Ben Ansell

Sorely tempting. 9,999 forever!

“War-a-Lago”

By Barry Blitt @newyorker.com

Should keep subscribing then unsubscribing to keep me on my toes

"Reform will give £40,000 to your local pub instead..." etc etc. Children in handcuffs AND pub bailouts - the new hang the paedos, fund the NHS.

Alright, two of you out there, you know the drill. Get subscribing...

benansell.substack.com

Don’t just do something; poast.

A policy that changes the rules on people shabbily AND uses made-up numbers? What’s not to hate?

A brown penguin chick of some kind. It looks very much like a man in a suit. It is bedraggled and miserable

Made it to Friday but at what cost

Tax exposure and political preferences Abstract. How do people form preferences over tax policy proposals? This article introduces the concept of tax exposure to explain the determinants of tax

Tax exposure and political preferences
doi.org/10.1093/ser/...
Paper in Socio-Economic Review by @nuffieldcollege.bsky.social Fellow @benansell.bsky.social, Asli Cansunar and Mads Andreas Elkjær

The Two Deprivations Are poorer constituencies going green of turquoise?

10/ Thanks a lot for reading. The full article is here: parables.substack.com/p/the-two-de...
May be of interest to @sundersays.bsky.social @benansell.bsky.social @emmaburnell.bsky.social @christabelcoops.bsky.social @anandmenon.bsky.social

Oh God... the number of Dad’s Army jokes this will lead to

Letting India buy Russian oil seems to be part of that framework

Feel like all these people should start with @ldfreedman.bsky.social and deduce from there

Sounds like the new boys are doing great

This game….

Turns out lawlessness is not a winning strategy. See you at Nuremberg 2.0

An AI disaster is getting ever closer Donald Trump orders federal agencies to stop using Anthropic's AI technology while simultaneously demanding the company cooperate with the government for six months.

The battle between the Pentagon and Anthropic couldn't have come at a worse time. AI safety is no longer a hypothetical problem; it's a real concern for the world we live in today. And the US Government's demand? Move faster and break more things. My cover story: www.economist.com/briefing/202...

And she’s gone. Noem that is...

Well to be honest Mahmood’s asylum policy is actually harsher than existing American ones so the briefing may not have been entirely accurate.

If you think I'm overstating concerns about the loyalties of US tech companies - check out this memo from Anthropic CEO to staff on their battle with the Trump administration.

Cruelty to immigrants is not what my party stands for. It’s time for True Labour, not Blue Labour | Stella Creasy We must get back to the party’s roots before it is too late. That means embracing difference, rejecting division – and fighting for opportunities for all, says MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy

"There is an alternative way forward: being True – not Blue – Labour. True Labour doesn’t fear those who are different. Instead, it demands everyone contribute their abilities to society – and works to unlock such skills."

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

The idea that a Labour Minister would brief that they were inspired by someone who was clearly among the direst of the Trump administration and that this wouldn't very obviously come back to bite them... it's political malpractice tbh.

Everything we know about Labour’s asylum crackdown and new visa restrictions Inspired by Denmark’s strict system on asylum seekers, Shabana Mahmood will unveil her own version in the Commons on Monday - but what will it mean, and what has the reaction been to it so far?

From November's initial announcement www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Impressive timing by Shabana Mahmood for today to be the day she announces her asylum policy 'inspired by Kristi Noem'.

A picture of PEW poll on global attitude survey, saying the % who rate the morality and ethics of people in their country as good vs bad, where the US has the worst rankings and Canada the best

Americans: we live in a fallen state—embroiled by sin, cheating, lying, and evil. You cannot trust anyone, not even those who claim to know you best

Canadians: I love my neighbors and my friends!

Still they rise

Cruelty to immigrants is not what my party stands for. It’s time for True Labour, not Blue Labour | Stella Creasy We must get back to the party’s roots before it is too late. That means embracing difference, rejecting division – and fighting for opportunities for all, says MP for Walthamstow, Stella Creasy

This is another staging post in what @benansell.bsky.social has termed the 'Zombie Liberal Fightback'.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Hadn't clocked quite how Dubai-coded Reform was before this piece www.economist.com/britain/2026...

After Gorton and Denton Notes on the Gorton and Denton by-election and what it could mean for the Labour Party.

This is one of the best Gorton and Denton post mortems I've read, and it's two possibly winning trajectories for Labour - a centre-left quasi-alliance with the Lib Dems or a Burnham supremacy - are really well argued.

By @residentadviser.bsky.social

mbatangspeaks.substack.com/p/after-gort...

Polling from More in Common shows that Greens and Reform win a higher share of voters who struggle to make ends meet, while Labour and the Conservatives win those who are most financially comfortable

Reform UK and the Greens are hoovering up financially insecure voters. My piece this week looks at the return of Britain's class politics (with a twist) www.economist.com/britain/2026...