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Sofia Ropek Hewson

@sofiahewson.bsky.social
64 followers 86 following 17 posts

Senior Research Fellow in democracy and politics team at IPPR.

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Reposted by Sofia Ropek Hewson
Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
PLUS: Nancy Fraser on the future of the left; talking community & citizenship with Jon Cruddas, Jana Mills & Sarah Mulley; Nick O'Donovan on the fiscal challenges facing Burnham & Healey; & 2024 intake MPs reflect on the purposes of progressive politics. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Progressive Review relaunched: Beyond Old and New: IPPR Progressive Review
Click on the title to browse this issue
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
David Klemperer @dmk1793.bsky.social argues that contemporary democratic reformers are still committed to an outdated vision, dating back to the Thatcher era. He argues that demands for democratic reform need to be updated to reflect a dangerous new context. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Against Private Power: A Democracy Agenda Beyond Charter 88
Since Charter 88, democratisation efforts in the UK have focused on constitutional reform to change the internal structures of the Westminster state. Today, however, the major challenge for democracy...
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
IPPR's @jchrisbick.bsky.social argues that it's time to recognise the two-party system is dead: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Party Democracy in a Fractured System
This paper examines the fragmentation of Britain's party system as a crisis of party democracy, and argues that electoral reform is necessary to return to a point where parties can still do the repre...
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
On the substack, we also have IPPR's @sofiahewson.bsky.social on the costs of personalisation. What version of the public and what possible collective politics are we giving up for the sake of convenience? progressivereview.substack.com/p/against-pe...
progressivereview.substack.com
Against personalisation
Culturally, we have accepted personalisation as the price of convenience. But are we giving up on the democratic ideal of a shared public life?
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Today on the substack, we have @sachahilhorst.bsky.social on anti-corruption politics. Many people discuss politics almost exclusively in terms of 'corruption'. Why do these feelings work in the radical right's favour, and how can progressives respond? progressivereview.substack.com/p/the-politi...
progressivereview.substack.com
The politics of care and corruption
Keir Starmer paid lip service to the importance of cleaning up politics, but failed to understand the depth and meaning of the anti-politics sentiments. His successor has an opportunity to do better.
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
You can sign up to the new Progressive Review substack here: progressivereview.substack.com
progressivereview.substack.com
Progressive Review | IPPR | Substack
IPPR's journal of politics and ideas, showcasing the best in British and international thinking for achieving lasting progressive change. Click to read Progressive Review, by IPPR, a Substack publicat...
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Sofia Ropek Hewson @sofiahewson.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Excited that IPPR has relaunched Progressive Review, edited by the excellent @npjgarland.bsky.social. We’ve got pieces on the politics of care and corruption, Manchesterism, cost of living populism + I wrote about personalisation and interviewed amazing Nancy Fraser. Do read and share our pieces!
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Duncan Hames @duncanhames.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Democratic politics will not serve the people when politicians owe their place and their futures to one or two billionaires.
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Institute for Public Policy Research @ippr.org · 10/09/2026
Citizenship should help people play an active part in society, not test how well they memorise arbitrary facts. A new citizenship course could be focused on everyday life, shared values, UK institutions and community participation. Read more 🔗 www.ippr.org/publications/from-strangers-to-citizens
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marleymorris.bsky.social @marleymorris.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
You can read the full report - including a very interesting foreword by David Blunkett - here: www.ippr.org/articles/fro...
ippr.org
From strangers to citizens: Membership and belonging in an age of migration | IPPR
Britain faces a political battle over its future as a multi-ethnic liberal democracy. In recent years there has been the growth of a new form of ethnonatio
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marleymorris.bsky.social @marleymorris.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Our proposals include: • Establishing clear pathways to citizenship for all long-term residents. • Reducing citizenship fees - for children, in particular • Introducing new citizenship course for all adult applicants with a focus on community life, shared values and civic participation.
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marleymorris.bsky.social @marleymorris.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Today @ippr.org we're calling for a major overhaul of citizenship policy. Our new report argues that new migrants to the UK should be seen as potential citizens. This means the process of obtaining citizenship should be both more accessible and more meaningful. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Applicants for UK citizenship charged more than five times the admin cost
Fee of £1,709 compares with an estimated administrative cost of just £324, according to Home Office data
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Liam Evans @liam-evans.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
If this was of any interest you can read the full article here 👇 labourlist.org/2026/08/poli...
labourlist.org
'The next right-wing talking point is already online. We must learn to spot it early' - LabourList
If politics is increasingly downstream of the internet, we should spend more time looking upstream.
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Sofia Ropek Hewson @sofiahewson.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
Such an important and useful report by Roa at IPPR on digital competition policy.
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Roa Powell @roapowell.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Damning testimony from the CMA's former chair, chief economic advisor and cloud inquiry chair on how government has tackled big tech market power. Quotes from our @ippr.org report. Bold enforcement of digital competition policy is not anti-tech, and should be part of our agenda on homegrown AI.
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Chris Bick @jchrisbick.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
I've written a little something on party democracy and electoral reform for @ippr.org's Progressive Review. The arg: parties are essential to representative democracy, but FPTP has made the party system dysfunctional. So, fixing parties means embracing PR. Link👇 (it's short! and opened access!)
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George Monbiot @georgemonbiot.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
So the ultra-rich will continue to own our politics, and our country. Disappointing to say the least. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Burnham drops support for political funding cap aimed at curbing mega-donors
PM said he would set bar at £500k, but trade unions say funding reforms could undermine their ability to donate to Labour
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Caroline Lucas @carolinelucas.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Unbelievably disappointing u-turn from the PM - where is the serious culture change at Westminster we were promised? Our democracy should not be for sale
theguardian.com
Burnham drops support for political funding cap aimed at curbing mega-donors
PM said he would set bar at £500k, but trade unions say funding reforms could undermine their ability to donate to Labour
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Here's my fiscal pyramid of doom from today's IPPR report that has picked up quite a bit of coverage - largely focused on whether wealthy elderly Brits should pay more. But don't worry there's lots more in there to rile you up - property taxes, AI token taxes, progressive consumption tax, and more!
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Sofia Ropek Hewson @sofiahewson.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
Political funding is too concentrated, and we can see large donors buy influence. Most of Reform’s funding has come from donations over £100k. In 2023, nearly a third of all money given to political parties came from nine sources. We need donation caps, so politics can be shaped by voters instead.
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Institute for Public Policy Research @ippr.org · 18/08/2026
Online safety policy has to regulate the product, not the user. The UK currently regulates harmful content, but we are far behind the EU and the US in regulating algorithms and manipulative platform design. 📺 @sofiahewson.bsky.social on #BBCNews 👇
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Will Davies @will-davies.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
I've written about Neets for the LRB. It is odd listening to recent debates about this completely ignore the overwhelming fact of this current crisis, that it is one of inactivity, disability, mental ill-health and neurodevelopmental disorders (as I discuss) www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
lrb.co.uk
William Davies · Young People Are Different: What do Neets need?
The majority of Neets are not looking for work, but living outside of the labour market and the education system,...
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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 01/08/2026
My sense from talking to insiders is that under the previous Starmer government HE’s concerns were ignored or indeed taken as a standard hippy-punching sign they were doing ‘something right’. Lads, you weren’t, and you had become widely hated. Time for a reset.
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Chris Bick @jchrisbick.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Great to see my op-ed out in LBC today, which builds on our new @ippr.org report, What is the Left For?, also out today. A short thread 🧵 Op-ed 👉 [www.lbc.co.uk/article/price-caps-ne…] Report 👉 [www.ippr.org/articles/what-is-the-l…]
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Sofia Ropek Hewson @sofiahewson.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
We’ve published our pamphlet today, ‘What is the left for?’ We’ve treated people like consumers rather than citizens for too long and watched governments promote individualism over collectivism. We think the left should be for a deeper and more mutual relationship between people and the state.
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Chris Bick @jchrisbick.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
We're sleepwalking into a real democratic legitimacy problem. Falling turnout means we keep returning governments fewer and fewer of us actually voted for. Compulsory voting is the way out — and it's good to see it's getting some traction. Great thread explaining why from my colleague Nick
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
1/ Great reporting in The Times on the emerging momentum behind support for compulsory voting, which @ippr.org called for a couple of weeks ago: www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...
thetimes.com
Compulsory voting on the table as Burnham ponders electoral reform
Proposals seen by the prime minister’s advisers suggest a £10 fine for those who do not cast a ballot, with a ‘none of the above’ option to be included
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Will Davies @will-davies.bsky.social · 17/07/2026
Jane Gingrich and I have written an essay for @ippr.org on a fundamental problem, that an age that demands more of the state also suffers from multiple state legitimation crises www.ippr.org/articles/the...
ippr.org
The legitimacy trap | IPPR
In many ways, the public want more government: to shape a fairer, more dynamic economy and protect ordinary people from the consequences of a turbulent wor
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Full report here here: www.ippr.org/articles/the...
ippr.org
The democratic citizen: Renewing citizenship and the public domain | IPPR
Often, this descends into little more than an argument about eligibility for welfare benefits. This is a disaster for progressives, who find themselves fig
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Nick Garland @npjgarland.bsky.social · 12/07/2026
Great to see my @ippr.org report (with @harryqp.bsky.social & @sofiahewson.bsky.social) cited by @guardianheather.bsky.social here: www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
UK must cap political donations to stop the rich buying influence | Heather Stewart
If Keir Starmer won’t act then his successor should – by restricting the power of a small group of mega-donors
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Sofia Ropek Hewson @sofiahewson.bsky.social · 29/04/2026
Wrote a piece about how social media isn’t social and why the BBC can save us!
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Petter Törnberg @pettertornberg.com · 23/04/2026
Social media is no longer social. Most of it is passive viewing of videos and pictures from people we've never met. But we're still studying social media like it's 2010. We've entered the post-social media era — and research needs to catch up. osf.io/preprints/so... preprint w/ Richard Rogers
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Sofia Ropek Hewson @sofiahewson.bsky.social · 10/04/2026
Over half of what we see on social media is posts from influencers, ads, brands and recommended content. Content from people we know makes up only 18% of what we see. These platforms personalise our feeds and promote one-sided relationships with influencers over social ones. We can demand better.
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Chris Bick @jchrisbick.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
Friday news! We're launching the advisory panel for @ippr.org's Decade of National Renewal today. An incredible group of thinkers to keep us in line as we do some creative thinking about what the left should stand for in an increasingly uncertain world. Find out more 👉 www.ippr.org/research-and...
ippr.org
About the advisory group | IPPR
The populist radical right is not just gaining in the battle of votes but is also dominating the battle of ideas: about who the state is for, how it should
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Sofia Ropek Hewson @sofiahewson.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
We’ve always worried about addictive new tech and children. In 1868, Francis Paget wrote that sensational novels were like opium; in 1941, doctor Mary Preston found that half of the children she researched were addicted to radio and TV crime dramas and consumed them ‘like an alcoholic does drink’.
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