Trending
Ben Hopkins's Avatar

Ben Hopkins

@ben4world

Live in London. Apparently I need to write a bio. Not sure what to say. I read too much Blue Sky and Twitter.

494
Followers
1,205
Following
93
Posts
16.10.2023
Joined
Posts Following

Latest posts by Ben Hopkins @ben4world

Question: if you bomb Iran's oil export hub northwest of the Strait of Hormuz such that Iran has nothing to ship through the strait, what does that incentivize Iran to do with the strait? Asking for a friend.

14.03.2026 15:02 πŸ‘ 74 πŸ” 20 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1

Turns out that if you spend most of the allotted time rhetorically grandstanding under the guise of asking a question, you run out of time to hear any answers.

12.03.2026 08:00 πŸ‘ 61 πŸ” 7 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 4

I wonder how far this is driven by a change in where people kick up general knowledge: for old(!) people like me it was newspapers and TV programmes, edited by a particular group of people; now it's more from social media which has different, concealed, standards of articulation.

10.03.2026 10:48 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

It takes real galaxy brains to mass cancel solar and wind projects and then start a pointless unpopular war that sends oil prices soaring.

06.03.2026 15:10 πŸ‘ 1459 πŸ” 432 πŸ’¬ 25 πŸ“Œ 31

I suspect the right will segue to cutting pensions if they win an election

05.03.2026 17:25 πŸ‘ 4 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

Asked ChatGPT if hulahoops are low fodmap. So it scanned all the ingredients and confirmed that yes, they are, as long as I stick to the plain, salted ones - the BLUE ones 🀣

04.03.2026 19:17 πŸ‘ 12 πŸ” 1 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

I remember when Bluesky was convinced no one would leave the country for tax reasons: turns out people will rush to endanger themselves for tax reasons!

05.03.2026 11:58 πŸ‘ 28 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 1
Why Gorton and Denton is still a good result for Reform It was a great result for the Greens, and a terrible result for Labour. Although Reform didn’t win the Gorton and Denton by-election, by c...

Wren Lewis blog interesting on this. Gorton a left wing constituency. Repeat of tactical voting trends in Gorton would mean large Reform majority across country. mainlymacro.blogspot.com/2026/03/why-...

03.03.2026 09:31 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0
Post image

There we go, France will increase its nuclear arsenal, intensify nuclear weapons cooperation with the UK, develop share frameworks with Germany and other EU partners.

02.03.2026 14:45 πŸ‘ 260 πŸ” 82 πŸ’¬ 10 πŸ“Œ 10
Video thumbnail

What a fantastic PM we have right now. He and his government are doing brilliant things to improve our country.

It is time people woke up and realise this before they lose it - rather than believing the lies the extreme left and right keep sharing about him.

01.03.2026 09:54 πŸ‘ 184 πŸ” 62 πŸ’¬ 21 πŸ“Œ 7
Preview
Breaking (literally): Cathy Newman's exclusive backfires On the social media 'expose' of a senior medic's understanding of the reality of sex

'It isn’t one-sided to say sex is real and immutable: it’s the only impartial position. In fact as journalists, we should be required to say it, as should anyone involved in puberty blocker research.'
seeninjournalism.substack.com/p/breaking-l...

28.02.2026 13:36 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 4 πŸ’¬ 2 πŸ“Œ 0

There is a lot to the argument that bourgeois self-hatred is at the heart of recurring cycles of British political failure

22.02.2026 12:56 πŸ‘ 267 πŸ” 41 πŸ’¬ 19 πŸ“Œ 2

How much is this down to vocational courses being absorbed into university degrees? And these highly skilled vocations still having wages that are lower than the roles that carried the graduate premium?

20.02.2026 15:30 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0

America gave up kings 250 years ago and adopted a system in which β€œno one is above the law.”

But presidents? SCOTUS gives them immunity.

Corporations? SCOTUS makes it easier for them to pollute.

Billionaires? SCOTUS says they can buy elections.

The legacy of the John Roberts Supreme Court.

19.02.2026 17:32 πŸ‘ 4102 πŸ” 1352 πŸ’¬ 174 πŸ“Œ 65
More than 170 mothers killed by their sons in 15 years in UK, report reveals – Femicide Census

If the shooter was a woman that would be even bigger news. Female shooters are extremely rare. Shooter also killed his mother. Make violence against women. Nearly 10% of women killed by males are killed by their sons. Do not erase this pattern of male violence.
www.femicidecensus.org/this-article...

12.02.2026 07:53 πŸ‘ 19 πŸ” 8 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 0
Preview
High Court rules: EHRC guidance lawful The law protects privacy, decency and propriety.

β€œThis judgment makes absolutely clear that it is lawful for employers and service providers to provide straightforward separate-sex facilities, and that it may be unlawful indirect discrimination against women not to.” sex-matters.org/posts/update...

13.02.2026 13:13 πŸ‘ 9 πŸ” 6 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 1

Do we think that he sees falling immigration numbers as a threat to his position
A) intellectually or B) practical politics?

14.02.2026 09:09 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

The former Chancellor glossing over Ratcliffe's false population numbers, as if he were submitting his own tax return or expenses reimbursement request

12.02.2026 11:50 πŸ‘ 107 πŸ” 33 πŸ’¬ 17 πŸ“Œ 1
Post image

Such a pity it's a crime-ridden hellhole

12.02.2026 08:08 πŸ‘ 36 πŸ” 5 πŸ’¬ 3 πŸ“Œ 0

Some parts seem surprisingly similar to what I thought was the McSweeney line of trying to restrain immigration and spending, tho obvs not the part about media comms, as it seems McS spent half his time briefing.

10.02.2026 21:04 πŸ‘ 0 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

Yes and to state the obvious our media now includes social media and it is that which I think really drives rapid change in opinion. If nothing else it accelerates a switch initiated by tabloid headlines. Algorithms deliver variants of the same message, adding up to repetitive propaganda.

10.02.2026 12:06 πŸ‘ 2 πŸ” 0 πŸ’¬ 0 πŸ“Œ 0

U.K. might lose a prime minister because a guy who worked for him knew another guy who hung out with Epstein. Meanwhile the U.S. opposition party is telling our President, who was Epstein's best friend, that his secret police should get better training so their public street murders look less messy.

09.02.2026 16:07 πŸ‘ 32620 πŸ” 9746 πŸ’¬ 528 πŸ“Œ 350

I mean, I accept that I'm an outlier here, but I don't think Starmer is terrible? He led Labour to a thumping majority nobody thought possible; they're delivering on some big things: ending the 2-kid limit, renting reforms, renationalising railways, employment rights; support for Ukraine ...

09.02.2026 14:52 πŸ‘ 221 πŸ” 19 πŸ’¬ 43 πŸ“Œ 5
Post image

I have today been informed that, despite personal assurances to the contrary, the Green party have once again used my image and misrepresented my words on a second leaflet circulated in Gorton and Denton ahead of the by-election. I have now lodged an official complaint with the returning officer.

09.02.2026 11:25 πŸ‘ 658 πŸ” 288 πŸ’¬ 62 πŸ“Œ 67

The remarkable thing is Labour have basically made 'anti-child poverty' and 'climate change' the two core missions or this Government and...

... basically refuse to talk about one or them. Genuinely bizarre.

09.02.2026 08:48 πŸ‘ 238 πŸ” 55 πŸ’¬ 11 πŸ“Œ 3

By the way, for those of you not in MN: Homan’s strategy was to withdraw some agents, so it felt like we were in the denouement of the crisis, and then escalate hard against observers. They’re being incredibly aggressive with observers now. National media may not want to check out just yet

07.02.2026 03:38 πŸ‘ 16289 πŸ” 5982 πŸ’¬ 267 πŸ“Œ 164

Weird and almost universal revisionism today. Even at the time, it was pretty clear that Mandelson wasn't appointed *despite* his dodgy links but *because* of them. Trump's Washington is a dirty swamp. Mandelson was deemed a man able to swim in it. This wasn't a secret. Everybody said it out loud.

04.02.2026 20:55 πŸ‘ 1450 πŸ” 388 πŸ’¬ 72 πŸ“Œ 38
Post image Post image Post image Post image

President Zelenskyy:

"In fact,the Russian army used the American proposal for a short-term pause in strikes not to support diplomacy,but simply to stockpile missiles&wait for the coldest days of the year”
πŸ“·Destruction at one of Ukraine’s thermal power plants following a Russian strike/Radio Liberty

03.02.2026 14:00 πŸ‘ 333 πŸ” 147 πŸ’¬ 8 πŸ“Œ 5
Post image

based on who is in the White House?

02.02.2026 11:48 πŸ‘ 30 πŸ” 3 πŸ’¬ 1 πŸ“Œ 1

Now there is independent proof Zack Polanski was lying to his supporters.

It's not just me saying it, but Full Fact has investigated and confirmed it.

Will Zack apologise? Will he tell his supporters he deliberately lied and misread them?

Will the proven liar resign as Green party leader?

28.01.2026 16:15 πŸ‘ 92 πŸ” 51 πŸ’¬ 12 πŸ“Œ 6