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Ben Sellers

@mrbensellers.bsky.social
380 followers 26 following 865 posts

“It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees.”

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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 10h
My own view, I think uncontroversial & no doubt shared by the vast majority of people on both sides of the Green Party vote, is that it is the Palestinian people who must decide their own future. 👇
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 19h
Remembering David Cobb 1962-2026. A lovely tribute by Joe Guinan, who attended the Memorial Service for David at the Arcata Playhouse in Humboldt County, California at the weekend. Here on the Democracy Collaborative website: www.democracycollaborative.org/blogs/rememb...
democracycollaborative.org
Remembering David Cobb 1962-2026 — The Democracy Collaborative
TDC President Joe Guinan gave a tribute to David K. Cobb, our friend, collaborator, and fellow who passed away on Labor Day, at the Memorial held at the Arcata Playhouse in Humboldt County, California...
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
I think this is a good statement by @pscupdates.bsky.social: palestinecampaign.org/solidarity-w...
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Three Years of Genocide: Tomorrow, Saturday 3rd October in Newcastle. Meet opposite the Haymarket Metro from 12 noon, then march to Baltic Square.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
mrbensellers.substack.com/p/hope-again...
mrbensellers.substack.com
Hope again?
Why socialists can’t afford to abandon their critical faculties.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Don’t worry if you can’t come for the whole two days or if you/your organisation can’t afford the community/solidarity rate - there are arrangements in place. The important thing is to come along & take part. All the details here: assembly.redhillsdurham.org 3/3
assembly.redhillsdurham.org
Redhills Assembly – Rebuilding our Coalfield Common Wealth
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The Assembly is taking place this Friday & Saturday (the 2nd & 3rd of October) and will include sessions on collective ownership, the solidarity economy, community organising, mutual aid, culture & history and a lot more besides. 2/3
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
If you’re part of a community group, involved in any community activism in County Durham or the North East - or if you’re just interested in what’s happening out there, please have a look at the Redhills Assembly programme below. 1/3
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Building …
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I must admit, back in May 2025, I didn’t expect Reform’s collapse to come so quickly in Durham. It’s easy to forget that, at the local elections 18 months ago, they had a comfortable majority of 32: mrbensellers.substack.com/p/reforms-co...
mrbensellers.substack.com
Reform’s collapse in Durham
I must admit, back in May 2025, I didn’t expect Reform’s collapse to come so quickly in Durham.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Awkward facts.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This has largely gone unnoticed - which is extraordinary considering the millions of insecure, precarious workers (who we want to organise in trade unions, right?) are affected by it. One of the many parts of this originally comprehensive package that has been watered down or buried.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Great speech by @lyndarooke.bsky.social of @equityuk.bsky.social at #TUC2026 in support of motion C02, making the v important point that many other workers in the creative industries & gig economy are excluded from basic rights, while the Single Status of Workers has been kicked into the long grass.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
25 years ago today, me & Charlotte got hitched. That’s a long time to be with someone, and I think it’s fundamentally about friendship - and being kind to each other, when sometimes the world isn’t. Happy anniversary Charlie.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Just returning to these Andy Burnham Ministerial appointments briefly, because there’s a lot of talk about it, and it’s important we get it right. substack.com/@mrbenseller...
substack.com
Ben Sellers (@mrbensellers)
Just returning to these Andy Burnham Ministerial appointments briefly, because there’s a lot of talk about it, and it’s important we get it right. So, a week ago, we had a raft of Cabinet appointmen...
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 26/07/2026
Incredible display at St James’ Park today. We know how to honour our heroes & Kevin Keegan was the best of them. #RIPKevinKeegan
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
#RIP King Kev. Everyone will have stories. Here are a couple of my own. open.substack.com/pub/mrbensel...
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Devastated at this news. It would have been so like Kevin Keegan to somehow escape this one, but cancer, man. My one genuine hero as a kid. RIP King Kev.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 18/07/2026
16 years after being diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, I’ve been told that there is a good chance I’m in remission. I’ve gradually come off the drugs & cautiously optimistic. This wasn’t what I was expecting: open.substack.com/pub/mrbensel...
open.substack.com
Remission
About 16 years ago, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Shouldn’t we be talking about a New Lucas Plan? I would say so. Luckily, some of those involved in the original plan & a new generation of activists have already done a lot of the work. Here: lucasplan.co.uk
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
I don’t mean personal attacks, or harping back to a previous leadership, or insinuations about members or past members of the union, or anything like that. I mean genuinely engaging with the political issues. Making an argument, openly & honestly. More on Substack here: substack.com/@mrbenseller...
substack.com
Ben Sellers (@mrbensellers)
As a Unite member (and a voter in this general secretary election), I would like to see a proper response to the detailed arguments being made here. I don’t mean personal attacks, or harping back to...
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 16/07/2026
As a Unite member (and a voter in this general secretary election), I would like to see a proper response to the detailed arguments being made here. www.counterfire.org/article/a-un...
counterfire.org
A union election, the movements and the military-industrial complex
The Unite the Union leadership election ought to be a moment to take stock of its supposedly radical and militant leadership, argues Kevin Crane ‘BACK TO THE WORKPLACE’ proclaims the promotional ma...
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 15/07/2026
How are Palestinians & Palestinian advocates dehumanised? The terrorism narrative is so incredibly dishonest, but deeply ingrained. Some thoughts about the way we challenge it - on my Substack: open.substack.com/pub/mrbensel...
open.substack.com
Dehumanising Palestine
One of the big issues with perceptions of Palestine is the way it has been identified with terrorism.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Mike Danson on the limits of Andy Burnham’s ‘Manchesterism’ - definitely worth a read: bellacaledonia.org.uk/2026/07/08/o...
bellacaledonia.org.uk
On No 10 North and the Limits of Manchesterism
There have been no fundamental changes in the powers of neighbourhoods, communities or boroughs within the city-region: Manchesterism isn’t based on principles of community empowerment, subsidiarit…
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
A wonderful day at the Durham Miners' Gala. I made a decision a little while ago that I was going to try to experience the Big Meeting as a punter, rather than an organiser - shedding some of the self-inflicted pressure & just enjoy it. It makes you realise, again, why people love it so much.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 11/07/2026
Never, ever tire of this view. Another brilliant Durham Miners’ Gala today. #BigMeeting #DurhamMinersGala
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
As Tony Benn said: "Hope is the fuel of progress and fear is the prison in which you put yourself". See you there, comrades. (4/4)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
At a time when I see a tightening, a restricting of horizons in our trade unions & our political parties - especially when it comes to the society & planet we pass on to the next generation, the Gala is a useful reminder that we don’t have to live within those bounds. (3/4)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
The #BigMeeting’s strength has always been the ‘big’ part - it’s the labour movement at its most expansive & least corporate. The past we inherit, the future we build. (2/4)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 09/07/2026
Really looking forward to the Durham Miners’ Gala on Saturday. It’s a special day, not just for us in Durham and the North East, but the whole movement, from all four nations & beyond. (1/4)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 08/07/2026
Friday night at the Big Meeting - The Institute of Employment Rights / Campaign for Trade Union Freedom ‘Eve of Gala’ rally - at Elvet Methodist Church, starting at 6.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
… but a grumbling crisis that shows no sign of going away - and that the only economic models that we’ve been offered, have no answers. You can read more of the ‘Index’ here. It’s very accessible & I think, incredibly useful: ukindex.democracycollaborative.org 7/7
ukindex.democracycollaborative.org
UK Index of Systemic Trends
The Index of Systemic Trends quantifies, tracks, and visualizes key crises to show the need to move towards a new system to produce better outcomes.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
These are shocking statistics - but ones that are generally ignored by Parliament & the mainstream media, because we might then have to acknowledge that the reality of UK politics isn’t Burnham, or Badenoch, or Farage … 6/7
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
In 2023, 21.1% of all Britons lived in poverty (a 52.9% increase from 1970). For children, the rate was 30.5% (a 122.6% increase) and for working-age adults it was 19.3% (a 153.9% increase).” 5/7
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
Starting in the late 1970s, poverty rates began to spike considerably and have remained at elevated levels ever since. 4/7
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
“By 1970, the percentage of all Britons living in relative poverty (after housing costs) was down to 13.8%. For children it was 13.7%, and for working-age adults it was 7.6%. 3/7
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
The point of the publication is to look beyond that noise & really examine what the trends are. Where is the UK heading? A snapshot: 2/7
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026
🧵 A few weeks ago, the organisation I work for - The Democracy Collaborative - published a ‘UK Index of Systemic Trends’. Since then, British politics has been consumed with the drama of the Labour leadership, and Andy Burnham’s coronation as the new PM. 1/7
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 24/06/2026
Never mind all this politics, what about the Mandarin Ducks, I hear you say. Well, I happened to be passing the Boathouse today & spotted them, diving around all over the place, annoying the Mallards. Female & six ducklings (one less than before, but looking much bigger & very healthy). Love it.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 23/06/2026
The establishment media & the Parliamentary Labour Party keep telling us what a ‘decent’ guy he is. So, here’s a long list of Keir Starmer’s crimes & misdemeanours, lest we forget. Published on @leftlanepolitics.bsky.social: theleftlane.media/the-starmer-...
theleftlane.media
The Starmer years: A charge sheet, not a eulogy - The Left Lane
From purging the left to arming a genocide, Keir Starmer's resignation shouldn’t come with a free pass on the damage he did to Labour and the country, says Ben Sellers.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Having a quiet celebratory pint. Not because I think Starmer’s resignation fundamentally changes anything, but just to acknowledge that this has been a long time coming. He has not just been toxic for the Labour Party, which I left in August 2022, but for the country as a whole.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
If we’re going to get better at this, we need to understand how politics works & be prepared to dig in to create an alternative, a new way to do politics, not just a new brand, a new leader or a new set of policies. Rip it up and start again. (5/5)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
Two books are key to understanding who Starmer was and what his legacy will be. They don’t paint a pretty picture & a lot of the information was already there for those who looked. They are Oliver Eagleton’s ‘The Starmer Project’ (2022) and Paul Holden’s ‘The Fraud’ (2025). (4/5)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
We need to think more critically, look at people’s records & ask what they’ve actually done, what they’ve built & where they’ve come from, rather than what they look like. (3/5)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
It’s important that we learn the lessons, though. We have a tendency to look at leaders in a superficial light in this country. If someone makes a good speech, or gives us a list of pledges, or sounds humble, many of us buy it, hook, line & sinker. (2/5)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 22/06/2026
🧵 I never thought that it was possible that we’d have a more self-serving & damaging leader of the Labour Party than Tony Blair (and going back in history, to Ramsay MacDonald). But Starmer was that. It already feels good to be talking about him in the past tense. (1/5)
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 21/06/2026
People have short memories, so let’s just remember when we’re treated to the sanctimonious nonsense that will follow Keir Starmer’s resignation tomorrow. My latest on Substack 👉 open.substack.com/pub/mrbensel...
open.substack.com
No soft soaping Starmer.
People have short memories, so let’s just remember when we’re treated to the sanctimonious nonsense that will follow his resignation tomorrow - as Jeremy Corbyn’s Shadow Brexit Secretary, Keir Starmer...
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Joe Guinan puts it very simply - and he’s absolutely right.
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
Will ‘Flip Flop Andy’ just bat his eyelashes at the public & continue the same old destructive, regressive politics that have fed Reform & the far right or genuinely challenge the culture of his own Parliamentary Party & Westminster? The historical record doesn’t augur well. 6/6
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Ben Sellers @mrbensellers.bsky.social · 19/06/2026
👉 Is it the Andy Burnham who says he wants to clean up politics, or the one who’s widely tipped to bring disgraced Labour Together Director Josh Simons into his inner sanctum? 5/6
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