David Bent
@davidbent.bsky.social
Founder: Atelier of What’s Next, a studio for initiatives at the frontier of generating a better future.
Edmund Hillary Fellow. Hon Lecturer: UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources. Views own.
https://linktr.ee/davidbent
Edmund Hillary Fellow. Hon Lecturer: UCL Institute for Sustainable Resources. Views own.
https://linktr.ee/davidbent
Reposted by David Bent
cannot adequately describe how great this is to see
there are more of us than there are of them and they will not break us
there are more of us than there are of them and they will not break us
It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing
January 23, 2026 at 8:40 PM
cannot adequately describe how great this is to see
there are more of us than there are of them and they will not break us
there are more of us than there are of them and they will not break us
Reposted by David Bent
if you came of age in the 20th century then this really sits you down about how much the Worlds changed in 21st century. no going back….
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
When Tony Blair came to power in 1997, the UK economy was bigger than China and India combined.
November 24, 2025 at 7:12 PM
if you came of age in the 20th century then this really sits you down about how much the Worlds changed in 21st century. no going back….
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/bri...
Reposted by David Bent
The grimness of US history should encourage us. Yes, people used to send lynching postcards. And other people saw that, worked towards building a more just society anyway, and succeeded beyond anyone's wildest imagination. There's more work to be done. What's our excuse for choosing despair instead?
I understand and appreciate the fact that for some it is genuinely uncomfortable and distracting to think about how grim US history is. yes, that is strategically relevant, and no, I wouldn't put "did you know people used to send lynching photos to each other as postcards?" on a recruitment flyer
January 22, 2026 at 7:18 PM
The grimness of US history should encourage us. Yes, people used to send lynching postcards. And other people saw that, worked towards building a more just society anyway, and succeeded beyond anyone's wildest imagination. There's more work to be done. What's our excuse for choosing despair instead?
Reposted by David Bent
I'll say yet again: Trump & his party do something virtually every day that constitutes a more violent & alarming suppression of speech than anything that happened during the entire alleged tyranny of woke. Every day. Yet the entire Free Spech army has just vanished into mist.
I wrote on the shameful situation re: the recession of a deanship to Emily Suski at the University of Arkansas Law. What was the reason? Prof. Suski signed an amicus brief supporting trans rights. The Arkansas legislators admitted that was it! Horrible outcome. ballsandstrikes.org/legal-cultur...
A Law School Dean Signed a Brief Defending Trans Rights. She Lost Her Job Because of It
The revocation of Emily Suski’s job offer at the University of Arkansas sends a chilling message to law professors everywhere.
ballsandstrikes.org
January 22, 2026 at 6:49 PM
I'll say yet again: Trump & his party do something virtually every day that constitutes a more violent & alarming suppression of speech than anything that happened during the entire alleged tyranny of woke. Every day. Yet the entire Free Spech army has just vanished into mist.
Reposted by David Bent
Starmer maybe rightly doesn’t take bait each time but he needs an outrider - a semi-licensed “off message” attack dog - to make Haw-Haw Farage pay for sucking up to the guy who denigrates British war dead.
Trump on NATO: "I've always said, will they be there if we ever needed them? That's really the ultimate test. I'm not sure of that. We've never needed them. They'll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan and this or that. And they did. They stayed a little back, off the front lines."
January 22, 2026 at 1:46 PM
Starmer maybe rightly doesn’t take bait each time but he needs an outrider - a semi-licensed “off message” attack dog - to make Haw-Haw Farage pay for sucking up to the guy who denigrates British war dead.
Reposted by David Bent
Discworld QOTD, from Going Postal
"You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible. And if you failed, well, it had been impossible."
"You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible. And if you failed, well, it had been impossible."
Discworld QOTD, from Moving Pictures
"‘Students?’ barked the Archchancellor.
‘Yes, Master. You know? They’re the thinner ones with the pale faces? Because we’re a university? They come with the whole thing, like rats-’"
"‘Students?’ barked the Archchancellor.
‘Yes, Master. You know? They’re the thinner ones with the pale faces? Because we’re a university? They come with the whole thing, like rats-’"
Discworld QOTD, from Unseen Academicals
“But, it was a funny thing: every day something happened that was important enough to be on the front page of the newspaper. She’d never bought it and seen a little sign that said ‘Not much happened yesterday, sorry about that’.”
“But, it was a funny thing: every day something happened that was important enough to be on the front page of the newspaper. She’d never bought it and seen a little sign that said ‘Not much happened yesterday, sorry about that’.”
January 22, 2026 at 7:16 PM
Discworld QOTD, from Going Postal
"You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible. And if you failed, well, it had been impossible."
"You should promise to do the impossible, because sometimes the impossible was possible, if you could find the right way, and at least you could often extend the limits of the possible. And if you failed, well, it had been impossible."
Reposted by David Bent
For the government to have persued to broad agenda it has - which is economically very left - and to have ended up here is a strategy/comms SNAFU of quite epic proportions
Entirely misunderstood salience and the limits of their own voters.
Entirely misunderstood salience and the limits of their own voters.
Notable that Labour's losses to the right (11%) are dwarfed by their losses within bloc (27%) and Don't Knows / WNVs (21%). Collectively 4.5 times as large. The argument that ONLY losses to the right matter in the constituencies Labour have to defend seems increasingly tenuous to me.
🧵/ How would Britain vote at the start of 2026: Our new study of 17,000 Britons breaks down current voting intention by factors such as age, socio-economic classification, past vote, and more...
yougov.co.uk/politics/art...
yougov.co.uk/politics/art...
January 21, 2026 at 6:27 PM
For the government to have persued to broad agenda it has - which is economically very left - and to have ended up here is a strategy/comms SNAFU of quite epic proportions
Entirely misunderstood salience and the limits of their own voters.
Entirely misunderstood salience and the limits of their own voters.
Reposted by David Bent
Unless they are stopped, all the worst things that Trump and the Republican Party are going to do are in the future, not the past.
This makes stopping them the highest priority for the future of human life on the planet.
This makes stopping them the highest priority for the future of human life on the planet.
January 21, 2026 at 3:07 PM
Unless they are stopped, all the worst things that Trump and the Republican Party are going to do are in the future, not the past.
This makes stopping them the highest priority for the future of human life on the planet.
This makes stopping them the highest priority for the future of human life on the planet.
Reposted by David Bent
After one day of unity over Trump the Mail, the Telegraph, Times and Badenoch have decided the Chagos are more important than the destruction of the western alliance and backed the insane ramblings of a rogue president who was fine with the deal last year. We see you #collaborators
Choosing sides between a rogue president bent on destroying the Western alliance and UK and EU governments finally standing up to him shouldn’t be difficult for mainstream political parties or news organisations. So come on Telegraph, Times, Badenoch and yes you Farage if you want to be PM…
January 21, 2026 at 6:21 AM
After one day of unity over Trump the Mail, the Telegraph, Times and Badenoch have decided the Chagos are more important than the destruction of the western alliance and backed the insane ramblings of a rogue president who was fine with the deal last year. We see you #collaborators
Reposted by David Bent
Terrible restaurant could close unless people enthusiastically embrace bad food, complains chef.
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
Big tech boss tells delegates at Davos that broader global use is essential if technology is to deliver lasting growth
www.irishtimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Terrible restaurant could close unless people enthusiastically embrace bad food, complains chef.
Reposted by David Bent
DUTCH WARN TULIP BOOM COULD FALTER WITHOUT WIDER ADOPTION
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
AI boom could falter without wider adoption, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella warns
Big tech boss tells delegates at Davos that broader global use is essential if technology is to deliver lasting growth
www.irishtimes.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:27 PM
DUTCH WARN TULIP BOOM COULD FALTER WITHOUT WIDER ADOPTION
Reposted by David Bent
This is probably the most accurate description.
Someone in their mid-50s today told me that this is the first time he had thought about or been affected by politics. And that guy is actively guarding buildings and his coworkers from ICE.
Someone in their mid-50s today told me that this is the first time he had thought about or been affected by politics. And that guy is actively guarding buildings and his coworkers from ICE.
Minneapolis and Saint Paul have basically mobilized into a war economy of mutual aid and non-violent defense. I’ve never seen anything like it, even during Covid. People who barely vote are guarding their schools from ICE and doing the shopping for neighbors in hiding.
This is so smart. I’m so impressed with all the different ways you’re helping your neighbors.
January 19, 2026 at 2:44 AM
This is probably the most accurate description.
Someone in their mid-50s today told me that this is the first time he had thought about or been affected by politics. And that guy is actively guarding buildings and his coworkers from ICE.
Someone in their mid-50s today told me that this is the first time he had thought about or been affected by politics. And that guy is actively guarding buildings and his coworkers from ICE.
Reposted by David Bent
Trump's obsession with Greenland and erratic interventionism towards Venezuela are almost textbook case studies of a declining great power externalising its growing domestic instability into external imperial quagmires
January 19, 2026 at 8:17 AM
Trump's obsession with Greenland and erratic interventionism towards Venezuela are almost textbook case studies of a declining great power externalising its growing domestic instability into external imperial quagmires
Reposted by David Bent
"Fascist governments are condemned to lose wars because they are constitutionally incapable of objectively evaluating the force of the enemy." - Umberto Eco, "Ur-Fascism"
To those saying “nuh-uh, ICE picked Minneapolis because they WANTED the city to rise up as one against them” -
no, pretty sure they expected a scattering of blue-haired protesters they could easily crush for content + tacit support from other whites, not the organized total resistance they got.
no, pretty sure they expected a scattering of blue-haired protesters they could easily crush for content + tacit support from other whites, not the organized total resistance they got.
ICE and MAGA really did bet the farm on all of Minneapolis’s white people going “oh yes, please take away our disgusting, evil non-white-foreigner neighbors, oh thank you so much.”
it’s beautiful that they’ve been proven incredibly wrong about that - may the rest of the country do the same.
it’s beautiful that they’ve been proven incredibly wrong about that - may the rest of the country do the same.
January 19, 2026 at 3:03 AM
"Fascist governments are condemned to lose wars because they are constitutionally incapable of objectively evaluating the force of the enemy." - Umberto Eco, "Ur-Fascism"
Reposted by David Bent
so that's the good news. bad news is from now to midterm elections (ie most of 2026) may be a crazy/dangerous time, if Trump feels his window to act with impunity is closing (Dems may soon have more power to constrain him soon) or he needs distraction abroad from failure at home. Buckle up, etc
January 18, 2026 at 4:51 PM
so that's the good news. bad news is from now to midterm elections (ie most of 2026) may be a crazy/dangerous time, if Trump feels his window to act with impunity is closing (Dems may soon have more power to constrain him soon) or he needs distraction abroad from failure at home. Buckle up, etc
I was joking with colleagues last week (before the latest escalation on Greenland) that we are 3 months away from having a campaign on boycotting the Football World Cup and 2028 Olympics (both based in the US).
FFS.
FFS.
Its interesting how seriously the Thatcher government considered withdrawing England, Scotland and Northern Ireland from the 1982 World Cup (having established the Football Associations would withdraw if Cabinet recommended it) before deciding would be an own goal
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014...
Home nations close to boycott of 1982 World Cup over Falklands, papers show
Briefings reveal growing anxiety over sporting clashes with Argentina and Spain as conflict continued in South Atlantic
www.theguardian.com
January 18, 2026 at 6:05 PM
I was joking with colleagues last week (before the latest escalation on Greenland) that we are 3 months away from having a campaign on boycotting the Football World Cup and 2028 Olympics (both based in the US).
FFS.
FFS.
Reposted by David Bent
Sadly, archival evidence on who ‘the British’ are cuts out at some point in early mediaeval times
Meanwhile Hannan's best pal, the overtly racist bigot Douglas Carswell, is 'not sure this is ideal'...
January 18, 2026 at 5:53 PM
Sadly, archival evidence on who ‘the British’ are cuts out at some point in early mediaeval times
Reposted by David Bent
This is pretty much the only post anyone should need to understand that Farage is a traitor, a conman and a populist simpleton who must *never* be given power.
January 18, 2026 at 9:08 AM
This is pretty much the only post anyone should need to understand that Farage is a traitor, a conman and a populist simpleton who must *never* be given power.
Reposted by David Bent
When are people going to be held accountable for the nonsense slop and puff they emit.
January 18, 2026 at 9:19 AM
When are people going to be held accountable for the nonsense slop and puff they emit.
Reposted by David Bent
How it started ... How it's going
January 17, 2026 at 9:58 PM
How it started ... How it's going
Reposted by David Bent
2024: can Europe defend itself ALONGSIDE America?
2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?
2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?
2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
January 18, 2026 at 10:12 AM
2024: can Europe defend itself ALONGSIDE America?
2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?
2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
2025: can Europe defend itself WITHOUT America?
2026: can Europe defend itself AGAINST America?
Reposted by David Bent
Now that the government has decided it’s OK to criticise Trump, can we have a full-on attack on Reform?
The line is very simple: Farage is Trump’s man.
The line is very simple: Farage is Trump’s man.
January 18, 2026 at 7:56 AM
Now that the government has decided it’s OK to criticise Trump, can we have a full-on attack on Reform?
The line is very simple: Farage is Trump’s man.
The line is very simple: Farage is Trump’s man.
Reposted by David Bent
We keep talking about the midterms as if we're very sure of the issues that are going to decide them, but I think about where the country was a month ago and where it is now, and I honestly can't begin to (and don't want to) imagine the world we'll be living in come November.
January 18, 2026 at 3:14 AM
We keep talking about the midterms as if we're very sure of the issues that are going to decide them, but I think about where the country was a month ago and where it is now, and I honestly can't begin to (and don't want to) imagine the world we'll be living in come November.
Reposted by David Bent
Very eloquent and compact statement of why the old cooperative trading order was good for us and for the US.
1/ Something which I don't think gets articulated clearly often enough is that a system where countries generally respect international sovereignty and territorial integrity is not pure charity or morality by the United States, but in its direct interests.
Despite it being the strongest bear.
Despite it being the strongest bear.
January 17, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Very eloquent and compact statement of why the old cooperative trading order was good for us and for the US.
Reposted by David Bent
Good policy will almost always get you good comms, as long as you don't eff the latter up. Good comms will never get you good policy. Governments are re-elected on the basis of success and failure in policy. So focus on policy and get good people to communicate it.
One of the most astounding things about this government is their failure to grasp the primary lesson from the last one was so obviously "Don't mess about with Comms all the time, just do stuff that will probably work".
This is why there's a whole chapter in my book about the damage the grid has done to policy making.
January 17, 2026 at 10:14 AM
Good policy will almost always get you good comms, as long as you don't eff the latter up. Good comms will never get you good policy. Governments are re-elected on the basis of success and failure in policy. So focus on policy and get good people to communicate it.