Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 31/08/2026A 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/31994varsity.co.ukStudent and alumni collective calls for ‘media boycott’ over Arday concernsThe Cambridge Black Alumni & Student Collective says the University's decision to investigate Arday sparked wider concerns about Black students' experiences 021 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 27/08/2026www.varsity.co.uk/news/31981 Eddington water system remains unused despite government pledge to switch it on this year Me, for Varsityvarsity.co.ukEddington water system remains unused despite government pledge to switch it on this yearThe water reuse system is the largest in the UK, but requires a change in the law to be switched on 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 26/08/2026'Crafted' too - makes me imagine a wicker basket 010 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/08/2026This 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 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Who 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 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 27/07/2026We'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.ukJodrell Bank's Lovell telescope faces axe in science cuts, BBC understandsAstronomers warn it would tear the heart out of UK science, and leave a generation untrained. 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 20/07/2026Working with the Yorkshire Post this week - including on Westminster news... Feel free to get in touch! 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 13/07/2026Crazy 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 121 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/07/2026No worries! It's great to see more thoughtful local journalism! 010 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 07/06/2026How did I not know about this bookshop??!!! So cool 010 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 03/06/2026Unilever = “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 @FTft.comUnilever 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 021 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 23/05/2026CamGraPhIC 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/31716varsity.co.ukCamGraPhIC’s crusade to curb the AI energy crisisBenjamin Pine speaks to Professor Andrea Ferrari about how CamGraPhIC’s graphene transceivers could help solve AI’s growing energy crisis 101 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 05/05/2026We got to the end and there were no tickets left 😭 - good luck! 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 05/05/2026Haha are you also in the Olivia Rodrigo queue 110 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 23/04/2026...and here's my #interview with the owner of #RedSquirrel sanctuary Mirk Pot (£)! Thanks to everyone who helped make the work experience happen - I learnt so much. www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/...yorkshirepost.co.ukMirk Pot Woods: One of the few places to see rare red squirrels in Yorkshire on market for £500,000A “stunningly beautiful” 37-acre estate, one of the only places to see the rare red squirrel in Yorkshire, has been put up for sale for £500,000 by the sons of much-loved conservationists who transfor... 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 23/04/2026I 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 storeA “mind-blowing” 42ft medieval well has been uncovered during works to expand a department store in Ripon. 121 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 20/04/2026This 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 reprieveApproximately 22,000 weekend students had been told their courses were never eligible for student finance. 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 09/04/2026This 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.uk22,000 students told to pay back 'mis-sold' maintenance loansThose affected have been told their courses were never eligible for maintenance or childcare loans 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 30/03/2026Worth 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/31233varsity.co.ukFoundation with links to Hungarian government funding programmes at CambridgeThe foundation is alleged to have spent over £190,000 funding programmes based in Oxford and Cambridge 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Yeah- I guess we don't know whether they actually have concrete intel or not. It could just be that trump told them to ban them/they're Chinese, but it's also possible that there's some evidence behind it that hasn't been published 110 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 25/03/2026Here you go! (I get 20 gift links a month and don't use them) UK says Chinese wind turbine maker poses national security threat - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FTgiftarticle.ft.comUK says Chinese wind turbine maker poses national security threatMing Yang’s plans to build Scottish factory thwarted 131 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 23/03/2026Treasury 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 #railbbc.co.ukHS2 trains could run slower than planned to save moneyThe government is looking at ways to make much-delayed London to Birmingham railway line cheaper to deliver. 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 21/03/2026Really good piece! 100% agree Thing is no one can agree what the BBC should put less money into - it should prioritise children's content but at the expense of what else? News? Flagship stuff that keeps it competing with netflix et al? Investment in the arts? Radio? Wouldn't want to be their DG rn 010 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 18/03/2026Aside from ✨everything else✨, the anthropology stuff doesn't seem unusual?? Like if he thinks we should uncritically accept pre-1970s kinship theory, maybe he should take it up with the discipline (posted with less than one year's experience with anthropology but I'm pretty confident on this) 120 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 16/03/2026So stupid because those paths are clearly too narrow and bumpy... Tbh the whole of Cambridge needs to make more space for pedestrians but this would be a start 110 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 13/03/2026Oh no. I've been reading Bourdieu recently and my brain has been similarly fried 010 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 02/03/2026It is quite extraordinary that in such a consequential foreign policy discussion, neither the govt nor the opposition seem to have a coherent/persuasive position 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 21/02/2026My 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/31186varsity.co.ukUni returns looted Benin Bronzes to NigeriaThe two parties have now reached a deal after ten years of dialogue 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 10/02/2026Churchill 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/31165varsity.co.ukChurchill plans for new Archives Centre buildingThe Archives Centre houses the papers of significant figures such as Gordon Brown, Margaret Thatcher, and Winston Churchill 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/02/2026A fascinating article. Incredible that Starmer's 2 choices for US ambassador were Mandelson and Osborne?!! 120 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 02/02/2026Cam researchers criticise ‘devastating’ impact of Israeli violence on Palestinian children My report for Varsity www.varsity.co.uk/news/30972varsity.co.ukCam researchers criticise ‘devastating’ impact of Israeli violence on Palestinian childrenResearchers from the Faculty of Education have published a report claiming that Israeli violence has 'gravely undermined' Palestinian education 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 27/01/2026Not much better than saying she wants the UK to be a panopticon bsky.app/profile/flyi... 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 13/01/2026And a pretty shit deal for Leeds (HS2 leg cancelled) and Bradford (won't really benefit from NPR despite nationally bad rail links) - West Yorkshire trams have been put in doubt too 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 13/01/2026I 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 100 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/01/2026Wonderfully acknowledged at the end of the programme 000 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 04/01/2026Amid all the news chaos, here's Amanda Harper accidentally wishing viewers of the 10pm Look North 'good morning' 100 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 19/12/2025I 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/30852varsity.co.ukCUP announces funding scheme for under-represented academicsThe CUP grant comes amid a reported need for reform across the publishing sector 010 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 18/12/2025I mean I'd gladly take a monorail if they built one... 010 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 18/12/2025Yeah 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.ukWest Yorkshire mass transit opening delayed until late 2030s after independent reviewThe 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... 74417 0
Benjamin Pine @thebenjaminpine.bsky.social · 09/12/2025I wrote a thing!! That article is a thing I wrote! 010 0
![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."](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vjrypvhfi4zbi7l2wua6j22k/bafkreidbyzw3nho5sjejsbhqx54fa2ydvexpk3nrqcixaeiv33rgcbwxl4)
