New article out in @bjpir.bsky.social that investigates the #WWE + Welsh Government 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 deal to host “Clash at the Castle 2002” in Cardiff. Mixing nation branding & pro-wrestling literature it analyses how WWE fit the Cymru Wales Brand into its broadcasts. (1/?) journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

It was a very great pleasure to appear on one of my favourite podcasts, and to talk with David Runciman about the Past, Present, and Future (!) of electoral reform & proportional representation

The persistence of New Labour ideas and people was something @ntmatthews.bsky.social and I discussed in our paper from last year titled “New Labour and Political Myth”, free to read www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

New post out: Today we have a guest post from the brilliant @dmk1793.bsky.social asking whether low turnout is harming growth as well as undermining democratic legitimacy. (Free to read) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/i...

This moment never ceases to excite. Out in shops on 9 Sept...

This article is refreshing not least because it starts from the point of thinking about voters as they actually are, not as we might wish them to be. The key idea — that voters aren’t pundits and political science shouldn’t expect them to be — is crucial.

🚨New book alert!🚨 Thrilled to announce that my @britishacademy.bsky.social Monograph, 'Capital, Privilege, and Political Participation,' will be published via @livunipress.bsky.social later this month. Find details and pre-order (with discount) here: liverpooluniversitypress.co.uk/doi/book/10....

I have a new article out at @polstudies.bsky.social. In "Electoral Hope", I make the case that supposedly irrational "wishful thinking" is actually a crucial part of how voters make rational sense of their role in democracies. OA link: doi.org/10.1177/0032...

The UK government has announced the revival of the landmark Pensions Commission, with Professor @iprnickp.bsky.social (Director of the University of Bath’s Institute for Policy Research) as one of its three members. Read more here 🔗 buff.ly/7tL3CN3

It's been a while since we said this but... you should buy our books, especially '20th Century Pub', which you can get direct from us for £13, delivered in the UK. 📚 boakandbailey.com/2025/07/get-...

I’m in the @newstatesman.com making the case for compulsory voting as a response to Peter Mair’s “void”

My new Constitution Society report on compulsory voting has now been published. I argue that low turnout has left the UK with an unrepresentative electorate. This is creating warped incentives for politicians, and contributing to low growth, high inequality, and rising democratic discontent.

20 years on from surviving 7/7 - my experience as a British Muslim @uk.theconversation.com With thanks to my editor @averyanapol.bsky.social theconversation.com/i-survived-t...

I wrote about my often fairly miserable time on the doorstep last summer hearing just how much the public hates politicians, and how Labour hasn't – and maybe can't – deal with the anti-politics that feeds Reform: labourlist.org/2025/07/labo...

I may mention this, occasionally, over the next few months.

New piece on the UK welfare state by me & @gavin-kelly.bsky.social for a special edition of @oxrepjournal.bsky.social We examine the economic, political & demographic forces reshaping our welfare state. academic.oup.com/oxrep/articl...

Latest piece for @thehousemag.bsky.social - on perceptions of prime ministerial power. With added marking. www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...

It was great to talk to Dave about this book which, following distributional issues that went forever, is now available in paperback amzn.eu/d/6GsDjKl

Our paper “Long-Term Time Horizons and Support for Public Investment” is open access @psjeditor.bsky.social (w/ @karlpike.bsky.social @philipjcowley.bsky.social). Whether the public supports policy that pays off in the long term depends on what “long term” means. doi.org/10.1111/psj.70040

I'm in @opendemocracy.net explaining why unequal turnout reinforces socio-economic inequalities, and why we need compulsory voting to counteract them. In short: unequal turnout skews politics against the young, poor, and insecure; only compulsory voting boosts turnout enough to change this.

“Anti-technology extremism possesses a remarkable quality: flexibility. This characteristic enables it to unite disparate actors – such as anarchists and white supremacists – under a common banner.” 'Stop the Machines' by @maurolubrano.bsky.social‬ is out today in the UK. www.politybooks.com/...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of introducing Mauro Lubrano’s new book ahead of his lively conversation with Sean Fleming. Congratulations on a topical and important book, @maurolubrano.bsky.social

Really excited to be sharing the first edition of the relaunched Renewal - a journal of social democracy, now co-edited by me, @morganj0nes.bsky.social, @lisebutler.bsky.social, and Jack Jeffrey

It leads to a sort of magical thinking, policy-wise, of a kind we are seeing from our government, in which the million 16 to 24 year olds who are not in employment, education or training can be helped while cutting further education:

Art historians are going to write whole PhDs about the cultural politics of Trump and McDonalds.

Our paper "Wishful Thinking in Response to Events" is now out @electoralstudies.bsky.social! w/ @polpsychjoe.bsky.social @florianstoeckel.bsky.social @vittoriomerola.bsky.social @benlyons.bsky.social @jasonreifler.bsky.social et al www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

What should pension schemes assume about pensioner spending? A new IPR report by @aidagarcial.bsky.social, Ricky Kanabar and @stevewebb1.bsky.social analyses the spending patterns of over 100,000 pensioners surveyed between 1968 and 2019.

Author copies of Stop the Machines are here! When I started this book in 2021, the topic felt important. Now, as the AI revolution unfolds, it feels urgent. Out 23 May (UK) / 28 July (US). Big thanks to my publisher @politybooks.bsky.social. Looking forward to taking it out on the road!

Up next is Isabel Hardman of the @thespectator1828.bsky.social and author of some fab books herself, including her recent one on the NHS and (possibly appropriately) "Why we get the wrong politicians".

Out now (OA) in @electoralstudies.bsky.social. Do people in rural areas want politicians offering stronger representation to rural areas - as opposed to just their local area? Yes - based an original conjoint experiment in the UK (1/5) www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

This reminds me of what @will-davies.bsky.social said during the initial market slump following the introduction of tariffs — for Trump it seems to be the fact that it is what *he does* that moves the dial that pleases him rather what the effects of moving the dial actually are.

From February 2025 - Crowded Out: The Influence of Mental Load Priming on Intentions to Participate in Public Life - cup.org/3RDjDyk "...finds a strong negative effect of mental load priming on intentions to engage in politics and at work" - @annanhelgoy.bsky.social & @anacweeks.bsky.social

On the day the government announced plans to jail cyclists for life if they kill pedestrians, yet another “oh sorry, I was distracted” driver who killed a cyclist walks from court with no jail time (2 years suspended). www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Re: growing up in a world where everyone smoked: “Bronzed fingers, yellow nails, picking at cellophane and gold paper... Those fingers hooked around cigarettes, lifting them to lips that kissed me goodnight or spat into tissues to wash my sticky face...” precastreinforced.co.uk/2017/11/16/s...

🌟 Fantastic Day 1 of #PSA25, incl. a powerful opening keynote by Prof. Rosie Campbell @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social on ‘What next for the study of #PoliticalRepresentation? Shifting identities, #CultureWars & the quality of #democracy’ Looking forward to Day 2! #politicalstudies #politics

There is at least one sane leader not paralysed by fear of the Reform Party on these islands: Gordon Brown. So much in this and though he tries to cover it up out of politeness it's a punchy critique of Government policy on trade, skills, and competition. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Listen! @newbooksnetwork.bsky.social talks to @samwetherell.bsky.social about the sensational "Liverpool and the Unmaking of Britain" newbooksnetwork.com/liverpool-an...

*Sound of government plan to discourage Cash ISAs in favour of stock market investments quietly being shelved"

Please do come along to this if you're in Brum for @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social

New article on “the looming crisis of British Politics”. We draw on the British political economy tradition to look at how three intersecting crises of fiscal capacity, territory, and decarbonisation spell trouble for the British state. doi.org/10.1057/s412...

New publication - 'The Future as a Democratic Resource', online now at Perspectives on Politics doi.org/10.1017/S153... @poppublicsphere.bsky.social @lsepoltheory.bsky.social @leverhulme.bsky.social @lse-ei.bsky.social @lseblogs.bsky.social

My book launch is tomorrow. I’ll be chatting to Aditya Chakrabortty about all things contemporary politics and how we can make sense of it. Anyone in Bath/Bristol, come along!

Finally out in Politics & Gender! Please read & share this work with @thomsonjennifer.bsky.social “The Adoption of Feminist Foreign Policy: The Cases of Chile and Sweden” doi.org/10.1017/S174... We study the conditions that made possible the formal adoption of a Feminist Foreign Policy 🇨🇱🇸🇪

“You can find different explanations, but overlay them and it suggests something has slipped in the contract between citizens and government”. This is a great column.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit! President Michael D. Higgins will today lead celebrations as the country marks St Patrick’s Day. Read more at president.ie/en/media-lib...

My article with @robjohns75.bsky.social, "Hope, Optimism, and Expectations for the Political Future", is now out open access at @polbehavior.bsky.social. It's about the psychology of expecting good things to happen in politics. link.springer.com/article/10.1...

My book is out two weeks today. Some pre-order links are below: - tiny.cc/HTTAP (use code AUFLY30 for 30% off) - www.waterstones.com/book/how-to-... - uk.bookshop.org/p/books/how-...

Join us for an event to mark the launch of @peterallen.bsky.social new book, 'How to think about politics: A guide in five parts' - in conversation with Aditya Chakrabortty, senior economics commentator for @theguardian.com 🗓March 25 ⏰5:30 - 6:30pm GMT 📍University of Bath 🎟️

Cambridge University is looking for 2 Assistant Professors in Public Policy to work in the Faculty of Human, Social, & Political Science, starting August 2025. Scholars with research & teaching experience in public policy are encouraged to apply by 10 March 2025. www.jobs.cam.ac.uk/job/50248/

New fun pub - The Authentic A**hole (particularly proud of getting title accepted) ✅ Politicians viewed as authentic when they stick to their positions despite pressure ✅ True even when voters disagree with those positions ✅ Authenticity translates to electoral advantage tinyurl.com/25us7y7z