Will Jennings | Lightnews

Will Jennings📉🗳️

@drjennings.bsky.social

62K followers 5K following 6.5K posts

I research and write about politics, public policy, public opinion, polls, elections, geography, place, trust. I run on espresso.

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Sociology 14%

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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · May 12

Reposted by Will Jennings

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 4h

Time for day 2 of the "British General Election of 2024" advent calender. Who won & lost the campaign last summer? Which parties gained ground in polls? Who fell back? In the next post, we find out but first: here's a thread detailing how you can claim your discounted copy! bsky.app/profile/robf...

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 6d

Looking forward to a much briefed bumper hamper of politics? No, not the Budget, The British General Election of 2024! We had a wonderful all star launch event in London last night, with representatives of all five Britain-wide parties, and now I have a special launch gift for you...read on! 1/?

Reposted by Elizabeth Saunders, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan , and 5 more Elizabeth Saunders, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Linda J. Skitka, Steve Peers, Mark D. White, Smith, David Darmofal

Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 5h

“Thousands of very competitive projects in areas like cancer, diabetes, aging, neurological disorders and public health improvements most like went unfunded in 2025.
Similarly, at the National Science Foundation, the roughly 3,000 fewer new grants encompassed reductions to every area of science”

The U.S. Is Funding Fewer Grants in Every Area of Science and Medicine

A quiet policy change means the government is making fewer bets on long-term science.

www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Will Jennings

Better Things Are Possible @internethippo.bsky.social · 14h

When I said "I authorize you to commit war crimes" my subordinates should've known I was joking because I'd never do that

Reposted by Will Jennings, Rosemary A. Joyce, Daniel W. Drezner

Rory Stolzenberg @rorystolzenberg.bsky.social · 14h

WSJ tonight:

www.wsj.com/politics/whi...

The White House defense of Hegseth followed a report Friday in the Washington Post that he gave a spoken order to “kill them all” aboard the vessel. The first strike killed all but two of the boat’s 11 occupants before Bradley ordered a second missile strike, which killed the men, according to the Post.

A Defense Department official on Monday provided a similar account to The Wall Street Journal and said Hegseth was the “target engagement authority,” the key figure who authorized the strike.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Daniel W. Drezner

Shoe+ @shoe.bsky.social · 15h

Lol

Reposted by Rebecca Solnit, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan , and 6 more Rebecca Solnit, Will Jennings, Brendan Nyhan, Rosemary A. Joyce, Daniel W. Drezner, Michael Kevane, David R. Miller, Jon Dean, Élisabeth Vallet

Bill Grueskin @bgrueskin.bsky.social · 15h

NYT:
Five officials told us that Hegseth had nothing to do with the second strike

Washpost (which broke the story 2 days ago):
“This is ‘protect Pete’ bullshit,”
and
“It’s throwing us, the service members, under the bus.”

At the White House on Monday, Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary, read a statement that said Mr. Hegseth had authorized the Special Operations commander overseeing the attack, Adm. Frank M. Bradley, “to conduct these kinetic strikes.”

She said that Admiral Bradley had “worked well within his authority and the law directing the engagement to ensure the boat was destroyed and the threat to the United States of America was eliminated.”

According to five U.S. officials, who spoke separately and on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive matter that is under investigation, Mr. Hegseth, ahead of the Sept. 2 attack, ordered a strike that would kill the people on the boat and destroy the vessel and its purported cargo of drugs.

But, each official said, Mr. Hegseth’s directive did not specifically address what should happen if a first missile turned out not to fully accomplish all of those things. And, the officials said, his order was not a response to surveillance footage showing that at least two people on the boat survived the first blast.

Admiral Bradley ordered the initial missile strike and then several follow-up strikes that killed the initial survivors and sank the disabled boat. As that operation unfolded, they said, Mr. Hegseth did not give any further orders to him.

Her scripted remarks at a news briefing elicited a furious backlash within the Defense Department, where officials described feeling angry at the uncertainty over whether Hegseth would take responsibility for his alleged role in the operation — or leave the military and civilian staff under him to face the consequences.

“This is ‘protect Pete’ bulls---,” one military official, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal conversations, told The Post.

Leavitt’s statement “left it up to interpretation” who was responsible for the second strike that killed the two survivors, a separate military official said, imploring the White House to provide clarity on the issue.

One official said of Leavitt’s statement, “It’s throwing us, the service members, under the bus.” Another person said some of Hegseth’s top civilian staff appeared deeply alarmed about the revelations and were contemplating whether to leave the administration.

Reposted by Will Jennings

Callum Parrish @callumparrish.bsky.social · 18h

Government acts on commitment to put parents’ experiences at the heart of SEND reform through new public engagement campaign.

Government launches national conversation on SEND

Government acts on commitment to put parents’ experiences at the heart of SEND reform through new public engagement campaign.

www.gov.uk

Reposted by Will Jennings

post malone ergo propter malone @proptermalone.bsky.social · 18h

that would be last Friday, so if we’re keeping score that’s now one public failed assassination plot and one public flouted ultimatum

FinTwitter @fintwitter.bsky.social · 18h

ON CALL, TRUMP GAVE MADURO FRIDAY DEADLINE TO LEAVE VENEZUELA WITH HIS FAMILY - SOURCES

Reposted by Rebecca Solnit, Dorothy Bishop, Will Jennings , and 8 more Rebecca Solnit, Dorothy Bishop, Will Jennings, Iain Davidson, Michael A. Clemens, Gerald Friedman, Benjamin Y. Clark, Ann Bartow, Henry Jones, Timothy D. McBride, David Darmofal

Acyn @acyn.bsky.social · 21h

Kelly: He runs around on stage talking about lethality and the warrior ethos.. That’s not the message that should be coming from the Secretary of Defense… He runs around on a stage like he’s a 12 year old playing army. It’s embarrassing.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Nils Zurawski

Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 22h

Good piece by @polphilpod.bsky.social at @theunpopulist.net. I think there is something to be said for distinguishing fascism proper from merely illiberal right-populism. And there's no plausible narrow and precise definition of "fascist" that Musk doesn't very obviously meet.

Even by a Strict Definition, Elon Musk Is a Fascist

He is weaponizing Tolkien to promote violence by ‘hard men’ against Asian immigrants

www.theunpopulist.net

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Albert Weale , and 5 more Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Albert Weale, Andrew Scott, Simon Wren‐Lewis, Margot C. Finn, Pauline Stafford, Gerry Hassan

Ian Dunt @iandunt.bsky.social · 23h

Watched BBC 6 o clock news. Just a completely unserious broadcast. Chris Mason, acting like a children's entertainer, giving a prolonged impenetrable editorial. Not a whiff of informative content about the Budget or what it means for the country. Just playschool blah blah bollocks.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Rosemary A. Joyce, Alan Richardson , and 1 more Will Jennings, Rosemary A. Joyce, Alan Richardson, David R. Miller

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

trump is the president in the sense that he holds the office but he very clearly isn't the president in the sense that he has basically relieved himself of its duties

Jonathan Lemire @jonlemire.bsky.social · 1d

Trump’s echo chamber:

Very little U.S travel

No rallies or contact with supporters

Right-wing media

Dinners with rich donors and billionaires

Truth Social

Lack of staff to tell him no www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

The Bubble-Wrapped President

Trump surrounds himself with those who flatter him in places where he is comfortable.

www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Anne Applebaum, Will Jennings, Rosemary A. Joyce , and 4 more Anne Applebaum, Will Jennings, Rosemary A. Joyce, David Rothschild, Daniel W. Drezner, Alan Richardson, David R. Miller

Jonathan Lemire @jonlemire.bsky.social · 1d

The Bubble-Wrapped President

Trump surrounds himself with those who flatter him in places where he is comfortable.

www.theatlantic.com

Reposted by Richard S.J. Tol, Will Jennings, Steve Peers , and 4 more Richard S.J. Tol, Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Rosemary A. Joyce, Trevon D. Logan, Alan Richardson, Michael D. McDonald

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 1d

talking to reporters last night, Trump claimed of Hegseth's double tap strike that "I don't know anything about it," then moments later claimed "I don't who you're talking about" when asked his plan to pardon the former Honduran president

Reposted by Will Jennings

Dan Mitchell @danmitchell.bsky.social · 1d

Facebook is loaded with this stuff. "This video is created using AI, and the story is for your entertainment" is noted at the very bottom of a long, made-up post.

Why? Because people comment and like. They treat it as real even when they know it's fake. Look at those numbers. Dispiriting as hell.

"Fiery Chaos on the Highay as Lava Overtakes Roadway"

Reposted by Will Jennings, Henry Jones

Bill Kristol @billkristolbulwark.bsky.social · 1d

“'Remove justice, and what are kingdoms but gangs of criminals on a large scale?' Augustine made this suggestion in The City of God. In the country of Trump, we’re getting a convincing demonstration. Justice has been removed and a gang of criminals are in charge."

www.thebulwark.com/p/sex-crimes...

Sex Crimes. State Crimes. War Crimes.

We’re detecting a pattern with this administration.

www.thebulwark.com

Reposted by Will Jennings

ido @ido.bsky.social · 1d

When I was at the BBC I struggled over things like writing “said” or “claimed” because one might come across as more partial. And somehow this gets published?

Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 1d

Some important insights on why tone is crucial in how we approach open science...

Dan de Kadt @dandekadt.bsky.social · Nov 24

Great to see the record corrected, but I don't think Laura and David need to say "sorry."

The culture change I wish we could have: Understanding that we all make errors, and incrementally improving the processes of social science to make them rarer.

This doesn't happen through "blame and shame."

Laura Bronner @laurabronner.bsky.social · Nov 21

A thread about being wrong:

5 years ago, we wrote a paper about how how newly enfranchised 16-year-olds vote in Austria. But we were wrong.

This year, @elisabethgraf.bsky.social, @schnizzl.bsky.social, Sylvia Kritzinger and I are setting the record straight: authors.elsevier.com/c/1juT5xRaZk...

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings , and 2 more Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, Margot C. Finn, Christina Pagel

Tom Roberts @tpgroberts.bsky.social · 1d

There is an actual interesting little deceit in the budget, namely ther have the OBR still forecasting based on increasing net immigration back to 300-350k whilst the Home Secretary is promising to bring it down from 200k, which does dissolve about half the headroom, but somehow we're doing vibes.

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

Think this is exactly right - political journalism that is completely abstracted from policy, which was not the norm before 2017, has become the default. Impossible to have a serious attempt to either shrink what the state does or widen the tax base (have to do at least one) on that basis.

Jane Green @profjanegreen.bsky.social · 1d

All this budget news, claims, counter claims is confusing, but two things of consequence.

1. We're all talking about that, not any financial benefits (or losses) of the budget.

2. Yet more focus on the very weird few weeks and politics of it all. Starting to feel dangerously like a norm.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Charlie Beckett, Pauline Stafford

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

Jane Green @profjanegreen.bsky.social · 1d

Reposted by Will Jennings, Pauline Stafford

Jane Green @profjanegreen.bsky.social · 1d

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers

Ben Chu @benchu.bsky.social · 1d

Did Rachel Reeves and the Government “mislead” people about the state of the public finances and the need for tax rises before the Budget?

I think this is a rather complex question & the answer is not black and white.

A thread…🧵1/12

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

Rachel Reeves's "headroom" is based on:

-£16bn in 'efficiency savings'
-£6bn in savings in order to fund taking SEND off local government backs
-tax rises that largely come in at the end of the forecast
-immigration being at c340k net in 2029!

Suggestion Rachel Reeves exaggerated fiscal pressures is absurd

Chancellor was instead far too optimistic about public finances and government’s ability to secure cuts

www.ft.com

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, Patrick Dunleavy , and 3 more Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, Patrick Dunleavy, Steve Peers, Tim Bale, Thomas Elliott

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

Feel like I'm going mad. The Budget's 'headroom' is based on frankly irresponsible and wildly optimistic claims about what Labour will do in the final year of the forecast, and on ignoring a bunch of upward pressures on spending, and the claim is that she was being exaggeratedly *pessimistic*?

Suggestion Rachel Reeves exaggerated fiscal pressures is absurd

Chancellor was instead far too optimistic about public finances and government’s ability to secure cuts

www.ft.com

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 1d

Its possible to maintain fiscal position while somewhat reducing numbers (via greater selectivity) but Labour government's language about net 205k being too high has not been thought through - just repeating language of net 600k, net 400k, net 340k as it dropped lower, quicker than they anticipated

Reposted by Will Jennings