BeyondtheVote
Sign in
The Westminster lensArchive · Public voice — Bluesky · @torstenbell.bsky.social · 165 substantive posts

Bluesky — Bell.

Every substantive Bluesky post by Torsten Bell, classified for substance and tone — each links out to the original on Bluesky. Back to the MP page.

Open profile on bsky.app ↗← Back to Torsten Bell
Bluesky activity · last 60 days
@torstenbell.bsky.social
82posts
67substantive
neutralvoice · measured ↗ rising

Voice score reflects the argumentative tone of the MP's own posts (critical vs supportive) — not what other people say about them. The "criticises" and "supports" lists below show who they're directing each tone at.

Most criticises
  • Conservative Party6
Most supports
  • Labour government12
  • Rebecca Francis-Davies4
  • UK Government4
Top topics
  • MP & Parliament12 postsneutral
  • Local Government9 postscelebratory
  • Tax & Public Finances8 postsneutral
Recent substantive posts
See sentiment over time in the Explorer →
All postsSubstantive posts.165 classified · most recent first

Each post links out to the original on Bluesky — open it there to read the full thread and replies.

WhenTopicTonePost
4 Jun 2026Culture & Communitycelebratory“With incredible community spirit, unbeatable views and the brilliant Phoenix Centre, residents of Townhill and Mayhill have so much to be proud of. Great to see positive coverage of an area that should never have been defined by the behaviour of few. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...”↗
30 May 2026MP & Parliamentmeasured“Come in for a coffee and a proper chat - be happy to talk. If you email Torsten.bell.mp@parliament.uk we will book it in on Monday”↗
30 May 2026MP & Parliamentdefensive“Charlatan politicians + their media want to convince people that nothing can improve. But: 1) last month low paid workers got sick pay for the 1st time 2) NHS waiting lists have seen the fastest fall on 17 years 3) capital gains, inheritance and dividend tax rises are enabling the rescue of the NHS”↗
30 May 2026Tax & Public Financesdefensive“You don’t “challenge power & wealth” by celebrating Clegg/Cameron’s demolition of public services, before turning to performative leftism when it’s convenient. You do it with Labour actually taxing wealth, boosting workers rights & rescuing the NHS those workers rely on. Lots done, lots more to do”↗
30 May 2026Jobs & Employmentdefensive“Best not to lie. Labour: - created the minimum wage - is raising the minimum wage - is equalising wage rates What we didn’t do was cheerlead for Tory austerity and the coalition government’s attempts to role back workers rights from the Lib Dem conference floor”↗
29 May 2026Jobs & Employmentmeasured“Too many young people in modern Britain are struggling to get a foot on the jobs ladder. The problem has been building for the past twenty years - we're determined to tackle it head on.”↗
29 May 2026MP & Parliamentdefensive“The article claims others have asked for the equalisation policy to be dropped and we have “hinted” they might get there way. What I actually said is we are and will remain committed to the policy”↗
29 May 2026Jobs & Employmentmeasured“Here’s their key conclusion on the impact of recent young minimum wage rises on youth employment - short version = not evidence of a material impact”↗
29 May 2026Jobs & Employmentmeasured“To see this approach in practice see the Low Pay Commission’s report this year - business and employer reps doing their job on understanding the evidence www.gov.uk/government/p...”↗
29 May 2026Jobs & Employmentdefensive“In the very same interview I spelt out the manifesto commitment holds - not mentioned in the piece.”↗
29 May 2026Jobs & Employmentdefensive“Sadly inaccurate clickbait headline - I simply restated our commitment to equalising minimum wage rates with the Low Pay Commission to advise on the pace of change as they do every year on the pace of minimum wage rate rises @andrewsparrowgdn.bsky.social”↗
29 May 2026Jobs & Employmentmeasured“Young people learn vital skills from their first jobs. I certainly did from mine: a busy pub needs its pots washed fast. But over the past twenty years, Britain has been letting our young people down. We've got to turn things around, and we're taking action to do so 👇”↗
29 May 2026Jobs & Employmentcelebratory“For two decades Britain has let young people down, with terrible consequences for individuals, families and the country. Thats why we’re acting: - +300k work placements - £3k bonus for hiring unemployed young people - tackling the fall in youth apprenticeships under the Tories”↗
28 May 2026Economy & Jobs (General)angry“Important from Alan Milburn - the Tories let NEET numbers soar to near 1m, cut youth apprenticeships by 40% & never got youth employment back to levels seen under Tony Blair. We must reform our jobs market, welfare, education & health systems to invest in young people www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cl...”↗
27 May 2026MP & Parliamentmeasured“it’s more that the essay rejects Blairism as it actually existed: - the minimum wage and social chapter - doubling nhs spending and record satisfaction - falling pensioner and child poverty It’s far more detached from the condition of Britain than Labour in 90s or 2000s”↗
27 May 2026Economy & Jobs (General)measured“Here’s a map for those who are confused about the economic geography of GM”↗
27 May 2026Local Governmentmeasured“Back in the real world Manchester is… the poorest (or join poorest) local authority in Greater Manchester. The fact that it has been growing is a damn good thing and will benefit all of GM.”↗
27 May 2026Economy & Jobs (General)measured“Tony Blair is right about the politics of the 2020s, but his essay doesn't have a project that fits what the country needs today. Britain's economy is being held back by collapsing public services. From energy to health, we must become a country that invests in our future again.”↗
27 May 2026Technology & Digitalmeasured“In summary, this is in many ways an impressive attempt to engage with some of the big forces shaping our future. But, as Tony Blair would probably be the first to admit, governing requires a much grittier engagement with the world as it is, not as you might prefer it to be”↗
27 May 2026Economy & Jobs (General)measured“That is the right diagnosis when the technocratic consensus based politics of the 2000s is long gone. The challenge for the essay is that it doesn’t have a project that remotely fits the time and place we are living in. Saying ‘AI’ is not the same as having a plan for Britain.”↗
27 May 2026MP & Parliamentmeasured“As I said, where the essay is much better is the politics - not shallow personality politics but what the 2020s requires of successful political leaders. Blair is entirely right to say that requires having “an attitude, a tribe and a project.””↗
27 May 2026Health & NHSangry“There is lots else to challenge. On health the rhetoric is less spending but the policy is spending more (on drugs). And mad to say work with Tories on welfare - they created the broken system that labels people as too sick to work and then writes them off. We are fixing it.”↗
27 May 2026Defence & Securitymeasured“But the critique of today’s foreign policy choices is backed by a deep inconsistency, wanting: - a conditional relationship with Europe (largely based on EU tech policy) - an unconditional one with the US (pro-enabling an Iran conflict that has done huge damage to global economy)”↗
27 May 2026Defence & Securitymeasured“4. On foreign policy, the essay reiterates a (long held and broadly correct) view that Britain should not look to choose between Europe and the US”↗
27 May 2026Energy & Net Zeromeasured“Our answer to those pressures is to accept that for future generations we have to deliver that investment but we don’t protect those generations by leaving the UK dependent on imported oil/gas. The exact path of North Sea transition matters but doesn’t buy us out of this reality”↗
27 May 2026Energy & Net Zeromeasured“3. There is no real policy on energy here. Which reflects the failure to recognise the real pressure on bills is twofold. Our - reliance on hydrocarbons - need for investment in energy generation/distribution (in part because of a criminal lack of investment in 2010s & 2000s)”↗
27 May 2026Tax & Public Financesmeasured“2. The essay calls for VAT to have been increased. It does so in the middle of the 2020s, when countries are facing the biggest period of inflationary pressure for decades = a recipe for much higher interest rates with absolutely nothing pro-business about it”↗
27 May 2026Tax & Public Financesmeasured“It’s okay for the Tories/Times/Telegraph to pretend that taxes are up “because of welfare”. That’s politics. But if you care about policy you need to understand that is a long way from the truth - and wrestle with the consequences”↗
27 May 2026Tax & Public Financesmeasured“The upward pressure on taxes is added to by the inevitability of unwinding the extremes of austerity for public services reached in 2018 - a level of austerity that was politically, economically and socially unsustainable.”↗
27 May 2026Tax & Public Financesmeasured“Most importantly higher debt interest costs (a global trend reinforced by scale of debt rise under the last government). This alone has driven taxes up by 2% of GDP since the late 2010s and has to be wrestled with not ignored as the essay does”↗
31–60 of 165 — substantive posts← NewerOlder →
Sources & methodology
SourceBluesky / AT Protocol API · author feed. Each post links to the original on bsky.app.
VerificationOnly handles linked from the MP’s own published list are ingested. Self-declared or unverified handles aren’t included.
ClassificationEach post is LLM-classified for substance (vs reposts, social mentions, scheduling), then for tone (critical / measured / supportive) per target.
WindowThe 60-day summary above; the list covers all classified substantive posts.