Ben Worthy
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benworthy.bsky.social
Ben Worthy
@benworthy.bsky.social
830 followers 1K following 94 posts
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benworthy.bsky.social
Ben Worthy @benworthy.bsky.social · Sep 23
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 Tim Bale, Ben Worthy

colmpm.bsky.social
Colm Murphy @colmpm.bsky.social · 15h
10 nuggets from the new "British General Election of 2024" book, courtesy of @timbale.bsky.social

theconversation.com/the-ten-most...
The ten most surprising facts from the 2024 election revealed
Voters cared a lot less about tax than you might think.
theconversation.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy

kcorrick.bsky.social
Kathryn Corrick @kcorrick.bsky.social · 16h
The work of @mysociety.org is tremendous.
In 2025:

- 1 million+ reports were made on FixMyStreet
- 2.5 million+ people visited debate and MP pages on TheyWorkForYou
- 150,000+ FOI requests were submitted on WhatDoTheyKnow
- 158,000+ messages were sent via WriteToThem

Find out more: mysociety.org
mySociety
mySociety provides technology, research and data to help people be active citizens, in more than 40 countries around the world.
mysociety.org

Reposted by Ben Worthy

politicalquarterly.bsky.social
Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 2d
The Covid Inquiry revealed that there were ‘substantive discussions’ of important policy decisions via texts.

Frequent use of WhatsApp undermines transparency, and decreases the quality of decisions.

By @benworthy.bsky.social & @mrosenbaum.bsky.social
Government by WhatsApp? Covid, Transparency and Government by Text
The Covid Inquiry revealed that there were ‘substantive discussions’ of important policy decisions through texts and messages. Is this ever acceptable?
politicalquarterly.org.uk

Reposted by Ben Worthy

mrosenbaum.bsky.social
Martin Rosenbaum @mrosenbaum.bsky.social · 3d
The Covid Inquiry revealed how the use of chat apps in gov't created an unprecedented document trail, along with a temptation to avoid record keeping or to lose/delete records. By @benworthy.bsky.social & me, for @politicalquarterly.bsky.social - thepoliticalquarterly.substack.com/p/government...
Government by WhatsApp?
The Covid Inquiry revealed that there were ‘substantive discussions’ of important policy decisions through texts and messages. Is this ever acceptable? By Ben Worthy and Martin Rosenbaum.
thepoliticalquarterly.substack.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy

politicalquarterly.bsky.social
Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 3d
We've just published a new Substack.

The Covid Inquiry revealed there were ‘substantive discussions’ of important policy decisions through texts and messages. Is this ever acceptable?

By @benworthy.bsky.social & @mrosenbaum.bsky.social

Read: thepoliticalquarterly.substack.com/p/government...

Reposted by Tim Bale, Ben Worthy

robfordmancs.bsky.social
Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 3d
Time to look behind another "British General Election of 2024" advent calander window. As is tradition in every post 2016 Christmas, Brexit is in the air, with speculation about whether Labour might push to move closer to the EU. But what role did Brexit play in last July's election? Read on!
robfordmancs.bsky.social Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 7d
Time to open another window on the "British General Election of 2024" advent calender. Today we ask - which party leader won the 2024 campaign? Read on to open the window and find out!
robfordmancs.bsky.social Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 10d
Time to open the 5th window of the BGE 2024 advent calendar. Yesterday we looked at how last year's election made Parliament more ethnically diverse and more (but not fully) gender balanced. Today we ask - why was the Tory collapse so massive?

Reposted by Ben Worthy

punkandnewwave.bsky.social
NewWaveAndPunk @punkandnewwave.bsky.social · 3d
Released on this day in 1975: Marcus Garvey (album) #BurningSpear
youtu.be/oV8QWVph4f0?si…

Reposted by Steve Peers, Ben Worthy

pressgazette.co.uk
Press Gazette @pressgazette.co.uk · 4d
Congrats to Specialist Journalism winners @petergeoghegan.bsky.social Jenna Corderoy and Lucas Amin of Democracy for Sale #BJA2025

Reposted by Ben Worthy

joffocakes.bsky.social
Joe Dillon @joffocakes.bsky.social · 4d
absolute bargain if any of yous have a use for 7,949,020,598 wasps
A sign advertising 07949020598 wasps £50

Reposted by Mary Bosworth, Richard S.J. Tol, Howard Williams , and 34 more

lucynoakes1.bsky.social
lucynoakes1.bsky.social @lucynoakes1.bsky.social · 4d
Ongoing decimation of British universities part 252:

Apx. 1000 academic staff at University of Essex just received formal ‘risk of redundancy’ letters via email.

Please share @ucuessex.bsky.social @ucu.org.uk

Reposted by Charles West, Lesley A. Hall, Ben Worthy , and 1 more

chriscampbell1.bsky.social
Chris Campbell @chriscampbell1.bsky.social · 5d
If anyone remembers that list which said historians were second in line to be replaced by AI, I've had some thoughts about it... and how it relates to some aspects of public history and the current climate facing historians.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
The Historian in the Age of AI | Transactions of the Royal Historical Society | Cambridge Core
The Historian in the Age of AI
www.cambridge.org

Reposted by Ben Worthy

peterallen.bsky.social
Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 6d
My favourite of my own papers is on this exact topic (should be free to read) www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Reposted by Ben Worthy, David R. Miller

lseusablog.bsky.social
LSE US Politics and Policy blog - USAPP @lseusablog.bsky.social · 6d
Effective members of Congress propose more moderate legislation and are willing to compromise with the other side finds @jmcrosson.bsky.social of Purdue University

blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/20...
Effective members of Congress propose more moderate legislation and are willing to compromise with the other side | USAPP
he most effective lawmakers systematically propose more moderate legislation that is often more moderate than their own political positions.
blogs.lse.ac.uk

Reposted by Ben Worthy, Alessandro Nai, Daniela V. Dimitrova

jmcquarterly.bsky.social
JMCQ @jmcquarterly.bsky.social · 6d
Christian von Sikorski and Michael Hameleers have curated a timely and excellent special issue on 𝗔𝗜 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 👏
Check it out here: journals.sagepub.com/toc/JMQ/curr....
@profdimitrova.bsky.social @cvsikorski.bsky.social #commsky
Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly - Volume 102, Number 4
Table of contents for Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 102, 4
journals.sagepub.com

Reposted by Hugo Mercier, Efrén O. Pérez, Ben Worthy , and 3 more

semrasevi.bsky.social
Semra Sevi @semrasevi.bsky.social · 7d
🚨Excited to share our new paper published in PNAS (joint with @yamilrvelez.bsky.social and Don Green)! AI can enhance political knowledge and provide balanced information about politics with proper guardrails and vetted sources (e.g., party platforms).

www.pnas.org/doi/full/10....

Reposted by Ben Worthy

jowolff.bsky.social
Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 9d
Miroslav Holub
1923 - 1998

A Boy's Head (1963)

In it there is a space-ship
and a project
for doing away with piano lessons
achillesthe2nd.bsky.social Achilles Micawber @achillesthe2nd.bsky.social · 10d
Which lines of poetry live rent-free in your head?

Reposted by Ben Worthy

simonhix.bsky.social
Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 9d
This is amazing, and explains a lot about US politics. Thanks for writing this up @adambonica.bsky.social
adambonica.bsky.social Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 9d
Study after study shows campaign ads barely move the needle. So where does money’s real power come from? I ranked the five ways money corrupts politics—from least to most corrosive. What I’ve learned from 15 years of tracking political money:
Money Doesn't Buy Elections. It Does Something Worse.
Campaign ads barely move the needle. The real influence is hiding in plain sight.
open.substack.com

Reposted by Simon Hix, Brendan Nyhan, Linda J. Skitka , and 15 more

adambonica.bsky.social
Adam Bonica @adambonica.bsky.social · 9d
Study after study shows campaign ads barely move the needle. So where does money’s real power come from? I ranked the five ways money corrupts politics—from least to most corrosive. What I’ve learned from 15 years of tracking political money:
Money Doesn't Buy Elections. It Does Something Worse.
Campaign ads barely move the needle. The real influence is hiding in plain sight.
open.substack.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy

clairemiller.bsky.social
Claire Miller @clairemiller.bsky.social · 9d
An #FOI win can make future requests much easier.

The ICO ruled the value of council-bought shopping centres should be revealed. A request for updated figures was answered much quicker:
Freedom of Information in the news – week ending 5/12/2025 – #FOIFriday - Words + Numbers
Keeping on top of Freedom of Information requests is hard. I mean for public bodies across the country, rather than just me trying to see what's overdue in my spreadsheet. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has taken some more enforcement action in the past couple of months, on top of the notices already issued. Much
clairemiller.net

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, Gordon Pennycook, Adam J. Berinsky , and 6 more

dgrand.bsky.social
David Rand @dgrand.bsky.social · 11d
🚨 New in Nature+Science!🚨
AI chatbots can shift voter attitudes on candidates & policies, often by 10+pp
🔹Exps in US Canada Poland & UK
🔹More “facts”→more persuasion (not psych tricks)
🔹Increasing persuasiveness reduces "fact" accuracy
🔹Right-leaning bots=more inaccurate

Reposted by Ben Worthy

owenboswarva.bsky.social
Owen Boswarva @owenboswarva.bsky.social · 11d
Another boffo release of #openaddresses from our friends in local government:

Brighton & Hove City Council has released its Council Tax address list as open data www.owenboswarva.com/blog/post-ad...

Thx @brighton-hove.gov.uk!

Geocoded by yours truly

#FOI #localgov #UKhousing #proptech #opendata
Screenshot of sample of Brighton & Hove City Council's Council Tax address data, visualised in Google Earth

Reposted by Jürgen Maier, Anne Rasmussen, Markus Wagner , and 3 more

fghjorth.bsky.social
Frederik Hjorth @fghjorth.bsky.social · 11d
Political communication research overwhelmingly relies on text. But parliamentary speech is multimodal! In our new @psrm.bsky.social article, Mathias Rask and I show that legislators also signal partisan conflict nonverbally— through changes in vocal pitch during floor speeches. 🧵 1/11 #polisky

Reposted by Ben Worthy

stephenkb.bsky.social
Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 11d
"Keir Starmer did not create this problem — the damage done by the Conservatives cannot be overstated — but it is making matters worse."

Fantastic column by @robertshrimsley.bsky.social on the malaise in our politics and the road that we're on without a major change in approach:
Labour is slow-marching working people to populism
Insurgent parties to left and right peddle nonsense economics but enjoy dramatically rising support
www.ft.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy

profjacob.bsky.social
Jacob Öberg @profjacob.bsky.social · 11d
Here are links to their full UK in a changing Europe blog: ukandeu.ac.uk/brexits-impa... and to their @nber.org paper: www.nber.org/papers/w34459
Brexit’s impact on the UK economy - UK in a changing Europe
Nicholas Bloom, Philip Bunn, Paul Mizen, Pawel Smietanka, and Gregory Thwaites argue that there is evidence that Brexit has had a large and persistent negative impact on GDP, output and productivity i...
ukandeu.ac.uk

Reposted by Steve Peers, David H. Kaye, Ryan Enos , and 7 more

nikobowie.bsky.social
Niko Bowie @nikobowie.bsky.social · 12d
This man may be the most racist president this country has ever had, and twelve presidents owned slaves
justinbaragona.bsky.social Justin Baragona @justinbaragona.bsky.social · 12d
Trump: "It’s a hellhole right now. And those Somalians should be out of here. They've destroyed our country. And all they do is complain, complain, complain. You have her. She’s always talking about the Constitution provides me with – go back to your own country and figure out your constitution."

Reposted by Leigh Sparks, Lesley A. Hall, Ben Worthy

willhaycardiff.bsky.social
Will Hayward - Wales Journo @willhaycardiff.bsky.social · 15d
We have written a special report looking at the people behind Reform in Wales.

This was a bizarre piece to write.
willhaywardwales.substack.com/p/special-re...
Special report: Who are Reform in Wales?
We dived into the wild world of Reform UK in Cymru
willhaywardwales.substack.com

benworthy.bsky.social
Ben Worthy @benworthy.bsky.social · 16d
Yes, I only found this out recently

Reposted by Ben Worthy

ptbeatles.bsky.social
Producing The Beatles @ptbeatles.bsky.social · 16d
Thinking of George today, I made a mix of Beware of Darkness highlighting with just strings and vocals (and a bit of Hammond organ) youtu.be/BI_k6x2lY64
George Harrison - Beware of Darkness (strings and vocal mix)
YouTube video by Producing The Beatles
youtu.be

Reposted by Ben Worthy

hansmollman.bsky.social
Mollie Goodfellow @hansmollman.bsky.social · 16d
WHAT

Reposted by Ben Worthy

seamas.bsky.social
The Author, Séamas O'Reilly @seamas.bsky.social · 16d
Issuing a very rare explanatory note here to say that, while I do consider this a fun and quite odd fact about Tom Stoppard, I also believe his script for Last Crusade is a genuine masterpiece. And I'm not just saying that because it might be my favourite film of all time. It's damn near perfect.