Ben Rosamond | Lightnews

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 22h

Stripped of the GB News-y vocab, these are EXACTLY the policy preferences of actual core Labour voters.

"Full speed ahead to uber-woke, net-zeroist rejoinerism" is the funniest thing a Labour MP has said for some time I'll give it that. It's like a Jordan Peterson quote about Elmo.

Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, god help we risk a floundering government that feels like no one is in charge.

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 1d

"Full speed ahead to uber-woke, net-zeroist rejoinerism" is the funniest thing a Labour MP has said for some time I'll give it that. It's like a Jordan Peterson quote about Elmo.

Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 1d

Yes, god help we risk a floundering government that feels like no one is in charge.

Morgan McSweeney does have some fans in the Parliamentary Labour Party, of course.
One MP says they are "devastated" he has left.
Another warns it represents "full speed ahead to uber-woke, net-zeroist, rejoinerism".
An MP who has been through several general elections when the tide was against Labour says of colleagues: "Good luck to all these careerists when they face an election without someone like Morgan at the helm.
"Some of us are old enough to remember the Corbyn era with no one in charge and the party floundering."

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 2d

👀

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 3d

I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.

Great work everyone.

The Board of Governors decided, unilaterally, that no published textbook in the field of sociology could be used in compliance with the law for an Intro to Sociology class. None.
Victor: There's not a single existing textbook on the market that could be used that would qualify under state law?
Zachary: Correct.
Victor: I'm sorry, that's kind of funny. Like, the absurdity of not a single sociology textbook getting past the censors. I mean, it makes me kind of proud of our colleagues, but...

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 2d

Entirely predictably, the costs of blanket social media bans for under-16s are borne by disabled and neurodivergent children.

Prof Deborah Lupton, MPH PhD @dalupton.bsky.social · 2d

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

The impacts of locking under 16 yos from their social media networks are now beginning to bite for those young people who relied on them for social connection

‘I’ve lost my friends’: advocacy groups warn Australia’s social media ban risks isolating kids with disabilities

Despite the ban’s aim to protect young people, experts are concerned that those in marginalised communities or living with disabilities could lose vital support networks

www.theguardian.com

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 2d

This 👇💯

Sarah Owen MP @sarahowen.org.uk · 2d

So as I struggled with miscarriage after miscarriage before having my 🌈 baby, Reform would seriously think I should pay more tax during that agony.

This policy isn’t just a slippery slope to a handmaids tale dystopian future - it’s a deliberate step towards it
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Reform by-election candidate suggested people who don’t have kids should pay more tax

Exclusive: The Reform politician’s suggestion would ‘punish millions of women and strip them of their basic dignity to choose’, Labour’s deputy leader has warned

www.independent.co.uk

Sarah Owen MP @sarahowen.org.uk · 2d

So as I struggled with miscarriage after miscarriage before having my 🌈 baby, Reform would seriously think I should pay more tax during that agony.

This policy isn’t just a slippery slope to a handmaids tale dystopian future - it’s a deliberate step towards it
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Reform by-election candidate suggested people who don’t have kids should pay more tax

Exclusive: The Reform politician’s suggestion would ‘punish millions of women and strip them of their basic dignity to choose’, Labour’s deputy leader has warned

www.independent.co.uk

Prof Deborah Lupton, MPH PhD @dalupton.bsky.social · 2d

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...

The impacts of locking under 16 yos from their social media networks are now beginning to bite for those young people who relied on them for social connection

‘I’ve lost my friends’: advocacy groups warn Australia’s social media ban risks isolating kids with disabilities

Despite the ban’s aim to protect young people, experts are concerned that those in marginalised communities or living with disabilities could lose vital support networks

www.theguardian.com

Victor Ray @victorerikray.bsky.social · 3d

I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.

Great work everyone.

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 3d

This is very good. Clear, succinct, anchored in scholarship and crystal-clear in its recommendations.

Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 3d

For the FES, I wrote a short brief about how mainstream party strategies have fueled far-right success. They move toward more anti-immigration positions to win voters back. This does not work, but shifts public opinion to the right. Parties then react to shifts in public opinion. A vicious cycle.

Tarik Abou-Chadi @tabouchadi.bsky.social · 3d

For the FES, I wrote a short brief about how mainstream party strategies have fueled far-right success. They move toward more anti-immigration positions to win voters back. This does not work, but shifts public opinion to the right. Parties then react to shifts in public opinion. A vicious cycle.

Election Maps UK @electionmaps.uk · 3d

Clevedon South (North Somerset) Council By-Election Result:

🌹 LAB: 29.0% (-25.4)
➡️ RFM: 27.7% (New)
🌳 CON: 18.6% (-27.0)
🌍 GRN: 16.3% (New)
🔶 LDM: 8.3% (New)

Labour HOLD.
Changes w/ 2023.

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 4d

Is this from Leviticus or Deuteronomy? I can never remember.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Trump at National Prayer Breakfast: "They rigged the second election. I had to win it. I needed it for my own ego. I would've had a bad ego for the rest of my life. Now I really have a big ego. Beating these lunatics was incredible ... The first time they said I didn't win the popular vote. I did"

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4d

Trump at National Prayer Breakfast: "They rigged the second election. I had to win it. I needed it for my own ego. I would've had a bad ego for the rest of my life. Now I really have a big ego. Beating these lunatics was incredible ... The first time they said I didn't win the popular vote. I did"

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 4d

cc @edinburghpir.bsky.social @uoe-sps.bsky.social

Political Studies @polstudies.bsky.social · 5d

Why has the populist radical right failed in Scotland? @davidevampa.bsky.social, Alan Convery & @frasmcm.bsky.social examine how symbiotic polarization between SNP and Conservatives blocked PRRPs, until recently. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/WeHXRFw

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #PartyPolitics

Political Studies @polstudies.bsky.social · 5d

Why has the populist radical right failed in Scotland? @davidevampa.bsky.social, Alan Convery & @frasmcm.bsky.social examine how symbiotic polarization between SNP and Conservatives blocked PRRPs, until recently. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/WeHXRFw

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky #PartyPolitics

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 5d

Two points. 1. There was Epstein merch? 2. This seems to have been taken in 2009. Epstein was first convicted in 2008, meaning that Mandelson is sporting convicted paedophile merch.

Dara O'Reilly @daraor.bsky.social · 5d

"My Jeffrey Epstein-branded sweatshirt has people asking a lot of questions which, now I come to think of it, are entirely reasonable."

Peter Mandelson wearing a Jeffrey Epstein -branded sweatshirt in New York in 2009.

Dara O'Reilly @daraor.bsky.social · 5d

"My Jeffrey Epstein-branded sweatshirt has people asking a lot of questions which, now I come to think of it, are entirely reasonable."

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 5d

@peterjukes.bsky.social has been joining the dots in light of the latest Epstein releases. It's an extraordinary story about moves to deregulate crypto, centring a new financial order on Russia and - to deliver on those aims - the strategic de-stablisation of liberal democracies (incl. Brexit).

Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 5d

Thread starting with 🚨 TWO SHOCKING FACTS: Epstein was in direct contact with Putin, boasting of personal invites to St Petersburg. He co-owned Thiel’s Valar Ventures w/ Ehud Barak, backing Israeli surveillance firm Carbyne. 1/12
bylinetimes.com/2026/02/03/i...

In Putin’s Orbit: The Crypto Politics of Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Thiel

The web of ties between Epstein, Moscow and Silicon Valley leads back to Steve Bannon and Nigel Farage

bylinetimes.com

Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 5d

Thread starting with 🚨 TWO SHOCKING FACTS: Epstein was in direct contact with Putin, boasting of personal invites to St Petersburg. He co-owned Thiel’s Valar Ventures w/ Ehud Barak, backing Israeli surveillance firm Carbyne. 1/12
bylinetimes.com/2026/02/03/i...

In Putin’s Orbit: The Crypto Politics of Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Thiel

The web of ties between Epstein, Moscow and Silicon Valley leads back to Steve Bannon and Nigel Farage

bylinetimes.com

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 6d

Reform pivoting to plunging children back into poverty for the sake of a slightly cheaper pint.

Tyron @tyron.bsky.social · 6d

fucking _hell_

Tyron @tyron.bsky.social · 6d

fucking _hell_

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 7d

👀

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 7d

Sad news from Wikipedia. Following lengthy discussion on the talk page, they've removed Matt Goodwin's claim to be the first in his family to go to university on the grounds that it [checks notes] isn't true. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Ma...

Talk:Matt Goodwin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 7d

Sad news from Wikipedia. Following lengthy discussion on the talk page, they've removed Matt Goodwin's claim to be the first in his family to go to university on the grounds that it [checks notes] isn't true. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Ma...

Talk:Matt Goodwin - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 10d

A great piece by @iandunt.bsky.social that provides not only a delicious skewering of Matt Goodwin, but also (and perhaps more importantly) offers a striking thesis on how Goodwin's brand of politics has been able to flourish.

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 10d

Matt Goodwin and the end of England: How one man's career explains our public life iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...

Matt Goodwin and the end of England

How one man's career explains our public life.

iandunt.substack.com

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 10d

Matt Goodwin and the end of England: How one man's career explains our public life iandunt.substack.com/p/matt-goodw...

Matt Goodwin and the end of England

How one man's career explains our public life.

iandunt.substack.com

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 10d

cc @uoe-sps.bsky.social

Political Studies Association @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social · 11d

*PSA Mackenzie #BookPrize Shortlist 2025-26*
Congratulations to Dr Philip Rathgeb @philiprathgeb.bsky.social for 'How the radical right has changed capitalism and welfare in Europe and the USA', published by Oxford University Press @academic.oup.com
➡️ buff.ly/X13TKjK
#Books #Politics #Capitalism

Political Studies Association @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social · 11d

*PSA Mackenzie #BookPrize Shortlist 2025-26*
Congratulations to Dr Philip Rathgeb @philiprathgeb.bsky.social for 'How the radical right has changed capitalism and welfare in Europe and the USA', published by Oxford University Press @academic.oup.com
➡️ buff.ly/X13TKjK
#Books #Politics #Capitalism

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 11d

Well, Leverhulme is definitely the craft beer of finders compared to - say - the Carling Black Label of UKRI.

Ben Rosamond @benrosamond1.bsky.social · 11d

As a former resident of (the then not at all hipster) Levenshulme, I read this with great interest. It’s a brilliantly detailed and subtle analysis of the forthcoming by-election - especially good on the complexities of the left ‘bloc’ and the perils (for Reform) of Goodwin’s candidacy.