James McEnaney
Journalist and writer
Former English teacher & lecturer | Author of 'Class Rules: the Truth about Scottish Schools' & 'A Scottish Journey' | Fond of FOI, motorbikes, La Gomera, and all things education
www.jamesmcenaney.co.uk
- Reposted by James McEnaneyMy latest piece: "As these lessons of history play out before our eyes, we can finally teach young people meaningfully about #colonialism, #imperialism, colonial ideology and systemic #racism; not as abstract historical concepts, but as living forces that insist on continuing to shape our world."
- Greenland’s Real Crisis: The Colonial Legacy We’re Not Discussing by @nuthmani.bsky.social bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/01/30/g...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyExpert says it must be acknowledged 'that there is a trans-eliminationist movement' www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
- Reposted by James McEnaneyEducation Specialist @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social previews the latest edition of Education HQ, which you can read online and in print on Thursday
- Reposted by James McEnaneyTrump and his outriders are intentionally trying to destroy even the idea of truth Trational media strictures - reporting he said, she said; not reporting more ‘extreme’ claims by those not in power - plays right into this It’s a playbook, and it’s already in U.K. (cf Farage’s Dulwich racism)
- Iranian refugees in Glasgow say their country has "no future" until the Ayatollahs are removed and the Islamic Republic brought to an end. Exclusive story for @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/politics/257...
- An expert academic says that trans' children's rights are not being respected in Scotland, and that the government must confront the "eliminationist" campaign against them. Exclusive for @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news/2579218...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyDelighted to see the Saroj Lal Award continue,now hosted by @heraldscotland.bsky.social having originally hosted by @gtcscotland.bsky.social .Thanks also to @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social & @garrettbaylorstell.bsky.social for showcasing.Get your nominations in people! uk.news.yahoo.com/inspirationa...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyI was interviewed by @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social for the Herald this week - we discussed my new article with Dr Cal Horton on trans children's rights, what people need to know, and what can be done to support young people. We also touched on the wider issues facing trans-positive research!
- New research on trans children and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC): With the UNCRC recently incorporated into Scottish law, @fiercemum.bsky.social and I teamed up to discuss the urgent actions needed to protect trans children's rights. brill.com/view/journal...
- To be fair to Starmer, that's the most on-brand Starmer response imaginable, so at least he is consistent.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyIt's completely unacceptable in every sense, except the very literal one, in which we are going to accept it.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyDespite all the noise about “mass exodus”, 51% of African emigrants move within Africa. Only 3% of the African population lives outside their home country, compared to 8.5% of Europeans living outside theirs. publications.iom.int/system/files...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyEXCLUSIVE She says the decision is necessary in order to continue serving her constituents 'openly and honestly' and in line with her conscience www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
- Reposted by James McEnaneyWhether it's an obscure adjunct professor posting that Charlie Kirk did some bad things or it's the president of the United States celebrating Rob Reiner's death, there's plenty of incivility on both sides.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyWTF are we doing here, BBC?
- BREAKING Teachers at a school near Glasgow are being balloted for strike action over major health and safety concerns described as posing a "substantial risk to life". @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news/2569914...
- Reposted by James McEnaney@neilmackay.bsky.social @danigaravelli.bsky.social @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social All excellent and wide ranging articles today in the Sunday Herald. Highly recommended.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyGreat thread on not just the immorality and hatefulness of institutions/artists bending the knee to fascism, but the mindboggling short-sightedness of it. We should stand up to fascism, but we should also remember who, when subservience was suddenly demanded, immediately said "yeah alright".
- So I really am sorry to have to point this out, because I object to the whole premise of the question, but it isn't an error and doesn't need to be corrected. Official Scottish Government data shows 28% of pupils in Glasgow are not "fluent" in English. @scotnational.bsky.social
- To be fair, it would be reasonable to argue that they should have said a quarter rather than a third, because the figure is closer to the former than the latter. But there is definitely official data on fluency for students with English as an additional language. @scotnational.bsky.social
- I also think it's reasonable to ask whether the person writing the caption knew of these statistics. I've no way of knowing either way, although if they did then it should definitely have said 1 in 4 instead of 1 in 3.
- Maybe because being largely useless seems to be the only thing he has worked hard at since becoming PM?
- "One of the specific social media claims made by the party is tip-toeing right up to the line of being a blatant and completely unacceptable lie." www.heraldscotland.com/politics/vie...
- The SNP has been talking about progress in closing the attainment gap ... but how much have things really changed? I've had a look for @heraldscotland.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news/2568749...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyVery worrying, when additional support needs is rising to almost 44%,at a time when multiple challenges exist in society,losing so many teachers is disastrous.More teachers needs to be an urgent priority. Thanks @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social for this analysis. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2568306...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyThe Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) has bowed to pressure and rearranged some exams following accusations that some pupils were being treated unfairly www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
- Yes these also show that the SNP has failed to achieve various education pledges. Thanks for sharing.
- The government has published a flurry of education data today. If you know where to look, you can find clear evidence of broken SNP promises.
- The SNP has made a number of specific, measurable commitments around teacher numbers. Official data now shows that it has failed to meet any of them. Education Writer and former teacher @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social analyses the figures 👇
- The SNP has failed to deliver on its promises around teacher numbers in Scotland's schools. Official data shows that three key commitments have not been delivered. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2568306...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyBREAKING Official figures show that teacher numbers remain well below the levels pledged by the Scottish Government in recent years www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
- Reposted by James McEnaneyExclusive: Scotland is to get a new Screen Machine within months after a “colossal” effort to secure the future of the mobile cinema service for the Highlands & Islands raised almost £1.5m. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2568092... @heraldscotland.bsky.social
- If you didn't believe that the interest in the Sandie Peggie case was driven by bigotry just look at the unhinged response to her losing the vast majority of her case.
- The media treatment of Dr Upton was horrendous. It was always glaringly obvious that she had done nothing wrong and let's be honest: a cis doctor would never have been treated the same way.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyMy thread earlier focused on the discussion re. FWS - but I just want to draw this out really explicitly: The press absolutely monstered Dr Beth Upton in the most appalling way – only for the Tribunal to find that Beth had done nothing wrong, but that Sandie Peggie had harassed her.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyI have no idea how you reach this headline from the press summary of the judgement unless it's the closest headline to the one you pre-wrote. Bulk of claims dismissed, rulings in favour of Upton's right to have been using the female changing rooms, findings that Peggie was misleading in evidence...
- Reposted by James McEnaney[789] "The question [...] is whether the application of [FWS] must mean that [...] a [trans woman is] required to be excluded from the female changing room, such that the permission given by [her employer] to do so was necessarily unlawful [...] We have concluded that the answer is in the negative."
- Pleased to see that nurse has lost her case against the trans doctor, and that the rest of her victory was extremely narrow. Watch the media present it as a huge win though.
- I don't know why some people are so desperate to believe otherwise* but the flags on the streets are definitely driven by racism. *I do know why - they agree with the sentiment but don't like being called racist
- 'I also think things have gone too far. I also want my country back. But I can't possibly be motivated by things like racism, and I wouldn't support a racist campaign, so that can't be the explanation for all this.'
- At some point in the near future, a bunch of men with domestic abuse convictions will be telling you sex ed in schools is a threat to women and girls. The exact opposite is true. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2567...
- Reposted by James McEnaney[This post could not be retrieved]
- Reposted by James McEnaneySelf-ID for left handed to be ended. Will now require a ten year wait and the opinion of three psychologists. Firstline treatments to include breaking all the fingers on the left hand with a mallet. NHS to offer sinister hand amputation to persistent cases. Move praised by charity Right Matters
- Reposted by James McEnaneyLast year Sky News was rending its garments over Starmer's free eyeglasses: WHAT INFLUENCE DID LORD ALLI BUY? Now, RefUK get £9m from a crypto bro, they have not one word about the donor's interests; just BRAVO NIGEL, barely concealed glee, and "what a huge boost... money goes where momentum is". 🤡
- Has the SQA been replaced or simply rebranded? Officials at the exam board say it's the former, but critics are a long way from convinced. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2566657...
- Reposted by James McEnaney"We will have an economy in which the full-time work of some young people will pay less than the state pensions of retirees, and yet it is the young people who will be taxed." www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-...
- Did John Swinney write this or something? The SQA deserves a HUGE amount of criticism for 2020 but John Swinney as the saviour? When he backed the algorithm and spent a week defending it?
- You want to know how I remember this? Because after days of Swinney defending the indefensible, I'm the one who wrote the question that made that impossible. I told a presenter to ask Swinney if he could look individual kids in the face and say the algorithm was fair. The answer was obvious.
- Yesterday I revealed that an SNP council leader had removed an SNP councillor from a key committee role and handled it to an Independent councillor who is also a Labour member. Today, the SNP councillor in question speaks out 👇 www.heraldscotland.com/news/2565716...
- Reposted by James McEnaney'These concerns don’t deserve to be taken seriously, and anyone pretending otherwise – perhaps out of fear, or convenience, or the pursuit of online clicks – is a coward' || @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/opin...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyOur manifesto was clear: Labour will deliver day one rights. Accepting amendments to drop that commitment risks entrenching insecurity and delaying meaningful reform. 5/11
- It's 'call a spade a spade' time with this stuff. These people don't care about protecting kids - they care about hatred. www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/2565...
- Reposted by James McEnaney@tie.scot are looking for a for an organised and proactive Operations Officer to support the smooth running of their charity working to address homophobic, biphobic, and transphobic prejudice and bullying through education 📍Glasgow 💷 £32,580 📅36hpw, FTC April 2026 tinyurl.com/2s4a2k76
- Reposted by James McEnaneySpot on. The terms of the plan 2 loan are utterly usurious. Notably the budget has not frozen just the threshold for repayments at a marginal rate of 9%, dragging more and more graduates into it, but it also freezes the interest of those loans which is as much as 6.2%! Which is ridiculous!!
- I'm constantly shocked (but not surprised) by how little we discuss the additional financial burden placed on young people by the Clegg-Cameron student loan regime. @rmcunliffe.bsky.social is one of the few journalists who brings it up continuously - once again in the wake of the budget 👇
- An SNP council leader has stripped an SNP councillor of a key role chairing an important committee - and then handed the position to a member of the Labour Party. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2565427...
- Reposted by James McEnaney'A book is such a simple gift. But it’s also a really powerful thing, and it’s such a small ask' Children's Laureate @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social backs The Herald's Christmas appeal, in association with @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social 👇 @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
- Reposted by James McEnaneyAuthor Frank Cottrell-Boyce supports The Herald's Christmas appeal, in association with @scottishbooktrust.bsky.social www.heraldscotland.com/news... @frankcottrellboyce.bsky.social @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
- Reposted by James McEnaneyI don’t like subtweeting people I consider online friends, but there is a subset of people who are very worried about the ongoing radicalisation of our political elite but won’t ever acknowledge the echoes with the radicalisation of their colleagues on trans rights
- Reposted by James McEnaneyyes I don't really see how you can go "oh yikes these people have changed their political views incredibly quickly, mostly because of what Very Online people talk about on social media" and also think that people who went from never talking about gender to calling trans women predators are....normal
- Reposted by James McEnaneyStill can't quite believe that "I only said 'gas the Jews' in a non-hurtful way" was the strategy Nigel Farage opted to go for
- This will be a waste of time and energy because the people using pyro in stadiums are arseholes who don't give a shit about others. Just ban them from stadiums for life and be done with it. www.heraldscotland.com/sport/256479...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyTwenty years since I had to sit and listen to David Miliband pretending that postponing council tax revaluation was a brave political decision, rather than a cowardly mistake.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyif people are really giving out advice like this then making them thoroughly ashamed of themselves is a necessary act of self-preservation for our vocation, because the moment they become a majority it's time to pack it all up, game over
- Reposted by James McEnaneyI wish I didn’t have to share this. But the BBC has decided to censor my first Reith Lecture. They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
- First the anti-foreigner crowd went after hotels, and now they're going after schools, and people with a platform who refuse to call it out are guilty of appalling cowardice.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyThe irony, adults who clearly need adult learning complaining about adult learning being made available to adults who need and appreciate adult learning.
- The people involved in these protests are either racists or they're too stupid to know they're being manipulated by racists, and I don't see any good reason to pretend that's not so. www.heraldscotland.com/news/2564635...
- There's no reason for the council to agree to sit down with a mob like this, and no amount of answers that will ever satisfy them anyway. Sometimes you just need to decide that you shouldn't set public policy on whims of idiots or bigots.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyIf you like classics/Greek mythology/ancient stuff/history or know someone who does, may I humbly recommend our book as a Christmas gift? It's full of bite-size introductions to mythological characters and concepts and the money goes to a good cause! www.workingclassicists.com/a-periodic-t...
- Whoever is advising Jenny Gilruth needs to ask themselves if they're in the right job, because this wildly cynical announcement about cutting contact time is going to backfire.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyREFERENDUM THE MORRA 😭❤️🏴
- Reposted by James McEnaney
- There has been plenty to dislike about his Labour government but going after asylum seekers in a desperate attempt to appease racists and attract reform voters is an evil thing to do.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyPeople are probably calling Labour racist because Labour keep being racist. If they want to stop being called racist they should stop doing racist things.
- I, like everyone else not born yesterday, knew Starmer was going to be a disaster, but watching his party throw refugees under the Farage-branded bus in a desperate attempt to attract his supporters is horrendous. And to make things worse, it's a politically inept move as well.
- The most deprived pupils are much more likely to have additional support needs. So why are they also the least likely to get additional support for SQA exams? www.heraldscotland.com/news/2561920...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyIf the government really intends to seize jewellery and other valuables from refugees, either - it is staggeringly ignorant of the historical precedents or - it's aware of the precedents, and thinks, yeah, we'll have some of that. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyI wonder how many Labour MPs thought that this was the sort of thing they were signing up for when they applied to be parliamentary candidates.
- If the government really intends to seize jewellery and other valuables from refugees, either - it is staggeringly ignorant of the historical precedents or - it's aware of the precedents, and thinks, yeah, we'll have some of that. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
- Anyone from the Labour party defending this should be utterly ashamed of themselves. And as for the Labour party, if they're so determined to see Nigel Farage win the next election, they could at least do us all the courtesy of saying so out loud.
- Reposted by James McEnaneyFinally got round to listening to @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social interview on #Scotcast. Listen in from 10:51 in. For anyone that has an opinion on #education #teachers or #TradeUnions they should listen very carefully as James has said everything that needs to be said. www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
- Always nice to see the BBC pick up a story you've been covering for months and months, using details that you uncovered, without even a hint of an acknowledgement. 😮💨 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyIf you've ever wondered what it's like being a teacher in 2025 in Scotland, watch these 90 seconds. This is it, 100%. Thanks @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social for saying it. www.instagram.com/reel/DQ_2EIc...
- Reposted by James McEnaneyThis has always been been argument against our fiscal framework. You need some kind of debt rule but this kind of last minute flailing around is toxic for policy development.
- Every single person who had anything to do with this should be sent to a fucking gulag for the rest of their lives.
- An SQA report says History teachers have been put off marking exams by the actions of the exam board. The SQA and Scottish Government say: nothing to see here. This has been going on for nearly a year and a half now! www.heraldscotland.com/news/2561730...
- The ScotGov line that they have accepted the SQA's internal review of the issue, which was dismissed as a whitewash, is especially ridiculous when I've had actual SQA staff tell me that nobody really believes it.
- An absolute privilege to write this one 👇
- 'He taught me (and countless others) that disabled people can live full, meaningful and fun lives' The campaigner changed the lives of thousands of people www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
- Reposted by James McEnaney'He taught me (and countless others) that disabled people can live full, meaningful and fun lives' The campaigner changed the lives of thousands of people www.heraldscotland.com/news... @jamesmcenaney.bsky.social
- Reposted by James McEnaneyThese fights are *normal* to get the help people need. No one is getting diagnosed without similar horror stories. So when I hear about over diagnosis? These are the children I think of:
