on paper.
www.changingrealities.org
December 12, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
wid.world
South Africa remains the most unequal country in the world, with the top 10% earning 70% of all pretax income.

New study by A. Gethin & L. Czajka shows that inequality in 2019 was as high as in 1993.

Racial inequality reduced only because top 10% Black incomes surged.

▶️ wid.world/news-article...
Racial Inequality and Redistribution in Post-Apartheid South Africa - WID - World Inequality Database
Racial Inequality and Redistribution in Post-Apartheid South Africa The source for global inequality data. Open access, high quality wealth and income inequality data developed by an international aca...
wid.world
December 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
theguardian.com
Disabled people driving luxury cars on your dime? Just the latest rightwing lie peddled by Labour | Frances Ryan
Disabled people driving luxury cars on your dime? Just the latest rightwing lie peddled by Labour | Frances Ryan
Starmer’s ailing government is happy to pursue ideas like cutting Motability, but all ministers will do is damage lives and themselves, says Guardian columnist Frances Ryan
www.theguardian.com
December 8, 2025 at 4:22 PM
trishburns.bsky.social
This is a wonderful series of books, inventive, moving and laser-focussed on demonstrating what it means to be a decent human being.
Kuan's Wonderland, the first in the series, is an absolute delight.
henrytam.bsky.social Dr. Henry Tam @henrytam.bsky.social · Dec 7
Explorations of dystopias bring out one recurrent theme - if we let callous authoritarians get a foothold, oppression will just keep getting immeasurably worse.
Placating them is never the answer.
Strengthening mutual support is the only way forward.
kuanswonderland.blogspot.com #AntiConNovels
December 7, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
resolutionfoundation.org
The Government's Child Poverty Strategy begins to turn the tide on child poverty.

As a result, child poverty rates will fall next year – the first time in nine years (outside the pandemic).

But other child poverty headwinds remain.

Read our full statement 👇
buff.ly/Tnqasir
Quote graphic Lindsay Judge, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation said: The Government deserve credit for beginning to turn the tide on child poverty and getting rates falling for first time in nine years (outside of the pandemic). This Strategy should be celebrated for setting out a plan to lift hundreds of thousands of children out of poverty over the course of the Parliament. We have long-called for the abolition of the two-child limit which unfairly penalises larger families, the vast majority of whom are in work, have very young children, or disabilities in the family. Repealing it is the right decision, and the Government should be praised for doing so despite fiscal constraints. But other child poverty headwinds remain, not least the continued freeze in Local Housing Allowance which risks further squeezing the living standards of poorer families living in the private rented sector.
December 6, 2025 at 10:45 AM
Reposted by Trish Burns
statspeter.bsky.social
"That would mean the single greatest fall [in child poverty] in one Parliament since records began." Look at how this Parliament could compare to previous ones back to 1964. An excellent foundation to build from, as @katieschmuecker.bsky.social says.
DWP modelling shows a fall of 400,000 in child poverty over the current Parliament. This would be the biggest on record, exceeding falls of 300,000 under the first Government of Tony Blair and the Government of Harold Wilson and James Callaghan
December 5, 2025 at 11:53 AM
Reposted by Trish Burns
georgemonbiot.bsky.social
Sovereignty? Democracy? Sorry, but we can't afford those anymore. We'll be sued if we try to defend them.
This week's column is about a massive but scarcely-covered scandal.
www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions | George Monbiot
The case of a planned Cumbrian coalmine shows how governments around the world are being threatened by litigation in shadowy offshore courts, says Guardian columnist George Monbiot
www.theguardian.com
December 1, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Reposted by Trish Burns
lseblogs.bsky.social
Ahead of the release of the UK's Child Poverty Strategy, @kittyjstewart.bsky.social, Ruth Patrick & @aaronreeves.bsky.social @lsesociology.bsky.social @lseinequalities.bsky.social consider whether boosting parental employment is part of the solution to #ChildPoverty @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social
How to solve child poverty | British Politics and Policy at LSE
Contrary to conventional wisdom, increasing parental employment would make little difference to child poverty rates overall.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
November 29, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted by Trish Burns
aaronreeves.bsky.social
About a year ago, I remember talking with @kittyjstewart.bsky.social and @ruthpatrick0.bsky.social about the child poverty strategy. Back then, I was more optimistic that parental employment could play a role in reducing child poverty. Over the coming months they convinced me I was wrong.
November 28, 2025 at 4:06 PM