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Benjamin Pine

@thebenjaminpine.bsky.social
51 followers 105 following 167 posts

cambridge / bradford. study politics. write for varsity. he/him.

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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
A new collective has called for students to refuse to appear in Cambridge Uni publicity - sparked by concerns about how Cambridge handled media scrutiny of Jason Arday My piece in Varsity www.varsity.co.uk/news/31994
varsity.co.uk
Student and alumni collective calls for ‘media boycott’ over Arday concerns
The Cambridge Black Alumni & Student Collective says the University's decision to investigate Arday sparked wider concerns about Black students' experiences
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
www.varsity.co.uk/news/31981 Eddington water system remains unused despite government pledge to switch it on this year Me, for Varsity
varsity.co.uk
Eddington water system remains unused despite government pledge to switch it on this year
The water reuse system is the largest in the UK, but requires a change in the law to be switched on
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
This is an interesting piece by @owenwalker0.ft.com - especially having just read The South by Tash Aw which explores a lot of related issues, like perception of politics, class, development and the economy in Malaysia
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
Who would ever do that 👀👀 Totally agree though - I sometimes gawp at the amount of investment Cambridge gets compared to that of Bradford and Leeds. Not just govt spending - donations, private investment, all sorts
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 27/07/2026
We've done a lot of stuff at Varsity about science funding - money is being diverted to projects that can be commercialised But so many scientists have pointed out the effects of that approach BBC News - UK's iconic Jodrell Bank telescope faces axe in science cuts www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Jodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understands
Astronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 20/07/2026
Working with the Yorkshire Post this week - including on Westminster news... Feel free to get in touch!
Photo of Yorkshire Post website live page on Burnham.

"Starmer delivers final speech as PM

Speaking outside No10 just before his formal resignation, Starmer has said he is "confident that Britain is now stronger and fairer than it was two years ago."

Listing what he sees as his greatest achievements, he said: "Our economy is stronger; our public services are on the up, with the biggest fall in waiting times for 17 years; children are being lifted out of poverty every single day; immigration is down significantly; our defence and security are on a far stronger footing; and our international reputation is greatly enhanced."

He concluded: "I thank the British people for the opportunity to serve. I go with good grace. I go with a smile. And I go proud of everything that we have achieved."

Starmer will now visit to [sic, oops] Buckingham Palace to offer his formal resignation to King Charles, officially recommending that Burnham will take his place."
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
Crazy that Leeds and Bradford are still not officially getting trams despite our mayor having been elected on that promise and the chancellor wanting it to happen and the money having been given
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/07/2026
Really enjoyed this piece!
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 03/06/2026
Unilever = “The Dove and Marmite maker” @secondmentions.com Unilever CEO defends food deal saying staff ‘not paid to be lazy’ - www.ft.com/content/2936... via @FT
ft.com
Unilever CEO defends food deal saying staff ‘not paid to be lazy’
Fernando Fernández argues $66bn combination of its food business with McCormick is right step despite upheaval
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 23/05/2026
CamGraPhIC says its #tech could reduce data centre energy use by 80%! It's just been given a €200mn grant from the Italian state May I tentatively plug my #interview with its co-founder, Cambridge professor Andrea Ferrari, as a nice weekend read? www.varsity.co.uk/science/31716
varsity.co.uk
CamGraPhIC’s crusade to curb the AI energy crisis
Benjamin Pine speaks to Professor Andrea Ferrari about how CamGraPhIC’s graphene transceivers could help solve AI’s growing energy crisis
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 23/04/2026
I was in the Yorkshire Post last week!! Here's a piece about a #medieval well in #Ripon... www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/...
yorkshirepost.co.uk
“Mind-blowing” 42ft medieval well discovered during works at Ripon store
A “mind-blowing” 42ft medieval well has been uncovered during works to expand a department store in Ripon.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 20/04/2026
This is good news, although there is still lots of uncertainty for affected students. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
'Huge relief' as students given loans 'in error' get repayment reprieve
Approximately 22,000 weekend students had been told their courses were never eligible for student finance.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 09/04/2026
This is completely shocking. The govt says it's not students' faults but it's students who are left in turmoil. And if it's due to uni incompetence, why are they all making the same mistake? BBC News - 22,000 students told to pay back 'mis-sold' maintenance loans www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
22,000 students told to pay back 'mis-sold' maintenance loans
Those affected have been told their courses were never eligible for maintenance or childcare loans
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 30/03/2026
Worth noting @writesbright.bsky.social that James Orr is on the board of an organisation that reportedly gets money from the Hungarian govt and Russian oil www.varsity.co.uk/news/31233
varsity.co.uk
Foundation with links to Hungarian government funding programmes at Cambridge
The foundation is alleged to have spent over £190,000 funding programmes based in Oxford and Cambridge
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Treasury actually build a railway challenge: IMPOSSIBLE BBC News - HS2 trains could run slower than planned to save money www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... #hs2 #rail
bbc.co.uk
HS2 trains could run slower than planned to save money
The government is looking at ways to make much-delayed London to Birmingham railway line cheaper to deliver.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 21/02/2026
My Varsity article on this news that came out recently. It's been a slightly bizarre journey to get to this point, including claims Cambridge was negotiating with the wrong people (!) Varsity - Uni returns looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria www.varsity.co.uk/news/31186
varsity.co.uk
Uni returns looted Benin Bronzes to Nigeria
The two parties have now reached a deal after ten years of dialogue
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 10/02/2026
Churchill College, Cambridge plans to extend its Archives Centre with a new building. I wrote about it for Varsity, with more detail than has been reported elsewhere. www.varsity.co.uk/news/31165
varsity.co.uk
Churchill plans for new Archives Centre building
The Archives Centre houses the papers of significant figures such as Gordon Brown, Margaret Thatcher, and Winston Churchill
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 02/02/2026
Cam researchers criticise ‘devastating’ impact of Israeli violence on Palestinian children My report for Varsity www.varsity.co.uk/news/30972
varsity.co.uk
Cam researchers criticise ‘devastating’ impact of Israeli violence on Palestinian children
Researchers from the Faculty of Education have published a report claiming that Israeli violence has 'gravely undermined' Palestinian education
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 13/01/2026
I think what I take from this is that NPR will only ever be from Liverpool-Manchester and a bit of electrification that should have happened 20 years ago anyway. I guess Bham-Manc is good but like... will it happen? And it's obvs such a waste to seemingly start from scratch when HS2 was right there
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/01/2026
Amid all the news chaos, here's Amanda Harper accidentally wishing viewers of the 10pm Look North 'good morning'
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 19/12/2025
I channeled my tram anger into something productive yesterday morning... Article #2 for Varsity CUP announces funding scheme for under-represented academics www.varsity.co.uk/news/30852
varsity.co.uk
CUP announces funding scheme for under-represented academics
The CUP grant comes amid a reported need for reform across the publishing sector
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 18/12/2025
Yeah despite the BBC News article not mentioning it, the YP one has this (unbelievable) line "The final consultation on the route has also been pushed back, as is confirmation that it will be a tram network." "AS IS CONFIRMATION THAT IT WILL BE A TRAM NETWORK"
yorkshirepost.co.uk
West Yorkshire mass transit opening delayed until late 2030s after independent review
The slated opening of West Yorkshire’s long-awaited tram network has been delayed until the late 2030s, Tracy Brabin has said, with the mayor saying “it takes too long to deliver infrastructure in thi...
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
I wrote a thing!! That article is a thing I wrote!
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
The government has announced £31mn in bus funding for Cambridge My first article for Varsity!! www.varsity.co.uk/news/30820
varsity.co.uk
Gov declares £31m bus investment for Cambridge
The funding will be spread through three years and is part of a national package worth £3 billion
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/12/2025
Oh my god
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 30/11/2025
Crazy that my academically rigorous degree at an academically rigorous university is academically rigorous. Who knew
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 06/11/2025
@hhorton.bsky.social reports NPR might not get the go ahead until 2026. Notable that it's Treasury officials blocking it, because of 'concerns about the cost'. Of course delaying it further means this vital infrastructure will cost more when it is built in the end. www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
itv.com
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 31/10/2025
“A technology that can only see what has been shown hitherto is badly placed to render visible alternative futures” is a banger of a line on AI, written in this piece by my sociology lecturer (and others) journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
journals.sagepub.com
Sage Journals: Discover world-class research
Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 16/10/2025
BBC News - Dewsbury-Cleckheaton road improvements scaled back over cost This is extremely frustrating. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Dewsbury-Cleckheaton road improvements scaled back over cost
A report suggests the costs of a road improvement project are scaled back by more than £4m.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
BBC reporting that NPR has been "delayed". Devastating but unsurprising. It underpins Bradford's transport and wider regeneration plans - where will the new station go? Where will trams go? It all relies on NPR! @faisalislam.bsky.social
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 23/09/2025
Kind of vibing with the new Politics Live format/graphics/studio.
BBC Politics Live title card.Wide shot of Politics Live studio with Lib Dem MP Munira Wilson and Polly Mackenzie.Close shot of Vicki Young presenting.Ed Davey speaks at Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth, with pushback about the content of his speech.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 19/09/2025
A fascinating report. “The European Court of Human Rights has only three times ruled that the UK’s immigration rules violate the ECHR in the past 45 years.” “Suggestions that the ECtHR ‘hinders’ the UK’s efforts to control immigration, do not stand up to scrutiny.”
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 15/09/2025
“I know the price of a pint in the various pubs around King's Cross and Euston that were thronged with protesters on their way home.” A great piece.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 13/09/2025
Extraordinary that (a) these papers reported the Trump admin's claim of "transgender ammunition" uncritically and that (b) there will be no accountability now that it's been disproven.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Great coverage on BBC News, anchored by Matthew Amroliwala.
Matthew Amroliwala on BBC News as "Israeli strikes target Hamas officials' homes"Matthew Amroliwala with Jeremy BowenMatthew Amroliwala with Mikey KayMap of Israel and Qatar on BBC News
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Jeremy Bowen saying on BBC News that, if today's attack killed all the Hamas officials in Qatar, the one top Hamas official left is in Istanbul. And if Israel is comfortable striking Qatar, what's stopping them bombing Turkey?
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 09/09/2025
Hugely important piece injecting some facts into the “debate” about asylum seekers. “‘As the father of a daughter ...’ is a familiar refrain from men in power.” So, “racially motivated violence...can be committed without being named as harm, since it claims to be defensive.”
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
So many problems could be solved if the govt listened to Not Just Bikes, case #7583...
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 21/08/2025
Asylum seekers' stories are often overlooked. Khador Mohamed fled Somalia to escape terrorism, coming in a small boat. He doesn't know what will happen when he has to leave the Bell Hotel after the recent court ruling, was locked in during protests, and has faced abuse via The Times/Georgia Bates
Photo from pg6 of today's Times. Inset picture of Khador Mohamed.

“Khador Mohamed, 24, an asylum seeker from Somalia, was happy to speak yesterday outside the Bell. He said officials had kept the migrants "in the dark" about the High Court ruling.

He claimed that the Home Office and hotel staff "don't tell us any-thing". Mohamed was asked if he knew what would happen in three weeks, when Somani Hotels, which owns the Bell, must remove the migrants. He replied: "There's nobody giving us any sort of infor-mation about what's going to happen to us."

Mohamed, who came to the UK by boat in May, said he had felt as if he were liv-ing in "hostile territory".

He added: "When there are protests, they actually lock you in your rooms until everything's over."

Mohamed said he had fled Somalia to escape terrorism. A civil war has been raging in the country since the late 1980s. He spoke of how he had been called a "scum-bag" on the streets and had cans of drink hurled at him.

"You cannot blame all of us for something that's been done by one individu-al," he said.

"I am not a criminal."”
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
“One transgender woman in her 70s...was worried about being no longer able to attend her women’s gardening club.” This is the real world impact of the Supreme Court ruling.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 20/06/2025
This is a great video about all those unnecessary AI popups... And not just because my comment is in it 😅
YouTube screenshot of my comment showing irritation at the Meta AI circle in WhatsApp.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
The world is meeting to negotiate a treaty on plastic pollution this week. It's a vital discussion - and could be as significant as the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. We must reduce plastic production. We can't let fossil fuel interests get in the way. m.youtube.com/watch?v=vMQX...
m.youtube.com
The next crisis is plastic
YouTube video by Simon Clark
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 17/11/2024
This piece is by Lee Cain of Tory WhatsApp fame but it's still quite interesting. "Governments of all political persuasions can quickly feel more like a media rebuttal service as they allow themselves to be shaped by events rather than shaping them."
Dominic Cummings' WhatsApp screenshot.

Cummings complains about Johnson not understanding stuff in a meeting. Simon Case agrees. Lee Cain says "this is embarrassing".
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 30/08/2024
Some pretty strong words from the UK Foreign Office on Israel's operation in the West Bank. The BBC's James Landale suggests that, until the US speaks out, Israel will carry on regardless.
The sun rises over the Palace of Westminster, with a vast sky above.

The quote reads: The UK is deeply concerned by the ongoing IDF military operation in the occupied West Bank.We recognise Israel’s need to defend itself against security threats, but we are deeply worried by the methods Israel has employed and by reports of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian infrastructure.
[…]We continue to call on Israeli authorities to exercise restraint, adhere to international law, and clamp down on the actions of those who seek to inflame tensions.The UK strongly condemns settler violence and inciteful remarks such as those made by Israel's National Security Minister Ben-Gvir, which threaten the status-quo of the Holy Sites in Jerusalem.

The quote continues at the bottom of the image: It is in no one's interest for further conflict and instability to spread in the West Bank.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
Palestinians are burning plastic to make fuel in Gaza. Israeli restrictions mean that this is one of the only ways to get fuel to transport the injured and dead. (via Al Jazeera, 🔗 aje.io/itr7vh?updat... )
aje.io
‘Shattered sense of safety’ in Gaza as Israeli forces intensify attacks
Israeli attacks on Gaza, mainly in Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis, kill at least 20 people this morning.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 27/08/2024
The government needs to [pass the bill for a new line] from Warrington to Yorkshire" - aka Northern Powerhouse Rail. "[…]This is in addition to starting work on key elements like a new station in Bradford." 📄Juergen Maier's rail+transport review, commissioned by Labour.
The front cover of Maier's report.

The entire page is an image of the tracks outside Leeds train station. The Leeds skyline is at the top of the page, with "The rail and urban transport review" at the top, above a slightly larger "An assessment and ambition for a new government". The rest of the page is devoted to the glorious image, showing train tracks, the River Aire and the Leeds-Liverpool canal.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 26/08/2024
"Since the history of humanity, migration has been a positive factor" says Meloni's close ally ...6mins after denying that his far-right party has softened its tone in office. Stephen Sackur interviews Nicola Procaccini on HARDtalk. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0022gq6
bbc.co.uk
HARDtalk - HARDtalk: Nicola Procaccini - MEP, Brothers of Italy party
Stephen Sackur is in Rome to talk to Nicola Procaccini, an MEP for the nationalist Brothers of Italy party and confidant of Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 26/08/2024
Ok there are people with weird views on this app too. Noted.
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 26/08/2024
Israel's far-right Security Minister has once again said that Jews should be able to pray at Al Aqsa mosque compound. Now Israeli settlers have stormed the site under the protection of Israeli police, according to Wafa state news agency (via Al Jazeera). aje.io/ejhau5?updat...
aje.io
Israel bombs school in central Gaza as Cairo talks end without a deal
Israeli orders cause panic at last functioning hospital in central Gaza as Hamas insists on permanent ceasefire in Cairo
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Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 26/08/2024
🚱1 in 4 Palestinians in Gaza have contracted a waterborne disease - Oxfam 🇺🇳Intensive Israeli bombardment means Gaza's waste water management infrastructure has collapsed - the UN BBC News - Diseases spread in Gaza as sewage contaminates camps and coast www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Diseases spread in Gaza as sewage contaminates camps and coast
Satellite images show the impact of the damage to Gaza's critical water and sanitation systems.
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