Ben Worthy
benworthy.bsky.social
Ben Worthy
@benworthy.bsky.social
Political science 65%
Sociology 11%
Pinned
My piece on Trump's Fascism for Political Insight 'Authoritarianism, mass arrests, political violence – Donald Trump’s regime fits the historical pattern of fascism' journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
The Fascism of Donald Trump - Ben Worthy, 2025
journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy

On President’s Day, the First Amendment Troop staged “ResistDance” — a tribute and act of artistic dissent — at the Lincoln Memorial. ❤️
#FirstAmendment
#ArtisticExpression
The less voters knew, the more they liked Trump in 2024. Not Anymore

www.gelliottmorris.com/p/trump-lost...

Yes, see also Mussolini
Arendt suggests Eichmann is a clown *rather than* a monster. But why not both—a clown AND a monster? It seems to me a key part of the horror of fascism is precisely its pervasive clownishness. There's a mind-rending indignity in having to take seriously rulers who are fundamentally unserious.

Reposted by Ben Worthy

Arendt suggests Eichmann is a clown *rather than* a monster. But why not both—a clown AND a monster? It seems to me a key part of the horror of fascism is precisely its pervasive clownishness. There's a mind-rending indignity in having to take seriously rulers who are fundamentally unserious.
The workload facing MPs and their staff is growing, in ways that aren't visible to the public: casework and the inbox.

For @thehousemag.bsky.social, I delved into what the workload looks like, why it's growing, and what this means for how MPs can balance the different aspects of their role
Casework Crisis: Increase In Constituency Caseload Takes Its Toll
The inexorable growth in casework is stopping MPs from fulfilling their other roles. Alice Lilly sifts through the inbox looking for what might be ...
www.politicshome.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy

In-person registration is now closed for FOI Fest, but never fear, you can still sign up to join this one day conference remotely! pretix.eu/mysociety/fo... #FOI #FreedomofInformation #ATI
FOI Fest 2026
Thu, Feb. 19, 2026
pretix.eu

Reposted by Ben Worthy

Shilling for Trump in Brussels: A document we obtained shows how Tony Blair and his institute lobbied behind closed doors for the EU to join Trump's "Board of Peace" and put €€€ behind US- and Israeli-led Gaza reconstruction efforts.

Published with Democracy for Sale, ht @lighthousereports.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy

From Sebastian Haffner’s memoir of Berlin 1930-1933, Defying Hitler. Posted without comment.

Latest piece for the @thehousemag.bsky.social on the Don't Knows - who are more likely to be women.

www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
The Professor Will See You Now: dunno
There are two cartoons, seen when much younger, which I think of often.
www.politicshome.com
IN NEW ISSUE: How do UK political elites reconcile with a low trust environment? @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social, @drjennings.bsky.social & Gerry Stoker examine this question in @polstudies.bsky.social: buff.ly/3E6DkuS (OPEN ACCESS)

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social #polsky

This is a very important set of insights/predictions here by @davidallengreen.bsky.social. Rather like with Partygate, the government has lost control of the disclosure process. Other actors will now control it, and it is almost certain that more information = more problems and revelations.
NEW

Three reasons why the Mandelson disclosure exercise will be a shock for the government

Ministers and officials usually are in control of disclosure exercises - but here they will not be - and why that matters

A detailed post by me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/three-reas...

Reposted by Ben Worthy

🕵️NEW: Councils getting 'exceptional financial support' from govt sold over £1bn of public assets in last 5 years 😱 we've mapped some of the biggest sell-offs including #Birmingham #Nottingham #Bradford and #Southampton , with £1bn more planned in 2025/26 ➡️ researchforaction.uk/report-flogg...
REPORT: Flogged off – Public asset sales at councils getting exceptional financial support – Research for Action
researchforaction.uk
NEW

Three reasons why the Mandelson disclosure exercise will be a shock for the government

Ministers and officials usually are in control of disclosure exercises - but here they will not be - and why that matters

A detailed post by me:
emptycity.substack.com/p/three-reas...

There's a pdf version on the Google Scholar cite too

Reposted by Ben Worthy

MPs cheering Keir Starmer at the PLP meeting "like the troops at Little Bighorn," remarks one exasperated Labour MP leaving the room

Reposted by Ben Worthy

We've had 5 new Prime Ministers since June 2016 Brexit referendum in 9 & a half years
- May (3 yesrs)
- Johnson (3 years)
- Truss (50 days)
- Sunak (20 momths)
- Starner (19 momths, 2 years by July)

Previous 5 PMs lasted 37 years,1979-2016

Average: 7

Thatcher 11
Major 7
Blair 10
Brown 3
Cameron 6
Details of my book launch are now available - everyone welcome. It will be hybrid for those not in London and recorded.
www.ucl.ac.uk/laws/events/...
Defending the Political Constitution: A Book Launch of Richard Bellamy’s latest book
This event is organised by the UCL Global Centre for Democratic Constitutionalism.
www.ucl.ac.uk

This is what I call in my Parliamentary Studies classes the BIG SECRET of British politics, which explains almost everything since 2015, if not 2003 👇👇👇
There’s a trend among recent PMs of having a poor relationship with and/or not really understanding what their backbenchers’ expectations are and how they view their role (and how that seems to have shifted among backbenchers of all parties in recent years)
Since Labour has been in government the lack of preparation and depth of thinking has been apparent but I think one of the biggest mistakes was going to war with the PLP so early. It stunned a lot of MPs to be told they could not even table amendments. This resentment is a massive part of the story.

Reposted by Ben Worthy

Parliamentary management matters! It matters when you have a small majority but it *also* matters when you have a big majority. And it takes constant work.

Reposted by Ben Worthy

There’s a trend among recent PMs of having a poor relationship with and/or not really understanding what their backbenchers’ expectations are and how they view their role (and how that seems to have shifted among backbenchers of all parties in recent years)
Since Labour has been in government the lack of preparation and depth of thinking has been apparent but I think one of the biggest mistakes was going to war with the PLP so early. It stunned a lot of MPs to be told they could not even table amendments. This resentment is a massive part of the story.

This great story by @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com is more Brasseye than Brasseye was.
mashallah he is gone, to celebrate I've made the piece I wrote last year about arguably the most embarrassing project I've ever worked on free to read: youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/so-about-t...
mashallah he is gone, to celebrate I've made the piece I wrote last year about arguably the most embarrassing project I've ever worked on free to read: youngvulgarian.substack.com/p/so-about-t...

Reposted by Tim Bale

It's very important- amid this v serious scandal- that @iandunt.bsky.social reminds of the otherhuge scandal still staring us in the face from the covid inquiry
This—by @iandunt.bsky.social—is the best thing I’ve read on the implications of this week’s shitshow for UK government, diplomacy and democracy
Starmer's moment of reckoning
Where is the competent boring government we were promised?
iandunt.substack.com

Just as an ask, can I get top 5 Pacific War histories? Looking for good overviews. I know the Toland and Toll works
“Returning to where we were means going back to a state of affairs that was manifestly unsustainable. To borrow from the architect of the Democratic Party’s most enduring platform, any recovery that simply restores things will see us all right back where we are now.” @rauchway.bsky.social
We need reconstruction, not restoration—as FDR knew.
Eric Rauchway responds in a forum on “How Not to Defeat Authoritarianism.”
www.bostonreview.net

Reposted by Ben Worthy

Jamelle Bouie hits nail on head: "For years, a cottage industry of political observers has contorted itself to obscure and occlude the obvious. That regardless of what others see in him, Trump’s entire political career...cannot be understood outside the context of his bitter, deep-seated racism."
Opinion | This Is Just Who Trump Is
www.nytimes.com
"For years, a cottage industry of political observers has contorted itself to obscure and occlude the obvious. That regardless of what others see in him, Trump’s entire political career...cannot be understood outside the context of his bitter, deep-seated racism." (gift link)
Opinion | This Is Just Who Trump Is
www.nytimes.com
Concentration camps: stories of as many as 50 people to a cell — men and women in some cases — with no windows and limited airflow, a single camera-monitored toilet, aluminum blankets, no showers and poor quality food.
ICE detainees from Maine being held under ‘inhumane’ conditions in Mass. facility, attorneys say
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesperson said the allegations of overcrowding and lack of access to lawyers are false.
www.pressherald.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy

This—by @iandunt.bsky.social—is the best thing I’ve read on the implications of this week’s shitshow for UK government, diplomacy and democracy
Starmer's moment of reckoning
Where is the competent boring government we were promised?
iandunt.substack.com