Sofia Ropek Hewson

This is why we need a cap on political donations. As @IPPR has argued before British democracy should not be for sale to the highest bidder. theguardian.com/politics/2026/…

2/ Take Paris as an example. Rent controls introduced. Policy saved average households €1700 per year. No notable impact on supply as exemptions for new builds.

1/ This analysis is very out of date. Rigorous academic studies show that in nearly 90% of cases rent controls lead to price reductions. And there are lots of examples where careful design mitigates risks to housing supply and quality.

I've written in Public Sector Focus about how we can demand more from social media (which isn't social) and how the BBC could help.

Social media is not like tobacco: not all use is bad for us. We should regulate SM companies to prevent harm to children, but we should avoid more broadly framing all use as addictive. We might miss how platform design shapes our online lives more quietly.

Nov 2025 research by Anderson and Wood shows that people often overestimate SM addiction, and that media over-labelling frequent use as addiction can lead people to feel less control over their use + self-blame (and not blame platforms).

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 children were addicted to radio and TV crime dramas and consumed them 'like an alcoholic does drink'.

This book/this 'acknowledgement' have been making me angry for a whole day. This is something I think about a lot: how many great books were actually written (or at least co-authored) by the credited writers' secretaries, assistants and wives?

Conservative MP @RobDelyn invited an intern to ‘fool around with him’ and suggested ‘fun times, no strings attached’ bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-…

no!! worries!!! if!!!!!!!! not!!!!!!!!

I’d rather wear a mask every day than put a fitted women’s tshirt on my body ever again in my life

@alexiotrot Lynette, obvs

A very warm welcome from your new Students’ Union, Cambridge SU 👋

"Theatres. Concert venues. Community arts. Classical and popular music." Nicholas Hytner, former artistic director of the National Theatre, has told Newsnight the UK's entire cultural ecosystem is on the brink of collapse. WATCH: bbc.in/2ZA5QwT #Newsnight

Feel bit weird doing this on Twitter but: I’m looking for work and would appreciate any UK or Irish leads! I have a 20thc history PhD (+ teach queer studies), 5+ years’ experience as an intl breaking news editor/reporter, and 4+ years’ experience as an LGBTQ healthcare advocate.

And to the folks of color and Black Women in particular who are being asked to be everything for everyone right now. To work, teach, support and show up (often for free) everywhere. I see you. I love you. If you can, read The Bridge Poem by Kate Rushin katerushinpoet.com/index.php/the-…