Today is #WorldPostDay, marking the establishment of the Universal Postal Union—a UN agency coordinating postal policies globally. The post revolutionised communication and is an increasingly common voting method, so to mark the occasion, here are some of our recent articles on postal voting... 📫 ✉️

Heartbreaking & distressing testimony from children kidnapped by Russia as part of their genocidal acts in Ukraine but we must not look away. I was kidnapped by Russia at 16 — like so many Ukrainian kids www.thetimes.com/article/f8e4...

@iaindale.bsky.social out today with a chapter by yours truly on the Chesham and Amersham by-election. The first brick in the blue wall. Buy copies signed by Iain from Politicos www.politicos.co.uk/products/by-...

IT'S PUBLICATION DAY British By-Elections 1769-2025 is out today. 732 pages covering 88 by-elections. Thanks to all 87 contributors who wrote the essays. Order your signed copy here www.politicos.co.uk/products/by-...

I am concerned about silence of gvt ministers & others to defend basic anti-racism norms in last 6 weeks. They seem muted by their anxious inability to separate legitimate politics from prejudice & hate. Anti-violence norms - civil war is inevitable, so support violence - really should be simpler.

Great to see a really positive development in the UK’s social science data infrastructure.

🔎 NEW INVESTIGATION 🔎 Reform has been exploiting fears around attacks on women to stoke hate against migrants. We investigated their flawed statistics and the group with far-right links that have helped spread its narrative. https://bit.ly/4nmPpgA

BREAKING: ICE is sending Russian dissidents back to Russia. When the dissidents arrived in Russia, the Russian authorities were given documents relating to their asylum applications in the US which under US law are confidential. This seems to be part of a secret agreement between Trump and Putin.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article... ft. me (and @profrosiecamp.bsky.social !)

New book from Iain Dale on its way with a chapter by me on the Chesham and Amersham by-election, described at the time as the first brick in the blue wall. Buy it at Politicos signed by Iain.

New book on its way with a chapter by me! ‘My’ by-election is a Labour breakthrough in the 1920s…

New post just out: "The Great VAT Panic" The claims made by the right-wing press about VAT on private school fees were wildly wrong. Why? What are the lessons about about (how not to) run a lobbying campaign? And what can government learn? (£/free) open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

We hope this contributes nuance and theory to ongoing debates! Maybe of interest to @casmudde.bsky.social @rosieshorrocks.bsky.social @profrosiecamp.bsky.social @cerifowler.bsky.social @djordjemilosav.bsky.social @indubioproreto.bsky.social @roderikrekker.bsky.social @frederikthieme.bsky.social 😊

I thinks weeks newsletter I breakdown why the data suggests that the 20mph limit in Wales wales actually an amazing idea. willhaywardwales.substack.com/p/turns-out-...

6/ A multicultural nationalism that recognises the claim of white working class voters to be part of the a diverse nation is an important way forward. As argued here with Sam Hill and @tariqmodood.bsky.social thepoliticalquarterly.substack.com/p/multicultu...

“Grok’s Nazi turn wasn’t a glitch–it was the direct result of Musk’s determination to use X as a platform to promote his far-right politics. No excuse for any university to be funnelling money or clicks his way." Me in @resprofnews.bsky.social www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

@jayvanbavel.bsky.social is one of those rare people who makes the social media space BETTER. Check out his Guardian article on how a few people spoil this space for everyone. (lecturers: might be interesting for your minority influence lectures?) #AcademicSky #PsychSciSky

The Independent report includes some data, including how perceptions of local cohesion vary www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crim...

WeTransfer just changed their TOS giving themselves permission to train AI on any content you transfer and produce derivative works based on content you transfer that they are allowed to monetize and you are not allowed payment for. Stop using WeTransfer.

What if Mary hated soft play? What if Eve had hot flushes?

I am probably quite unusual in preferring to write for non-academic audiences. Love the advice 'write to be understood not admired'

A lot of media are covering Europe’s heatwave 🔥 but few are connecting it to the climate crisis. Tools like the Climate Shift Index show this heatwave is up to 5x 😱 more likely because of climate change. That context matters. csi.climatecentral.org/climate-shif...

Our Element is out! 🎉 Why do authoritarian-leaning leaders target women’s and LGBTQ+ rights? Is there a systematic pattern that reaches beyond individual country cases, and how is this reflected in people’s attitudes and societal norms? www.cambridge.org/core/element...

The man accused of killing a Minnesota lawmaker had spiritual roots in a Christian movement whose leaders speak of demon-possessed politicians and that proved its ability to mobilize followers during the January 6 insurrection, Stephanie McCrummen writes.

On the basis that you should always be open about your priors, I am (foolishly) placing on record that I don't believe the government will be defeated next week - because I assume they will retreat or u-turn instead. Either is better than a defeat.

In a scenario where the two parties are antagonistic rivals, not formal or tacit allies, Reform would have to decide how much priority to give to making gains from the Cons. The Cons would put a lot of energy into defence seats. Probably different dynamics to Cons/Reform & 3-way contests

@silindberg.bsky.social there have never been more countries autocratising in the world. V-Dem keynote @kcl-spe.bsky.social

For this and so many other 'oh yeah that actually happened'* moments look out for #BGE2024Book later this year. *Having been on leave for a large part of 22-24 I had a lot of these while writing

Winston Churchill would fail this definition of “white British”

New paper out in @electoralstudies.bsky.social where I look at the impact of parties’ age-targeted group appeals on age gaps in voting🧵

@giwlkings.bsky.social @caitlinschmid.bsky.social a packed room at the King’s science gallery for the launch of the gender equality index uk. Gender equality is not a zero sum game- it flourishes where both women and men do well

@giwlkings.bsky.social fantastic to hear King’s GIWl colleagues Julia Gillard and Caitlin Schmid on bbcr4 woman’s hour this morning introducing the UK gender equality index podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/w...

👨‍🍼 Men’s greater involvement in unpaid care work is associated with better socioeconomic outcomes for men themselves – again suggesting possible additional benefits to gender equality

📣 NEW: Today we're launching the Gender Equality Index UK – a comprehensive analysis of parity between women and men across 372 UK local authorities 🇬🇧 🔎 Explore the data on our new site ➡️ genderequalityindex.uk 🧵 Read key findings below ⬇️

This is very useful from @jenvictor.bsky.social

@rosieshorrocks.bsky.social great piece in the guardian yesterday by @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social referencing our research on the gender gap among young voters www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

cc @policyatkings.bsky.social @profrosiecamp.bsky.social @profsarahchilds.bsky.social @psawomenpol.bsky.social @uoe-gender-ed.bsky.social @ucdgender.bsky.social @cambridgegender.bsky.social @gain-centre.bsky.social

This has made me laugh my head off. I’ve recently stopped using Amazon, WhatsApp and facebook. It turns out I’m a complete prat. www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...

Congratulations!

⏰ | NEW BLOG: Social mobility shouldn’t just be about a lucky few beating the odds. In our new blog, we set out a progressive vision for opportunity—one that tackles structural inequality and delivers for all young people. Read here: www.ippr.org/articles/rec...

Well worth reading not only Harvard’s robust response but the lengthy list of freewheeling demands the administration has made of them, including what can only be called creating new faculty lines explicitly for MAGA conservatives. No university could ever accept such demands and remain free.

Events unfolding in Gaza are on our news screens almost everyday. In this timely piece, Jemima Repo (@nclpolitics.bsky.social) writes on how attacks on social reproduction can be understood as a means of ethnic cleansing. Repo's essay is available OPEN ACCESS doi.org/10.1332/2515...

An efficient vote is great at an election but could become a growing problem as the Parliament wears as the many Labour MPs with small majorities look for ways to shore up their local position.

This case, this story, this poor scientist... what is the point of this draconian and inhumane policy? How does any of this make America safer, richer, happier?

It’s really simple: the family homes of politicians you disagree with are off limits. Leaving pretend bodybags on the doorstep of a home where children live is ghoulish in the extreme. The families of politicians are not your stage for posing.

Remember Trump is using emergency legislation for the tariffs. So the measures that were urgent and necessary to meet that emergency have now suddenly become non-urgent and unnecessary. If US congress and courts properly held president to account for misuse of emergency powers, this would matter.

'Baldrick, the hapless TV sidekick...always kept a “cunning plan” up his sleeve. Trump makes no such claim. Instead, he has cunning plans ascribed to him by those who find it hard to believe that dogma, caprice and nihilism are factors at the top of politics.' Janan G. (www.ft.com/content/0f3e...).

A very helpful sign on a Welsh castle wall. Could it be a metaphor of ‘reciprocal’ tariffs?

Super interesting paper on how and why Higher Education shapes students' political attitudes! 👏😊

The new normal.