📺 "We've amplified and given more space to more extreme views than we would even a couple of years ago" 💬 @bobbyduffy.bsky.social speaks to BBC News about the drivers behind some of the growing culture war divisions identified in our new study with @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social

🔊 "What we've seen is an increase in more extreme rhetoric in social media, media and politics over the last few years...and that more extreme rhetoric does shift views. It gives you a changing view of the norm" @bobbyduffy.bsky.social on the Today programme discussing our new culture wars study

Economists Assemble

NEW: Perceptions of division in the UK have reached their highest point since trends began in 2020, while the share who believe the nation is divided by "culture wars" specifically has risen from 46% to 67% today Our study with @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social reveals growing culture war tensions 🧵 ⬇️

Having studied immigration attitudes + misperceptions for decades, 3 things stand out: - they change, but it's so tribal that each side thinks it's settled when it moves in "their" direction - our misperceptions are a signal of worry as much as a cause - BUT that doesn't mean facts don't matter...

"So a major driver of immigration becoming such a central societal and political issue is a growing concern about asylum seekers perceived as coming illegally – but this is built on an extraordinarily wrong view of their scale" @bobbyduffy.bsky.social & @elielcohen.bsky.social write for the LSE

💬 The public are "putting an awful lot of hope on the idea of apprenticeships...It’s partly because we’ve been so bad at doing them that people can put all of that hope on to them because they’ve got so little experience of them." @bobbyduffy.bsky.social quoted in @timeshighered.bsky.social

Real mix of university and FE leaders in packed room for panel with Skills Minister on how we need to work together to deliver the skills strategy, great to do this jointly with @et-foundation.bsky.social @hepi-news.bsky.social @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social @policyatkings.bsky.social

Starting in 20 mins in Leonardo hotel, with Minister for Skills Baroness Jacqui Smith, lots to discuss on HE given the week's announcements... @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social @hepi-news.bsky.social

🚨Starting soon! 🚨 Join us at 12pm in the Leonardo Hotel, Liverpool, for our discussion on the future of HE and skills, hosted with the Education Training Foundation ⬇️

'No such thing as society'? Just 11% support Thatcher's view

Margaret Thatcher's interview with Woman's Own was this day in 1987 - the furore over the quote annoyed her, as she thought she was getting across subtle Hayekian ideas. These cut-through quotes are rare but interesting - we tested Starmer, Gove and Mandelson versions...

“Countless experiments show that around 10 per cent of the public don’t understand simple percentages” — Prof @bobbyduffy.bsky.social, quoted on Peter Kellner’s blog. kellnerp.substack.com/p/ignorance-... He could have said one in ten , but I guess Bobby is a take-no-prisoners kind of a guy.

🤞 We're delighted to be part of a team that's been nominated for Outstanding Contribution to the Local Community in the @timeshighered.bsky.social awards, for our work documenting the impact of the London Living Wage ⬇️

💡 "There’s substantial evidence of independent benefits on skills development, self-esteem, sense of wellbeing, civic engagement and openness to diversity." 💬 @bobbyduffy.bsky.social spoke to the Guardian about whether it still pays to go to university ➡️ www.theguardian.com/education/20...

🇬🇧 ⚠️ 72% of Reform UK supporters say people like them are powerless to change things in the country – a higher proportion than even non-voters, and well above Conservative and Labour supporters From our latest study into democratic disconnect in the UK ➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/big-dec...

Out today - which is what I'd call timely - our work with @moreincommonuk.bsky.social on who Reform voters and Reform considerers are. And the challenges they'll face keeping this coalition together. Pleasure working with you @luketryl.bsky.social ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/from...

🚨 POLLING ALERT 🚨 We asked more than 4,000 Reform voters what makes them tick. And found 5 segments within a very broad Reform coalition. Many disagree with each other on fundamental issues.

We’ve just published a unique new study to really understand why more people are considering voting Reform UK ‘Decoding Populism’ was a joint effort with @yougov.co.uk @policyatkings.bsky.social Faster Horses & @liambyrnemp.bsky.social Read it in @thetimes.com www.thetimes.com/article/9657...

📣 Calling all @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social doctoral & postdoctoral researchers - applications are now open for the The King’s Parliamentary Research Internships programme to engage directly with the inner workings of parliament & policy. ➡️ Apply by 17 Aug: kcl.targetconnect.net/user/app/job...

🎙️ New podcast alert! In episode 1 of the School for Government Podcast, @michael-sanders.bsky.social sits down with Dame Tamara Finkelstein DCB to explore what it takes to make good evidence based policy with lasting impact. ➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/the-sch...

This is just very poor - and likely affects perceptions: we asked people to estimate what % of prisoners are foreign born in 2017, and average guess in GB was 34%, nearly 3x actual of 12% then (and now!) Irresponsible to turn non-story into scary sounding headline @benpageresearch.bsky.social

Lord Grade on the clearly documented harms to children from online platforms “I don’t know how the tech leaders sleep at night. Maybe they just count the clicks” - key lecture at @strandgroup.bsky.social @policyatkings.bsky.social @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social

Does when you were born shape who you are? @bobbyduffy.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DUh...

‘The No10 communications team has banned any official from speaking at events that include question and answer sessions, or where the media are expected to be in attendance’. Ridiculous. www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/comment/gove...

NEW: NHS research and innovation at risk if academic partnerships deprioritised Our new report with King’s Health Partners warns university health partnerships are being sidelined — despite saving lives and boosting the economy. ➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/nhs-res... 🧵⬇️

New report from @kingshealth.bsky.social and @policyatkings.bsky.social - clinical academics have declined as a % of the medical workforce just when we really need their innovation and the better care outcomes they produce @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social www.timeshighereducation.com/news/nhs-inn...

Brilliant panel of European university leaders in conversation with Alison Wolf on common and distinct challenges - such a variety of systems driven by long histories, but just about all facing political, leadership or financial crises @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social @policyatkings.bsky.social

Packed house for the great Prof Jim Fishkin talking about his new book on how deliberation can help cure the ills of democracy, joint event with @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social and @policyatkings.bsky.social

Thinking back to @bobbyduffy.bsky.social visit in Nov ‘23…Does When You Were Born Shape Who You Are? www.kwaku.org.uk/Video.html

❓Can Deliberation Cure the Ills of Democracy? Join us, @ipsosintheuk.bsky.social and Prof James Fishkin to discuss how deliberative democracy can bridge divides, counter misinformation and rebuild trust in politics. 📅 Monday 9th June ⬇️

Our event with the two Ambassadors - of the UK to the EU and the EU to the UK - discussing the summit and what was achieved, is now available to view online. So view it... www.youtube.com/live/RTS7hGu...

"Generations tend to move together – not go in different directions, across gender lines...This is a new development. There's a very unusual trend of a split within a cohort, Gen Z." @bobbyduffy.bsky.social spoke to the Telegraph about the gender divide in political attitudes among young people

"The 5 million STEM subject graduates that are produced each year – twice as many as its nearest competitor, India, and 10 times more than the US – are the single most important asset that the country now has" @bkerrychina.bsky.social writes for us on the growing strength of China's HE system

🗣️ @sundersays.bsky.social, @greenmirandahere.bsky.social and David Goodhart explored how we can argue better about immigration for the first in a new events series by the Global Cultures Institute, chaired by‪ Professor @bobbyduffy.bsky.social. Read more 🔽 www.kcl.ac.uk/news/you-can...

Please read this piece by @bobbyduffy.bsky.social, the most cogent, competent analyst and communicator on generational issues. ise.org.uk/knowledge/in...

"What’s different is that there are 'some signs that happiness in young people is flattening in a way that it hasn’t before,' @bobbyduffy.bsky.social says. 'We haven’t seen this effect in older generations, even millennials. It’s evidence that young people today are facing a unique problem.'"

"According to @bobbyduffy.bsky.social, an expert on generational differences, [the debate about young people at work] has been helped by a 'massively changed information environment', which enables us to share 'compelling individual case studies – of people having a breakdown about their 9-5 job'"

"4 in 10 of us back in the 1940s said we struggled to get out of bed every day and 4 in 10 of us today say exactly the same" @bobbyduffy.bsky.social on Times Radio, on our new research reissuing old survey questions about everyday life, work and education in the UK ➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/homewor...

"[in 1947] a quarter of men said they never helped with the housework and now just 4% of men today admit to that" @bobbyduffy.bsky.social on Times Radio, on our new research reissuing old survey questions about everyday life, work and education in the UK ➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/homewor...

This is obviously good, but the question phrasing shows we’ve got a way to go: Men ‘help’ with housework. Women just do it. Because it’s still our job & men still get to just help with it. Or not.

Guardian coverage of new long-term trends study - full results here www.kcl.ac.uk/news/homewor... @policyatkings.bsky.social @giwlkings.bsky.social @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social

Times coverage of new long-term study - full results here www.kcl.ac.uk/news/homewor... @policyatkings.bsky.social @giwlkings.bsky.social @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social

New study on long-term trends: we're only slightly more likely to say we'd like to settle in another country today than in 1948 - though fewer definitely against it. More interesting is the notably higher figure for Reform voters - 60% would like to move abroad www.kcl.ac.uk/news/homewor...

New study on very long trends: some things haven't changed since 1947 - 4 in 10 struggled to get up in the morning back then, exactly same as now. I feel vindicated that this seems to be just a constant human trait - BUT... www.kcl.ac.uk/news/homewor... @rentouljohn.bsky.social

New study looking at very long trends: nearly 4 in 10 women said they would rather be a man in 1947, down to 9% today, though that's still twice as high as proportion of men who would rather be a woman... www.kcl.ac.uk/news/homewor... @giwlkings.bsky.social @policyatkings.bsky.social

We're just about to kick off the final of Policy Idol 2025 – our annual competition for all @kingscollegelondon.bsky.social students! We're joined by our peerless host, the BBC's Mark Easton, and our formidable judging panel of Louise Casey, Sally Morgan, Jonathan Slater & @bobbyduffy.bsky.social

5 years ago this week we released our first major study on Covid and lockdown attitudes/behaviours. Understandably, we hadn't fully grasped how serious it would be - for example, the modal guess was we'd see up to 20k deaths, when excess deaths ended up 200k+... www.kcl.ac.uk/news/life-un...

Former prime minister Tony Blair visited @strandgroup.bsky.social's "New Labour Years" course this week. Read more about his comments below, from John Rentoul. Find out more about the course here ➡️ thestrandgroup.kcl.ac.uk/module/the-n...