Aaron Bastani

Co-Founder, Novara Media. Dad. Husband. Author of ‘Fully Automated Luxury Communism’. Column at UnHerd. More soon with Verso Books.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

Believe it or not Portsmouth was once beautiful. Conan Doyle called Southsea his second favourite place to live in Britain after London.

Sadly, politicians have tried their best to destroy such places for 80 years. They’re still going.

Me for @unherd https://t.co/70gcX0oVZ1

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

The government keeps talking about ‘national security’. We need trident for national security!

The biggest threat to national security in 2027 is an attack on payment systems & digital networks.

What’s the government’s plan for that? We buy baked beans?

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

@Kemisanwo

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

Trump on Saudi Arabia: “they’re disintegrating”.

This is a country where 70%+ of employed workers are foreign nationals. They can’t protect national infrastructure from the poorest country in the world.

Chat, is Saudi Arabia going to make it?

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

😯

[electionmapsuk @electionmapsuk]

Huncoat (Hyndburn) Council By-Election Result:

🌹 LAB: 34.4% (+10.5)
➡️ RFM: 29.8% (-19.4)
⬛ RES: 27.8% (New)
🌳 CON: 8.0% (-2.4)

No GRN (-16.5) as previous.

Labour HOLD.
Changes w/ 2026.

[Novara Media @novaramedia]

Time is running out to get tickets to our final Downstream IRL of the year.

Join us in Hackney on Monday to see @OwenJonesJourno in conversation with @AyoCaesar and Samaneh Moafi from @ForensicArchi talking to @AaronBastani.

Buy yours now: https://t.co/L1i0YGdNdF

[Mila Djordjevic @milazdjordjevic]

Most English-language media have been interviewing commentators who are not actually representatives of the student movement or the Student List in Serbia. Here’s an interview with an actual student: https://t.co/W9e5pJzOYk

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

@siennamarla Congrats Sienna and Clara!

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

The centre wants some guy to talk about fiscal consolidation, or God knows what. It can’t compete with “when did elites start disliking children so much?”

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

I really think you can’t poll for politicians like this. It’s like Mitterrand in 1980.

Melenchon says things, and inserts himself in popular conversations, that are beyond the wit of ‘regular’ politicians. And yes, that is somewhat like Trump before 2016.

[Jean-Luc Mélenchon @JLMelenchon]

Il n’y a pas besoin de faire des espaces « no kids ».

Il faut vivre avec les enfants.

Sinon c’est un monde de brutes !

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

@mikitaposts They don’t seem covered up here?

[Brian Whelan @brianwhelanhack]

Has Hannah Spencer, who actually won the by-election, every been on QT?

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

It appears the council has responded to the clear sagacity of my tweets.

They seem to have moved the bin a whole metre away from the pointless, uncomfortable bench that people can indeed sleep on if they so wish to. Progress! One bin at a time.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

OUTSTANDING public design.

A seat nobody wants to sit on, in the middle of the street, intended to be ‘hostile architecture’ (so nobody can sleep on it) but actually, you can.

Next to a bin, for some reason. I bet it smells fabulous in Summer.

When Hampshire has a mayor I know who to whinge to about this utter slop. Great!

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

The BBC just doesn’t cover these stories - not at all on their radar.

Why? Because the CBI and London-centric ‘business interest’ (ftse companies and supermarkets) don’t mention it. So it’s not important.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

Landlordism is a major reason driving the death of the high street.

There is, essentially, an organised conspiracy within the national media to not talk about it because doing so sounds too ‘left wing’.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

@NoJusticeMTG Agreed.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

I know why I haven’t - the BBC blacklisted me over position on Israel. But I’m curious about my colleagues!

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

At @novaramedia we have over 4 million followers across various channels. 4 million!

I’m curious, @bbcquestiontime, why has @michaeljswalker never been invited on to this show?

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

I’m a republican, so why would I care about where a king was married?

Because that is a single snapshot of a country that gave up on beauty. Gdansk and Leningrad, and many others, sought to preserve their inheritance. More often than not, Britain’s cities chose not to.

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

Believe it or not Portsmouth was once beautiful. Conan Doyle called Southsea his second favourite place to live in Britain after London.

Sadly, politicians have tried their best to destroy such places for 80 years. They’re still going.

Me for @unherd https://t.co/70gcX0oVZ1

[Aaron Bastani @AaronBastani]

Finally, here’s the Royal Garrison Church. It’s been there, in one form or another, since 13th C. Charles 2nd married Catherine of Braganza there.

The nave doesn’t even have a roof. Wasn’t rebuilt. That is symbolic: we gave up on something stewarded by others for 700 years.