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Ben Mitchell

@bmitchellwrites.bsky.social
287 followers 78 following 1.5K posts

Painfully nostalgic for the 90s.

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Reposted by Ben Mitchell
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 28/09/2026
"Too often, centre-left governments force themselves into the role of defender of the status quo, taking the blame for failures that often aren’t even their fault, being the one to explain why things are bad, instead of being the people making them better."
thenewworld.co.uk
Memo to Burnham: this is how you beat the populists
Carney, Mamdani and Ossoff are all showing you can take on the raging right and win. But there’s one crucial lesson from them that Andy Burnham must learn
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Wonderful. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
theatlantic.com
How to Destroy a Lesbian Bar
The scourge of COVID led to drive-by whinings disguised as activism.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
And guess what? Most of the time people give in b'cos they want a quiet life and are too scared/intimidated/exhausted to just say no. And it happens in the workplace all the time.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In another age, most of the people in this article would be sectioned. That said, enjoy this wonderful example of the purity spiral in action. You can go out of your way to accommodate this bunch of narcissists but it'll never be enough. This is what passes for 'progressivism' nowadays.
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Anthony Painter @anthonypainter.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The major problem with this reporting - beyond its fundamental inaccuracy - is that when arrests are eventually made there will be no proper context and therefore it will seem like the state is smothering free expression.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Yep. It's noise pollution. The automated ones on trains that stop everywhere are particularly grating. List of stops announced over and over and over. There are so many little things we could do to make life that much more pleasant.
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Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
JFC, leave your grown up kids alone!
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Very good.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Wise words from none other than Ed Sheeran (or whatever publicist wrote this):
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Unsurprisingly, I love this piece. Have felt for some time that the 90s was the last great decade. I'd be amazed if we ever get another. www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
thetimes.com
We owe it to our kids to reclaim the Nineties spirit
Nostalgia is building for a decade full of optimism — we need to give future generations light at the end of the tunnel
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becca @boodleoops.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
As a feminist, you know you’re doing something right when you criticise misogynistic elements of the culture, and men talk about you like this. Women who identify misogyny have been caricatured as joyless hags forever
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
I'm afraid the resorting to insults, accusations, emotional blackmail and the rest, is exactly why Yes lost and deserved to. They failed to persuade throughout. There were valid reasons for Yes, but when asked about safeguards, slippery slopes etc. all they had was asking us to 'be kind.'
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Strongly recommend the TV series "The Looming Tower" (unfortunately no longer on iPlayer), which chronicles the years leading up to 9/11, the growing threat of al-Qaeda and the rivalry between the FBI and CIA and the consequences of. Think it was s'thing I watched during the pandemic.
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ingeniousname.bsky.social @ingeniousname.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Everyone knows what a woman is when it comes to surrogacy, strip clubs, brothels, pornography. Basically anything where the female body is exploited.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Really fascinating. Politics vs. Delivery; I want to do X vs. How will X work in practice. The disconnect explains why political ambitions are so often thwarted/not properly thought through.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Fuck me. I've always been staunchly opposed to surrogacy and this excellent piece just reveals again what a vile industry it is. So many red flags. Of course gay men now make up a not insignificant proportion of people seeking surrogates. It's all so wrong. Having a child is not a right.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
Fuck me. I've always been staunchly opposed to surrogacy and this excellent piece just reveals again what a vile industry it is. So many red flags. Of course gay men now make up a not insignificant proportion of people seeking surrogates. It's all so wrong. Having a child is not a right.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Find the term 'national treasure' cringeworthy (and laughably overused), but Monty Don really is just that. They'd better give the gig to Adam Frost: www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Monty Don to leave Gardeners' World after more than 20 years
The presenter said it had been "deeply rewarding" but added that "now is the right time for a change".
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 07/09/2026
Applicable to so many 'protests' nowadays.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
Strong agree. Brilliant series. Conservative campaigner Phyllis Schlafly, played by the wonderful Cate Blanchett, comes across really well.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
It is bad and it is weird.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
So wrong for so many reasons.
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Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
Agree and reading Starmer's statement it's infuriating how his sense of moral superiority has stayed intact despite everything.
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Reposted by Ben Mitchell
Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Clearly this is aimed at the more conservative outer boroughs - but even there surely most people now have a ULEZ-compliant car so scrapping it would make no difference?
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 29/08/2026
Thoroughly enjoyed this: anguscolwell.substack.com/p/50-places-...
anguscolwell.substack.com
50 Places in London I Would Like to Live
To the utmost specificity
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Train travel has got rapidly worse since end of Covid. As has so many other things. Can't remember the last time my commute to or from work wasn't delayed by signalling issues.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Post-truth/postmodernism strikes again. Nothing makes intelligent people sound more stupid.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Well, he ain't going anywhere then. Uefa set to drop Fifa tournament boycott threat - www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
bbc.co.uk
Gianni Infantino: Uefa set to drop Fifa tournament boycott threat
Uefa is set to drop its threat of boycotting Fifa competitions, having received assurances there will be no repeat of Gianni Infantino's plan to sell off stakes in the World Cup to private investors, ...
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
Terrific piece. Could also apply to the publishing industry, charity sector, funders, TV and film. And pretty much the whole of the Arts. open.substack.com/pub/ianlesli...
open.substack.com
Politics Is Making Academia Stupid
On Our Self-Lobotomising Universities
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
They should have been sanctioned for their disgraceful antics in the SF. Cheating bastards. At least any playing in England this weekend (and for the next few weeks at least) will be booed and heckled to fuck and they'll deserve it. www.bbc.co.uk/sport/footba...
bbc.co.uk
World Cup 2026: Argentina's Paredes banned for 10 games over World Cup final clashes
Fifa ban Argentina midfielder Leandro Paredes for 10 matches over his role in clashes with Spanish players after the World Cup final.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 20/08/2026
Sometimes you gotta take risks, drown out the noise, ignore the most vocal and do seemingly unpopular things. That's leadership. Clean air zones should be rolled out everywhere. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Children's stunted lungs show recovery in ultra low emission zone
Children's lung capacity caught up with their peers in less polluted areas once a clean air zone came in, a study shows.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
A disproportionate amount of posts on this site consist of a handful of political commentators having their arses kissed by their merry band of sycophants.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
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Legal C @legalclaret.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
An idea clearly created without any thought as to practicality or consequences. The Farage example should kill it off at conception. However, one must think about how many, who gets to decide? How is it in place (legislation? Regulation? Voluntary?) how is it enforced? Are there exceptions? /1
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Legal C @legalclaret.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The second, equally bizarre response, is that journalists should refrain from reporting due to the impact on an individual. We could do this, but many very bad individuals would be rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect. /3
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Legal C @legalclaret.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Decide the only appropriate response is to target another individual. (We have seen this by dragging other academics accused of plagiarism into the story, and now journalists for having the temerity to do their job.) /2
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Legal C @legalclaret.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
For the umpteenth day in a row, the circular row escalates, this time attacking a left leaning BME journalist who, apparently, should have covered up reporting the story because of the potential impact on a person’s mental health. The first query is why some who criticise the targeting of Arday /1
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
The man is loathsome in every way. So many gullible idiots who keep subbing him and his band of professional grifters.
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Steven Seggie @stevenhseggie.bsky.social · 19/08/2026
Whatever your opinion of Jolyon, it will be a lot worse after reading this.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
Young people need to be told they're wrong. Well done, Wetherspoons.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 18/08/2026
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
thetimes.com
The death of reading puts the world in a perilous place
Books and newspapers are increasingly giving way to social media content as the habit of reading fades. This isn’t just dumbing down, it’s a threat to democracy
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
A very sensible, measured 🧵.
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Dan Davies @dsquareddigest.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
tbh "don't have a barbecue there's a good lad" is actually a pretty good message to be sending out to everyone on Friday night before the hottest driest weekend of the August holidays. If we were Australia or something we would be used to this but we're not; this is adaptation
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James Austin @jamesdaustin.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
One thing I'd say on the alert is three times in the last week Ive been in a tinder-dry nature reserve and seen multiple people trying to BBQ. Either they dont know the risk or they dont care. If this wakes them up its a very good thing
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
Obvious answer is that giving stuff away/reducing the cost is easy and popular. Tackling climate change means making unpopular decisions. It means a complete overhaul as to how we lead our lives. Every one of us must change and adapt and do less of what we enjoy. Is he brave enough to say this?
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 14/08/2026
No one wants this! Westminster has redicalosed itself against net zero targets. The public has not! These policies are popular, not least because the public only has to look out the window to see the need for climate action.
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Ben Mitchell @bmitchellwrites.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
During the driest, hottest summer on record, Burnham's COBRA meeting has resulted in a voluntary ban on shops selling disposable BBQs. Absolutely pathetic. And don't get started on the gross irresponsibility of Badenoch's approach to climate change.
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Rafael Behr @rafaelbehr.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
Oh, and today’s column, ahead of bin day tomorrow www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
theguardian.com
Nigel Farage looks trapped and rattled - now the nationalist tide can be turned | Rafael Behr
There are more votes in tolerance and decency than in toxic division. It doesn’t take a great leap of political courage to fight back against Reform, says Guardian columnist Rafael Behr
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