We were delighted to gather for our annual CAST Assembly at The University of Manchester last week, and the Manchester Art Gallery, bringing together our incredible team of social scientists from across the UK to reflect on the impact we have achieved over the past year 👏

Barely 2 per cent of Britons belong to a political party. Yet this tiny, unrepresentative minority helps decide who gets selected to stand for Parliament, who gets to lead our parties and, ultimately, who gets to govern the country. So who are they? journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

Energy independence is consistently one of the most powerful pro-Net Zero arguments among voters. They back renewables over fossil fuel as the solution and it's not particularly close. Bit baffled that Govt is not hammering this more loudly in light of Iran. Pushing at an open door.

Radical parties of the right and left in top two slots. Legacy parties getting only a third of the vote between them. A whole new world.

Women MPs and climate action 🌍👩‍💼 @hannahsalamon.bsky.social's new research from the UK Parliament shows women MPs talk about the environment more than men helping embed #Climate issues across politics

Over the past eighteen months, the political science consensus on the nature of Labour's vote has been absolutely correct - and yet also completely ignored by pundits and strategists who continue to get it wrong.

The Green victory in Denton is the result which will have the biggest effect on Labour, far more so than a Reform win. The blithe assumption progressives have nowhere else to go has been proved catastrophically wrong. Can’t help thinking of this quote from a Labour minister, a year ago…

When it comes to domestic heating, it seems 'choice' of systems and fuels is reigning supreme www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Access to public services and cultural amenities is increasingly taking on a political dimension - being associated with support for the radical right. This piece reminds me of the excellent work by @dianebolet.bsky.social on the link between local pub closures and support for UKIP.

High emissions and low admission? 🏭️ @lucasgeese.bsky.social and @chantal-st.bsky.social use rare data to understand what impact the carbon footprint of voters has on the decarbonisation focus of MPS, asking whether politician's prioritize #NetZero, or short-term electoral gains 🌍️

I enjoyed spending some time digesting the reaction to Labour's Warm Homes Plan last month. Some initial thoughts in this blog post👇

With the long-awaited #WarmHomesPlan now published, CAST's Dr Chantal Sullivan-Thomsett (@chantal-st.bsky.social) shares her reflections on the ambitious climate policy and the impact of its success and public perceptions in the context of increasing politicisation. 📣 Read the blog post 👇

German Energy Review 2025 – 🇬🇧 English translation available now! #Germany is losing momentum in #climate protection! Greenhouse gas emissions fell by 9 million tons of CO₂ (1.5 percent) – less than half the savings achieved in 2024. 1/x

New research from CAST's Dr Lucas Geese (@lucasgeese.bsky.social) & Dr Chantal Sullivan-Thomsett (@chantal-st.bsky.social) shows that UK MPs give less attention to decarbonisation in more carbon-intensive constituencies, especially Conservatives and marginal seats. 📣 Read the open access paper 👇

📌New in EJPR (OA): We ask whether MPs prioritise decarbonisation most where consumption emissions are highest. Answer (UK): No — MPs give less attention to decarbonisation in more carbon-intensive constituencies, especially Conservatives + marginal seats (speech analysis + elite interviews).

Really delighted to see this article with @lucasgeese.bsky.social finally out. Using speech analysis + elite interviews, we show that UK MPs give less attention to decarbonisation when they represent more carbon-intensive constituencies — especially among Conservative MPs and in marginal seats.

#OpenAccess from @ejprjournal.bsky.social - High emissions, low engagement? How members of parliament represent the carbon footprint of their constituents - https://cup.org/49P9QPr - Lucas Geese & @chantal-st.bsky.social#OpenAccess #FirstView

📣Breaking: New gov plan sets out £15 bn to help families improve their homes with clean energy technologies. UK Gov has just released its long-awaited #WarmHomesPlan, which aims to make houses warmer, less draughty, and more energy efficient. 🧵 Image credit: Liz Seabrook / Nesta / Climate Visuals

How can we use citizens' assemblies to shape climate policy?👥 New CAST Briefing: "Using citizens’ assemblies to shape climate policy: A summary of current thinking for policymakers and practitioners", led by Prof Irene Lorenzoni. Key messages thread 🧵 Read the briefing: cast.ac.uk/wp-content/u...

🚨 NEW ISSUE: Issue 9 is out now, with the latest on #climatejustice, #adaptation #finance allocation, translating #emissions targets into policy, #carbonmarkets, #justtransition & much more💥 💡 Insights from @marthewens.bsky.social @yarime.bsky.social @chantal-st.bsky.social & more⬇️

New paper with @lucasgeese.bsky.social at @commsearth.nature.com UK MPs + publics in Britain, Canada, Chile & Germany underestimated the urgency of peaking global GHG emissions when surveyed in 2023. @tyndallcentre.bsky.social @cast-centre.bsky.social @climateuea.bsky.social rdcu.be/eI4J3

CAST research centre director Lorraine Whitmarsh is giving evidence to the Energy Security and Net Zero Committee in parliament, imparting the wealth of knowledge from her own work, as well as from my @cast-centre.bsky.social colleagues on how government can build support for the energy transition.

Robert Habeck hat sein Bundestagsmandat abgegeben. Doch laut einer Umfrage wünschen sich 35 Prozent der Deutschen eine Rückkehr des Grünenpolitikers. Dabei gibt es deutliche Unterschiede zwischen Männern und Frauen.

Als erklärter Fan des Konzepts „Loud Quitting“ – ehrlich sagen, wenn der Job und das Führungspersonal furchtbar waren – Warum kann nicht jedes Politiker-Interview so sein wie dieses mit Habeck in der @taz.de? taz.de/Robert-Habec...

#ICYMI: A report from the Tyndall Centre and LSE, earlier this year, shows how better integration of climate and health policies can address climate-driven health threats and boost resilience tyndall.ac.uk/reports/adva... #ClimateHealth #ClimatePolicy

🤖 PoliticsHome reporter @zoecrowther.bsky.social spoke with Britain's first AI MP to test its limits – and the conversation became quite weird 👀 After this chat, the (real) Labour MP Mark Sewards said he had to “tighten” the tool up to prevent such outlandish remarks

Collapse of languages has ‘knock-on effects’ for research University-wide language provision increasingly important for international research capabilities, says Hepi report author. www.researchprofessionalnews.com/rr-news-uk-u...

🔁Please share 🔁 Are you an undergraduate or masters student in the UK 💂‍♂️working on German Politics⚫🔴🟡? We award up to three Essay Prizes 🥇 Submit your essays or dissertations now 📫 Contact us, if you have any question 🙋 More information: psagermany.wordpress.com/events-2/psa...

While in parts of what was once "One Nation Tory" England the Conservatives are being replaced by the Liberal Democrats and in some cases even the Greens

Blair echoing right-wing, anti-net zero rhetoric is deeply unhelpful to the Starmer Labour government. Particularly when recent research suggests that 2009-2022 "instances of backlash to hard climate policy are relatively rare but can be consequential when they occur" doi.org/10.1080/1469...

Very much looking forward to this online roundtable next Wednesday by @britgerassoc.bsky.social on Germany's new government in an era of global challenges. Please come and join us for what promises to be a great discussion with @nvondarza.bsky.social & @louiseds.bsky.social. Details 👇

In this report with @lucasgeese.bsky.social, we present findings from polling we carried out just before last year's UK general election in which we examined support for climate policies among the British public. @cast-centre.bsky.social @climateuea.bsky.social @tyndallcentre.bsky.social

Great to see CAST 2024 polling be the focus of @green-alliance.org.uk's latest report on public opinion on climate policy during the 2024 general election. 🗳️ The report was written by CAST's @johnkenny.bsky.social & @lucasgeese.bsky.social and examines climate policy support. Read the report 👇

What can we learn from the 2024 General Election for the UK climate politics of the future? Very happy to see @johnkenny.bsky.social and my report published in collaboration with @green-alliance.org.uk and @cast-centre.bsky.social. See 👇 for the details.

New publication in Climate Policy—open access! We reviewed national citizens’ climate assemblies and found substantial variation in process, impact, and perceived legitimacy. Read it here: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Co-authored with Irene Lorenzoni, Andrew Jordan & @chantal-st.bsky.social

🚨 New open access publication! Led by Irene Lorenzoni, we reviewed the literature on National Citizens' Climate Assemblies. We found a great deal of variation in their design, role in policymaking ,and acceptance by different societal actors of these very specific forms of deliberative mini publics.

🔓 : Advocates of national citizens' #climate assemblies (NCCAs) maintain that they improve the quality & legitimacy of policymaking. Lorenzoni et al. (@lucasgeese.bsky.social @chantal-st.bsky.social @cast-centre.bsky.social) find substantial variation in character, impact & perceived legitimacy⬇️

On my way to Birmingham for @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social annual conference! Looking forward to meeting old friends and new. Also nice to be walking in with our @psagermanpol.bsky.social piece on BTW25 adorning Political Insight’s front cover 😊

Come work with us!

📝🌍 Call out for Leeds climate experts to inspire poetry 🌍📝 Poetry can be used to convey emotion or share ideas, and around the world, climate change is becoming an increasing feature in poems. Want to use your climate knowledge to inspire a poem? Find out more ⬇️

Starting this week with another output - brief reflections on the recent German election along with my other co-convenors of the @psagermanpol.bsky.social of @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social In it we raise the importance of a party's perceived brand of authenticity in an election campaign!

What a way to finish the week! A book project I'm involved in is in press: manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526180940/ Exploring the centre-left in European cities, my chpt focuses on the relationship between Green Party activists and local social movements.

Can we build the #NetZero future the Climate Change Committee says is possible? 🌍 Today @thecccuk.bsky.social published its latest advice to the Government in its #SeventhCarbonBudget report. Read our CAST response: cast.ac.uk/building-a-n... Key messages thread 🧵

Ooh this looks good - sad I won’t be able to make it!

There are just 10 days left to apply for three fully funded CAST PhD studentships at our partner institution @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social 📣 Topics include human-climate connections in the workplace & barriers to behaviour change. Deadline: 28 Feb Apply now on our website: cast.ac.uk/cast-careers/

Reminder: We have five fully funded CAST PhD studentships closing this month, based at our centre hub @uniofbath.bsky.social & @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social 📣 The deadline for applications is Feb 17 (Bath) and Feb 28 (UEA). Find out more and apply on our website: cast.ac.uk/cast-careers/

🚨PhDs at UEA with @cast-centre.bsky.social still available with a deadline of 28th Feb. Please do share widely. Informal approaches for any of the projects are very much encouraged!

🚨PhDs at UEA with @cast-centre.bsky.social still available with a deadline of 28th Feb. Please do share widely. Informal approaches for any of the projects are very much encouraged!

Topics include 👇 • Integrated behavioural-technological solutions • Public perceptions of carbon capture & storage • Political and societal engagement with hard choices • Human-Climate connections in the workplace • Political and societal barriers to behaviour change

CAST PhDs alert 📣: We have 5 funded PhD studentships now open for applications, based at our centre hub @uniofbath.bsky.social & the University of East Anglia. The deadline for applications is Feb 17 (Bath) and Feb 28 (UEA). Find out more and apply on our website: cast.ac.uk/cast-careers/