Adam Schembri

I hope this isn’t true. There are times when it’s more important to put country before party. This is one of them. Burnham’s longstanding commitment to a fairer voting system could transform our democracy & counter dire threat of a Reform UK government theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

More prime ministers were educated at Mason College, the ancestor of Birmingham University, than any English university outside Oxbridge.

In contradiction to much popular wisdom, language loss is not an inevitable, spontaneous trend, caused by globalization, modernization, or technological progress. It is the outcome of deliberate policies and practices that aim to eliminate diversity. politicsrights.com/state-sovereig…

A splash of colour in the grey! 🏳️‍🌈🌈#Birmingham

There really is no need for the catastrophic redundancies hitting our university sector. The UK is an educational powerhouse and its resources are being squandered.

@elizabeth__db @WulfrunianChris There is nothing wrong with the accent - the issue is the awful accent prejudice which Brummies have to deal with.

@WulfrunianChris I half think this is every time I’m walking around Temple Row and its environs but sadly I then hear the Brummy accent (two of my grandparents are brummies and I have a kind of affection for it) and come crashing back down to earth.

The actual most underrated city in all of Europe is Birmingham and it’s not even close. The insane negative briefings Birmingham tanks put it in a different realm of underrated than any other city.

Yesterday Keir Starmer announced Labour will nationalise British Steel and save 2700 jobs. The Uni of Nottingham put 2700 staff at risk of redundancy. This is just one university. Across the UK 15,000 higher education jobs need saving. Where is the rescue package for our universities? Cities and towns will be devastated by these job losses.

@kehinde_andrews @MyBCU Signed!

SAVE #BlackStudiesBCU @MyBCU has cut the MA Black Studies and Global Justice with NO notice or consultation AND targeted the 5 Black members of staff for potential risk of redundancy Read the open letter to the Board of Governors and add your name: change.org/Saveblackstudi…

Birmingham City University urged not to axe Black Studies MA and target 5 Black members of staff for redundancy. “In the US there is an attack on Black intellectual thought, in the UK there is so little in higher ed that the problem is erasure" theguardian.com/education/2026…

100+ academics, writers and activists worldwide have signed an open letter condemning plans by Birmingham City University to axe its MA in Black Studies. Five Black staff now face redundancy, including @kehinde_andrews the pioneer behind the programme. ➡️Support and sign the petition here:change.org/p/save-black-s…

My average day: 7 hours work, 7 hours rest, 7 hours sleep, and 3 hours unsubscribing from email messages I don't remember signing up for.

@MagnusPharao I'm perhaps overly sensitive when it comes to ageism. I work hard on my health and fitness and the best compliment it seems I can get is 'you don't look 60!' I know it's meant well, but it carries so much ageist baggage. All I hear is 'You're supposed to look like shit!' 🤣

@AdamCSchembri Same

I Increasingly believe 70 is a fair cut-off point for when most people ought to bow out of public life and stop sharing opinions about the world. Maybe 1 in 100 remains cognitively sharp after that, chances are it's not you. (@ Dawkins, Cleese, Chomsky, Watson etc.)

@MagnusPharao Part of the reason I was late to this game is probably related to my being both first gen and neurodivergent.

@MagnusPharao It's interesting that you make this case while we increasingly recognise that neurodiversity is part of the human condition, and that we need to adjust jobs to reflect this. People age differently as well (just as they mature differently), and we need to recognise this too.

@MagnusPharao I didn't get my PhD until 37. I started late. I think if anyone should step back from academic roles, it's people who have been in them lifelong, not just older people. It should be based on lifelong earnings, not age per se.

@AdamCSchembri The fact you worked precariously untill 45 is a symptom of the problem. If older academics had stepped back to take on supportive roles or become temporay contracts, you'd have had it in your prime - as the old people did themselves before they pulled up all the ladders.

@MagnusPharao Sorry that should have read: '...ensuring better opportunities for younger people, rather than some kind of age-based cut-off, is the way forward'

@MagnusPharao So while I recognise your frustrations, I think the picture is a lot more nuanced than what your posts suggest. Getting older is certainly a mixed bag, and no guarantee of any kind of privilege, in the same way as being a white male is.