A big thank you to our group members & other Specialist Groups who have worked with us to deliver a very rich programme of events & debates at the Annual Conference of the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social in Oxford this year Special mention to my co-convenor, the indefatigable @dbonansinga.bsky.social!

A big thank you to our group members & other Specialist Groups who have worked with us to deliver a very rich programme of events & debates at the Annual Conference of the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social in Oxford this year Special mention to my co-convenor, the indefatigable @dbonansinga.bsky.social!

How many people will end up "lining up" behind Lowe is in fact to be seen. But it's certainly worth noting how deeply "European" Britain still is...

How many people will end up "lining up" behind Lowe is in fact to be seen. But it's certainly worth noting how deeply "European" Britain still is...

I find these arguments more subtle and persuasive than any calls for a ban. A ban will make older people feel better, but is just a 'challenge accepted' to a digital native... www.economist.com/leaders/2026...

One isn’t allowed to say this anymore, but when I was a kid, tired-looking men simply did not exist. Grown men just woke up at 5 a.m., went to work, raised three children, mowed the lawn, fixed the sink, and still somehow looked like they’d just been lightly misted by youth.

One isn’t allowed to say this anymore, but when I was a kid, tired-looking men simply did not exist. Grown men just woke up at 5 a.m., went to work, raised three children, mowed the lawn, fixed the sink, and still somehow looked like they’d just been lightly misted by youth.

A country condemned to spend the next 20 years trying to re-gain, bit by bit, a few of the advantages it enjoyed for decades...

A country condemned to spend the next 20 years trying to re-gain, bit by bit, a few of the advantages it enjoyed for decades...

Vannacci's parliamentarians (all three of them!) backing Meloni's govt in today's vote of confidence (despite their alleged opposition to proving futher assistance to Ukraine) tells you everything you need to know about Vannacci's empty threats today (which are also often Salvini's)...

Vannacci's parliamentarians (all three of them!) backing Meloni's govt in today's vote of confidence (despite their alleged opposition to proving futher assistance to Ukraine) tells you everything you need to know about Vannacci's empty threats today (which are also often Salvini's)...

Surprise! Or maybe not.

I'll be forced to re-up this so many times this winter that my finger will start hurting...

"I only wish I’d ever held a role where I could try to influence voters and parties on the right and steer them away from their current slide toward overt racism. Sadly, such power was never bestowed upon me". There, I fixed it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Going to be bleak when we find his name in the files

I doubt Vannacci's moves are going to have much of an impact on Meloni's strategy. If anything, they will convince her to strengthen her "Christian Democratic" alliance with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Forza Italia leader Tajani, to look even more pro-EU, pro-NATO, pro-Ukraine.

"I only wish I’d ever held a role where I could try to influence voters and parties on the right and steer them away from their current slide toward overt racism. Sadly, such power was never bestowed upon me". There, I fixed it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

I doubt Vannacci's moves are going to have much of an impact on Meloni's strategy. If anything, they will convince her to strengthen her "Christian Democratic" alliance with Minister of Foreign Affairs and Forza Italia leader Tajani, to look even more pro-EU, pro-NATO, pro-Ukraine.

Salvini's problem is not General Vannacci - the 6,754th political nonentity who, in post-90s Italy, is trying to cash in on media exposure by relying on a couple of catchy slogans & free publicity by public service broadcaster RAI. There have been many before him, also (but not only) on the right.

Salvini's problem is not General Vannacci - the 6,754th political nonentity who, in post-90s Italy, is trying to cash in on media exposure by relying on a couple of catchy slogans & free publicity by public service broadcaster RAI. There have been many before him, also (but not only) on the right.

In Dublin, @dralbertazziuk.bsky.social and @adrianfavero.bsky.social will present the monograph published by Oxford University Press in which the main findings of our research are discussed (Free to read and download here): academic.oup.com/book/60532/c...

Starmer's reported condition - incredibly unpopular, shorn of authority, probably un-reelectable and yet will stagger on for want of an alternative - is just the new normal of how Britain is governed. It was also true for two-thirds of May's premiership, half of Johnson's and all of Sunak's.

Good explanation by Hannah Roberts of Politico of the importance of Milan Cortina Winter Olympics for Italy's Infrastructure Minister Salvini (yes, same one who wants to build a bridge btw Sicily & mainland & who's just been "betrayed" by his deputy leader Vanbacci). With comments by yours truly.

Good explanation by Hannah Roberts of Politico of the importance of Milan Cortina Winter Olympics for Italy's Infrastructure Minister Salvini (yes, same one who wants to build a bridge btw Sicily & mainland & who's just been "betrayed" by his deputy leader Vanbacci). With comments by yours truly.

Members of our @populisminaction.bsky.social team will be presenting our work at 2 conferences in the near future: The Political Studies Association 2026 Annual Conference in Oxford (30th March-1st Apr) and the 32nd International Conference of Europeanists in Dublin (16-18 June). Details below.

Domino effect in the UK following release of more Epstein's files... political career after political career going down in flames... While in the US in the meantime:

It will be great to meet some of you in Oxford and/or Dublin before too long! Come and say hello to us if you are there...

Domino effect in the UK following release of more Epstein's files... political career after political career going down in flames... While in the US in the meantime:

It will be great to meet some of you in Oxford and/or Dublin before too long! Come and say hello to us if you are there...

Starmer finding that place in a Venn Diagram where he manages to annoy allies without defeating enemies

[email protected] (Financial Times) on General Vannacci leaving Salvini's League yesterday. Includes comments by yours truly and other commentators about the damage this development will inflict on Salvini's credibility and authority within the party. as.ft.com/r/a2f5163d-3...

Our principal investigator, @dralbertazziuk.bsky.social, spoke to the Financial Times about the troubles affecting the League in Italy. The link below should still be non-paywalled, hopefully.

[email protected] (Financial Times) on General Vannacci leaving Salvini's League yesterday. Includes comments by yours truly and other commentators about the damage this development will inflict on Salvini's credibility and authority within the party. as.ft.com/r/a2f5163d-3...

I very much doubt this a "widening rift", as l do not expect more than 3 or 4 MPs to follow Vannacci. Leaving an organised political machine to join a personal party led by someone who has no experience of life in the institutions, campaigning etc & has just performed poorly in regional elections...

I very much doubt this a "widening rift", as l do not expect more than 3 or 4 MPs to follow Vannacci. Leaving an organised political machine to join a personal party led by someone who has no experience of life in the institutions, campaigning etc & has just performed poorly in regional elections...

And here we go: Salvini will tell League's Federal Council meeting today that Vannacci is leaving for good. Creating one more party competing for radical right support in such a crowded environment has everything to do with personal ambition & very little with ideology & policies of course...

And here we go: Salvini will tell League's Federal Council meeting today that Vannacci is leaving for good. Creating one more party competing for radical right support in such a crowded environment has everything to do with personal ambition & very little with ideology & policies of course...

Gosh is he feeling alright? Those millions of Reform voters who are flocking back to Labour won't be impressed.

[email protected] from the Financial Times on the gradual normalisation of ideas concerning "remigration" & how Meloni has tried to avoid the topic so far. With some of my comments for good measure: www.ft.com/content/4eb1...

[email protected] from the Financial Times on the gradual normalisation of ideas concerning "remigration" & how Meloni has tried to avoid the topic so far. With some of my comments for good measure: www.ft.com/content/4eb1...

"I am going to stick to my big idea of co-opting Farage's policies. If it ain't broken..." There, l fixed it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

"I am going to stick to my big idea of co-opting Farage's policies. If it ain't broken..." There, l fixed it. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

On Holocaust Memorial Day, PM Giorgia Meloni has made the following statement: "On this day, we once again condemn the Fascist regime's complicity in persecutions, roundups, and deportations. A dark page in Italian history, sealed by the ignominy of the racial laws of 1938".

Vannacci has now registered a logo that will most likely function as the party's new symbol.

On Holocaust Memorial Day, PM Giorgia Meloni has made the following statement: "On this day, we once again condemn the Fascist regime's complicity in persecutions, roundups, and deportations. A dark page in Italian history, sealed by the ignominy of the racial laws of 1938".

"And yet 25% of House Democrats still won't impeach Kristi Noem". There, l fixed the headline.

Those wishing to understand Italian politics may find re-reading this good article on Roberto Vannacci (League's deputy leader) worth their time, as Vannacci is most probably on the verge of leaving the party: www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

Those wishing to understand Italian politics may find re-reading this good article on Roberto Vannacci (League's deputy leader) worth their time, as Vannacci is most probably on the verge of leaving the party: www.euronews.com/my-europe/20...

Letting loose these individuals on the NHS is Farage's second monumental mistake this week, after failing to grasp the depth of resentment in the country about Trump's "NATO remarks". Both pretty stupid mistakes, too.

Sure enough, Labour's response hits where it hurts. bsky.app/profile/adam...