Skipping to one of the other devolved legislatures, if you are not watching the developing political earthquake in Wales, you need to start. A lot of the potential drama of the Holyrood election has evaporated, and good gods has the Senedd stepped up. www.itv.com/news/wales/2...

A donation cap is normal in many democracies. 57% of the British public want one here too, so why do we still not have one? electoral-reform.org.uk/british-publ...

A small step…. But a good one

The UK government has said it will rejoin the Erasmus+ programme in 2027, but many people in the UK still think it's just a student exchange programme for universities. They couldn't be more wrong. It is much more than that. Here is a reminder.

Can’t decide what I think about this just yet… any opinions?? UK to offer military gap year in effort to boost recruitment - BBC News

🔥 THIS IS HUGE! Horizon is the world’s science programme, hosted by the EU. It just got bigger. Other non-European countries associated to the programme (ie paying in) include Korea, New Zealand, Canada.

Read our new report on why the UK needs Erasmus+ here:

Erasmus+ worked because it reached communities across the UK, not just a select few. Returning would mean rebuilding opportunity where it mattered most.

Why graduates need to earn £66k to beat the student loan trap www.thetimes.com/article/6504...

By using our voice in the media, developing in-depth research and policy, campaigning and influencing and making the case online we’ve led the charge for democratic reform in 2025. buff.ly/DtXzvSB

If/when 16 & 17 year olds have the vote politicians will begin to pay attention to this stuff instead of triple lock pensions. Young voters are the future of our country; ignoring them is not clever

With a report suggesting half of graduates would earn more if they had done an apprenticeship instead, our polling shows that 46% of Britons think apprenticeships better prepare young people for the future - only 6% say the same of degrees, while 43% say both equally yougov.co.uk/society/arti...

"It’s only when organisations pop up and advocate for the young that you realise how rare that now is." "The cross-party UK Trade and Business Commission report recommends a time-limited youth experience scheme, capped at 44,000 visas in the first year." https://bit.ly/494Vn1e

A list of 34 new House of Lords appointments has just been published. Our Director, Meg Russell, wrote a thread last week about the problems related to these appointments. She highlighted that Keir Starmer is one of the most proliferate appointers of peers. Read the list (and the thread below) 👇

This coming Wednesday marks #HumanRightsDay and before we hear how the 2025 papers are marked let’s celebrate our neighbours in #Iceland 👏👏👏👏. They took poll position in 2024, showing us that our world is better when we value everyone. cirights.com/global-grip-...

Did you know that this government has been defeated over 100 times in the House of Lords? The new edition of our constitutional review suggests that it is surprising to see the Lords challenging manifesto commitments to the extent that it has. Read more 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

What will the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill change? What else is happening to local government funding, organisation and police and crime commissioners? The new edition of our constitutional review explains the government's plans. Read more 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

Quoting from Brexit watch ‘several rounds of negotiations on a new youth experience scheme had taken place and confirmed it would be capped, time-limited and visa-based. Chris Ward MP argued the previous deal had “narrowed opportunities” for young people and said the Government intends to reverse’

Currently dorking out over this graph about child mortality with my brother. Just mind boggling to take in.

Latest YouGov government approval ratings, 29 November-1 December 2025 Approve: 12% (-1 from 22-24 Nov) Disapprove: 72% (+3) Net: -60 (-4) yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...

What are the political parties proposing for the European Convention on Human Rights? Do these plans stand up to scrutiny? The new edition of our constitutional review discusses the Conservative, Reform and Labour approaches. Read more 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

We are so sad to learn of the death of Tom Stoppard, a v long-term + loyal member of the WGGB A recipient of our Outstanding Contribution to Writing Award in 2017, he was presented by former WGGB President David Edgar, who said of him, “Like no one else, he has challenged, dazzled and amazed”

Some in the UK may feel superior when looking at the Trump regime, but the USA is far from the only democracy being undermined by Russian money and agents. We need a full investigation into the extent of Russia's interference in Brexit and UK elections. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/74...

@alanrenwick.bsky.social is speaking at an in-person event at Kensington Central Library tomorrow night. Co-organised with Operation Black Vote and @unlockdemocracy.bsky.social, the event is part of a series about how democracy works and how to shape political decisions. Sign up 👇

Whoop, whoop, whoop!! Although I’m still not going to believe it until it’s actually before parliament

What five principal areas does the government’s elections policy paper actually cover? And what five 'sins of omission' does it make? The new edition of our constitutional review gives a digestible, expert analysis. Read more 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/social-histo....

💪 A strong public service broadcaster is crucial for a functional democracy. 🗣️ Without a trusted source of information, voters are at danger of being misled and manipulated 🎥 The BBC is not perfect, but it is indispensable. https://bit.ly/3XhSymX

Labour is desperately trying to appeal to Reform supporters. In October, we asked people in the UK if they perceive a party as a "party for someone like them". Only very few people say this for both Labour and Reform. The correlation is negative. Labour is chasing an electorate that does not exist.

🎉 New publication 🎉 Why do #youngpeople vote for the #AfD? This question has kept our research project busy for quite some time, so I'm beyond excited that our first article - co-authored with @timonscheuer.bsky.social - is now out in #GermanPolitics! 🤩 www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Lib Dems to force vote on creating new customs union with EU Ed Davey’s party believes the move is the best way to ‘turbocharge’ economy, rather than tax rises www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

‘79% of young Austrians reported having voted’ www.euronews.com/2018/09/11/w...

Westminster Voting Intention: RFM: 33% (=) GRN: 17% (-1) CON: 16% (=) LAB: 15% (=) LDM: 11% (=) SNP: 3% (=) Via @findoutnow.bsky.social, 12 Nov. Changes w/ 5-6 Nov.

Half the citizens of the UK now say they support parties that have only 10 MPs in parliament Never has the necessity for a fair voting system being more urgent The old-school parties are sticking with the outdated system out of desperate self-interest

Also these are parties (Mamdani Democrats and Polanski’s Greens) that are actively listening to and trying to engage with younger voters - which (shock, horror) means they get a lot of support from people who aren’t fetishising triple lock pensions

🚨NEW EPISODE🚨 The Mamdani Method: Is Britain Next? Join @alastaircampbell2.bsky.social and @rory-stewart.bsky.social as they discuss Zohran Mamdani's monumental win in New York City, how it shook up the system, and if we can expect a similar pattern here in the UK... Link in the replies 👇

I haven’t had a chance to read this yet but I’m excited to have a read… I’ll report back when I’ve had a proper look demos.co.uk/wp-content/u...

There’s an interesting discussion about Votes at 16 and how aware 16 year olds are about disinformation - after the first section on Number 10 shooting themselves in the foot youtube.com/watch?v=holV...

Notable in today's YouGov that the centre/left bloc - Lab/Green/LD/SNP are on 54%. With Reform/Tories on 43%. That's the biggest differential in a long time. I think useful to track blocs given instability between parties at the moment.

YouGov most important issues tracker, 1-3 November 2025 Immigration: 55% (+2 from 25-27 Oct) Economy: 53% (-2) Health: 31% (+1) Crime: 23% (+1) Housing: 19% (=) Tax: 17% (-1) Environment: 14% (-3) Defence: 14% (-2) Welfare: 14% (+1) Europe: 13% (=) yougov.co.uk/topics/socie...

Classy campaigning - detailed research and high production values

Farage: epic grifter

Last week we hosted @catsmithmp.bsky.social, @rosewhiff.bsky.social, Tom Hawthorn @electoralcommission.org.uk and David Howarth to ask if the government's electoral reform plans go far enough. The panel made many important points ahead of the Elections Bill's introduction. Watch a recording 👇

Thrilled to be nominated for Scoop of the Year at the British Journalism Awards for the Afghan data leak story and superinjunction. Testament to the fantastic team @newsagents.bsky.social and @globalplayer.com.

Have we reached peak social media? Use ‘falls among Gen Z’ www.thetimes.com/article/9d00...

❗ Liberal Democrat GAIN from Residents' Association Yesterday's Guildford South East (Surrey) council by-election result: LDEM: 41.3% (+18.0) CON: 22.8% (-8.1) RES: 16.3% (-21.4) REF: 12.0% (+12.0) GRN: 5.0% (+5.0) LAB: 2.6% (-5.6) +/- 2021 andrewteale.me.uk/previews

❗ Conservative GAIN from Labour Yesterday's Broadheath (Trafford) council by-election result: CON: 36.8% (-0.3) LAB: 22.3% (-17.4) LDEM: 19.2% (+12.9) REF: 16.5% (+16.5) GRN: 4.7% (-4.1) IND: 0.5% (-4.0) +/- 2023 Estimated turnout: ~44% (+1) andrewteale.me.uk/previews

In short, all British politicians are unpopular, but amongst those Nigel Farage is at the same time most popular (30%) and amongst the most disliked (63%). (Oh, and @yougov.co.uk this is a graph from hell. Who is responsible for that bar alignment 😬)