@tomjhbennett.bsky.social
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Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...
December 9, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Welcome to Britain, a country so short of dentists that an MP's 87-year-old mum pulled her teeth out with pliers. Also a country with thousands of foreign-qualified dentists who can’t work until they pass an exam so oversubscribed it’s like trying to book Glasto tickets. www.ft.com/content/f4e5...
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I 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
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
November 25, 2025 at 9:26 AM
I 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
They deleted the line in which I describe Donald Trump as “the most openly corrupt president in American history.” /1
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Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8%, with the impact accumulating gradually over time.
Investment was reduced by between 12% and 18%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%.
Staggering economic self-harm.
https://bit.ly/44faQch
Investment was reduced by between 12% and 18%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%.
Staggering economic self-harm.
https://bit.ly/44faQch
'GDP reduced by 8%' - Nine-year study reveals how Brexit decimated UK economy
Can't help but feel those responsible for Brexit should not, for example, be riding high in the polls with a new party...
www.thelondoneconomic.com
November 17, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Brexit had reduced UK GDP by 6% to 8%, with the impact accumulating gradually over time.
Investment was reduced by between 12% and 18%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%.
Staggering economic self-harm.
https://bit.ly/44faQch
Investment was reduced by between 12% and 18%, employment by 3% to 4% and productivity by 3% to 4%.
Staggering economic self-harm.
https://bit.ly/44faQch
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What you’re witnessing is a populist assault on the BBC.
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
November 10, 2025 at 10:52 AM
What you’re witnessing is a populist assault on the BBC.
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
This is not an institutional scandal in any meaningful sense of the word. It is an attack on public service broadcasting.
iandunt.substack.com/p/extra-edit...
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The BBC will fuck things up from time to time. Lots of major news organisations do; just look at The Times having to memoryhole several fake news stories in a matter of weeks.
No one is calling for the abolition of The Times, however.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
No one is calling for the abolition of The Times, however.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
UK newspaper editor calls Bill de Blasio fake interview blunder ‘humiliating’
A Times associate editor reportedly addressed situation in an email to staff, saying: ‘We should have been on our guard’
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:53 AM
The BBC will fuck things up from time to time. Lots of major news organisations do; just look at The Times having to memoryhole several fake news stories in a matter of weeks.
No one is calling for the abolition of The Times, however.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
No one is calling for the abolition of The Times, however.
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...
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I have a very bad feeling about this...
October 27, 2025 at 4:51 PM
I have a very bad feeling about this...
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October 22, 2025 at 4:13 PM
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@philtinline.bsky.social the copy needs work, but was such a good idea of yours around ILR and the real world consequences for our friends, neighbours and colleagues just had to have a crack at building it, using the GOV dot uk design system
ilr.dowu.uk
ilr.dowu.uk
October 22, 2025 at 4:01 PM
@philtinline.bsky.social the copy needs work, but was such a good idea of yours around ILR and the real world consequences for our friends, neighbours and colleagues just had to have a crack at building it, using the GOV dot uk design system
ilr.dowu.uk
ilr.dowu.uk
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If I were running Labour comms I would commission an app called 'Will the Tories/Reform deport you?' then let the reactions on TikTok and Instagram do their work.
October 22, 2025 at 10:29 AM
If I were running Labour comms I would commission an app called 'Will the Tories/Reform deport you?' then let the reactions on TikTok and Instagram do their work.
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I just cannot take this shit seriously. If you're a senior Labour figure and think that the party's stance is cowardly but are too afraid to put your name on the record saying it YOU ARE A COWARD.
Senior Labour figures have expressed dismay at the Party's "cowardly" and "incompetent" response to Tory shadow minister Katie Lam calling for legal migrants to "go home".
"What’s the point of us saying we’re anti-racist when we fail to call out racism," said one MP.
"What’s the point of us saying we’re anti-racist when we fail to call out racism," said one MP.
Exclusive: Labour Anger Erupts Over Party's Response To Katie Lam Immigration Row
"What’s the point of us saying we’re anti-racist when we fail to call out racism," said one MP.
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
October 22, 2025 at 9:17 AM
I just cannot take this shit seriously. If you're a senior Labour figure and think that the party's stance is cowardly but are too afraid to put your name on the record saying it YOU ARE A COWARD.
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🧵🚨
The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.
Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...
1/11
The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.
Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...
1/11
UK’s arm’s length public bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation
Seven in ten Britons say it is important for top scientific institutions to be independent in exclusive new polling.
www.ucl.ac.uk
October 9, 2025 at 3:47 PM
🧵🚨
The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.
Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...
1/11
The UK’s independent scientific bodies are highly vulnerable to politicisation - over the past 5 months I've been working with @martinmckee.bsky.social to map out their vulnerabilities and it's not good news.
Today our report is published!
www.ucl.ac.uk/policy-lab/n...
1/11
For heavens sake @theguardian.com it is not “highly contentious”, it is without any evidence at all and plenty of evidence to the contrary. Don’t suggest there is a debate to be had. Do better, or it’s @financialtimes.com all the way.
September 23, 2025 at 8:55 AM
For heavens sake @theguardian.com it is not “highly contentious”, it is without any evidence at all and plenty of evidence to the contrary. Don’t suggest there is a debate to be had. Do better, or it’s @financialtimes.com all the way.
The thing is I’ve got a half a century of memory of Disney movies. Laughter sure, but more than that. Our movie heroes were brave when all was lost, they thought they would lose and did the right thing anyway. These Disney execs have sullied those memories and the inspiration we took from them.
September 22, 2025 at 2:40 AM
The thing is I’ve got a half a century of memory of Disney movies. Laughter sure, but more than that. Our movie heroes were brave when all was lost, they thought they would lose and did the right thing anyway. These Disney execs have sullied those memories and the inspiration we took from them.
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Musk is inciting violence on London's streets.Tommy Robinson is financed by US tech bros. These are all very direct attempts to destabilise the British state.
Starmer needs to stand up to this. A government that doesn't defend its country's values against these blatant attacks is not doing its job.
Starmer needs to stand up to this. A government that doesn't defend its country's values against these blatant attacks is not doing its job.
My colleague @thejohnsimpson.bsky.social has done a terrific deep dive into the financial links between US tech billionaires and Tommy Robinson
Well worth a read
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Well worth a read
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
US cash turned Tommy Robinson into the poster boy of UK f...
Outside the Old Bailey in 2018, a reinvented Tommy Robinson flashed his perfect new teeth to 2,000 diehard supporters at a “free Tommy” rally on a stage ...
observer.co.uk
September 14, 2025 at 7:30 AM
Musk is inciting violence on London's streets.Tommy Robinson is financed by US tech bros. These are all very direct attempts to destabilise the British state.
Starmer needs to stand up to this. A government that doesn't defend its country's values against these blatant attacks is not doing its job.
Starmer needs to stand up to this. A government that doesn't defend its country's values against these blatant attacks is not doing its job.
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If a Labour government with 400 seats which has nailed its colours to the masts of planning reform and the green transition can't steam roller people like this and their ridiculous selfish BS objections, then what on earth is the point of it?
A solar farm that could have powered “all the households in Witney” has been refused permission by West Oxfordshire District Council. Councillors were concerned about the risk of fire, one drawing parallels to the 1966 Aberfan disaster: “Until someone can guarantee it is safe, I can’t support it.”
September 9, 2025 at 12:21 PM
If a Labour government with 400 seats which has nailed its colours to the masts of planning reform and the green transition can't steam roller people like this and their ridiculous selfish BS objections, then what on earth is the point of it?
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Build, build, build isn't much use as mantra if you then leave the new homes sitting empty for a year or more while the Building Safety Regulator gets round to approving them.
This process used to take a matter of days when local authorities were in charge of it. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
This process used to take a matter of days when local authorities were in charge of it. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
Hundreds of empty flats that developers say sum up UK's housing crisis
Sir Keir Starmer has made house building one of his government's priorities, and regularly rails against NIMBY culture. But Sky News can reveal the government's own regulator has also been getting in ...
news.sky.com
September 2, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Build, build, build isn't much use as mantra if you then leave the new homes sitting empty for a year or more while the Building Safety Regulator gets round to approving them.
This process used to take a matter of days when local authorities were in charge of it. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
This process used to take a matter of days when local authorities were in charge of it. news.sky.com/story/bluesk...
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The ever-eloquent @rafaelbehr.bsky.social pointedly refusing to mince his words on what Farage has done for us. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
August 27, 2025 at 7:44 AM
The ever-eloquent @rafaelbehr.bsky.social pointedly refusing to mince his words on what Farage has done for us. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Rare example of a #GraphCrime in the @financialtimes.com . Allegedly, bomb shelter capacity as a % of population.
August 18, 2025 at 4:19 AM
Rare example of a #GraphCrime in the @financialtimes.com . Allegedly, bomb shelter capacity as a % of population.
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On Thursday night, we heard that government was making big concessions on its planning bill, putting lots more controls on its nature recovery plans.
I find this disappointing. And to explain why, I have to tell a story I’ve been holding off from sharing.
I find this disappointing. And to explain why, I have to tell a story I’ve been holding off from sharing.
July 19, 2025 at 7:50 AM
On Thursday night, we heard that government was making big concessions on its planning bill, putting lots more controls on its nature recovery plans.
I find this disappointing. And to explain why, I have to tell a story I’ve been holding off from sharing.
I find this disappointing. And to explain why, I have to tell a story I’ve been holding off from sharing.
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Oh you absolutely useless wankers
August 6, 2025 at 6:34 PM
Oh you absolutely useless wankers
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Grimly unsurprised the government has decided to prop up inflated house prices and reduce any hopes that its ambitious house building programme will actually lead to cheaper housing any time soon.
July 16, 2025 at 11:00 AM
Grimly unsurprised the government has decided to prop up inflated house prices and reduce any hopes that its ambitious house building programme will actually lead to cheaper housing any time soon.
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One reason we have sand in the wheels of cross border transactions is to inhibit terrorism finance, regular crime and money laundering. Instant peer to peer payments would be great if it were only good guys doing it.
July 4, 2025 at 6:26 AM
One reason we have sand in the wheels of cross border transactions is to inhibit terrorism finance, regular crime and money laundering. Instant peer to peer payments would be great if it were only good guys doing it.
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Very few broke ranks - @rolandmcs.bsky.social is a very honourable exception - and so, I'm sorry, but Hannan does not just deserve ridicule. What he, Owen Paterson, and many others of that ilk did to our country deserves condemnation and utter contempt. 8/8
June 24, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Very few broke ranks - @rolandmcs.bsky.social is a very honourable exception - and so, I'm sorry, but Hannan does not just deserve ridicule. What he, Owen Paterson, and many others of that ilk did to our country deserves condemnation and utter contempt. 8/8
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For young people, the message from these negotiations is that only the EU will advance your interests, not Westminster
May 17, 2025 at 7:10 AM
For young people, the message from these negotiations is that only the EU will advance your interests, not Westminster