Government/Starmer/Reeves' unpopularity isn't so surprising imo. - pervasive mood of discontent - voters are increasingly volatile and dealigned from parties - economic stagnation/cost of living - polarised/toxic information environment - weak govt/PM comms - flawed strategy (alienating core vote)

New textbook on social geography coming out 30th January: www.routledge.com/Social-Geogr...

For the historical polling nerds out there, an article about our project with @ropercenter.bsky.social that digitised ~800 surveys by Gallup poll in Britain between 1955 and 1991 has been published in JEPOP. The merged dataset contains over three-quarters of a million respondents.

A Christmas poll result from 1964:

Absolutely amazing chart from @peterkellner.bsky.social's piece in @thenewworldmag.bsky.social today: www.thenewworld.co.uk/peter-kellne...

Interested in starting your PhD on migrant enterprises with Maria Villares-Varela,@silkeroth.bsky.social & me? See below opportunity @unisouthampton.bsky.social supported by Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarships Programme for Interdisciplinary Resilience Studies. Pl Share www.findaphd.com/phds/project...

Harvey at 90: A @versobooks.bsky.social series of short essays davidharvey.org/2025/11/harv...

Is welfare spending ''out of control''? Total welfare spending in Britain in 2025-26 is estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP. That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u

It's only out in March 2026, but I heard pre-orders are now possible 😏 it's a theoretical history of technological refusal that starts in ancient Greece with the earliest machine breakers, and ends in 1980s France with anarchists bombing computer companies. www.upress.umn.edu/978151791773...

I'm still incredibly proud of this book. The idea to do an edited collection came when I was still a baby PhD student and I pushed a group of six colleagues to join me at a (now sadly defunct) ECPR Research Sessions in Essex in 2014. The final book was published 4 years later.

Cover reveal. Culture Wars in Britain. Coming out May 2026 (but the kindle edition will be available earlier). Currently £16.99 to preorder on Amazon.

Cash ISA limit cut to £12,000 as expected - though only for under 65s! A new bias in the tax system towards pensioners is introduced....

That’s the right way round for a labour budget.

V happy to see this paper out with @chrisclaassen.bsky.social at @bjpols.bsky.social . We argue that nostalgia for Britain's past is an important, distinct opinion dimension which has meaningful consequences for party evaluations and vote choice.

💥 New publication out on the alignment of AI & authoritarianism 💥 We argue that AI is not simply extending, but actively modulating, key dynamics of authoritarianism, and present a flexible analytical framework to account for these changes. rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

I am inviting applications for PhD projects at Uni of Southampton, focused on: politics of refusal, digital tech, urban interventions and/or geographical theory. Funding app's would be made to the South Coast DTP. Please check out my work to ensure a fit! www.thomasdekeyser.com/phd-supervis...

A welcome & wise intervention from Julian Richer, making the simple & important point: success in life is often down to sheer good fortune. Those who have found success in their own lives should acknowledge this, and what follows from it. @fairness.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

🚨 New paper with Maria Grasso on generational shifts in political values. Despite talk of rising age polarisation, we show that gaps in attitudes are stable or even narrowing. Economic attitudes move in cycles, while social values have become more liberal – mainly due to generational replacement.

Human Geography at Leicester is facing closure. Staff contracts are to end in June 2026; students are to be relocated to other universities, or taught out by a maximum of two (!) teaching-only staff. Other departments and subjects are facing closure, too. Please join the demo!

We're now over halfway through our @sotonpolitics.bsky.social department seminars! It's been such a good line-up and very grateful for all those who've joined us - today @dafnoukos.bsky.social and last week Peter Dinesen.

Elon Must won't stop. I wrote this for @theobserveruk.bsky.social.

This explains a lot (Source: www.ft.com/content/20d6... )

For those that weren't able to make our webinar with @patcollier.bsky.social and Jim Connolly, you can now catch up on YouTube! Learn more about the Everyday Life in Middletown archive as well as how the writers in archive write about comprehend crisis www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... 🗃

Latest on UK productivity crisis:

💡New! Nick Clarke and Will Jennings remind us that trust in politicians has never been high, and even though the global trend is towards people trusting governments less, not every single event of perceived corruption will further contribute to that trend. blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

A democracy isn’t (just) an electoral system. It’s also a culture of deliberation, debate, sensitivity to public concern, attention to social movements and community leaders, respect for civil rights and minority interests, free expression and association and due process. How’s your country doing?

New blogpost on trust in politicians and Westminster 'sleaze'. With @drjennings.bsky.social, @massobsarchive.bsky.social, @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

How are recent Westminster scandals likely to have impacted political trust in Britain? @nickclarkegeo.bsky.social and I reflect on (updated) insights from our research - with Gerry Stoker and Jonathan Moss - in the book The Good Politician.

Do we trust politicians less now than in previous years and decades? @nickclarkegeo.bsky.social and @drjennings.bsky.social make use of MO materials to consider the extent to which we trust politicians and the factors which influence our opinions. blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

New blogpost on trust in politicians and Westminster 'sleaze'. With @drjennings.bsky.social, @massobsarchive.bsky.social, @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

Are you, or do you know, someone who wants to do a PhD? Applications are open for full funding (scholarship + maintenance) @sotonpolitics.bsky.social through the @scdtp.bsky.social Get in touch if you're interested southcoastdtp.ac.uk/apply/

There is no need for a moral panic about the UK's welfare system. Far from perfect but recent discourse is nuts Spending is controlled, not spiralling Worklessness is near record lows My column www.ft.com/content/ee67...

Print and send this chart (from your newsletter on Tuesday) to every household in the country.

My latest on trust for The Big Issue... drawing on various research from our ESRC projects on anti-politics over the last decade.

Our next event, 'Everyday Life and the Crisis Ordinary in Middletown, U.S.A.' is now open for booking! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/everyday-l...

We’re delighted to publish a new Policy Paper today by Jonathan Moss & @emilyrobinson.bsky.social. They suggest that Mass Observation @massobsarchive.bsky.social - founded in the 1930s - can help us understand the reasons behind contemporary voter apathy. historyandpolicy.org/policy-paper...

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...

The Mass-Observation Critical Series documents and archives the everyday lives, thoughts and attitudes of ordinary Britons. Found out more https://bit.ly/4lPM60w

My book Understanding Policy Mobility is out this month, for anyone interested in my take on this literature that has emerged over the last 15 odd years www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/und...

The discourse is all around deradicalising young men and the crisis among young men. The discourse would be much better targeted if it was about deradicalising boomers (and increasingly Gen Xers).

Commentary on asylum hotels considering how govt can develop dignified community-based housing that meets multiple social needs. Warehousing people in camps and continuing a failed experiment in privatisation causes nothing but further harm @geogdurham.bsky.social theconversation.com/after-the-ep...

"public opinion should only be one consideration among many in policymaking and party strategy, and never the prime mover of politics." @philswatton.bsky.social on the pitfalls of poll-driven politics and the importance of political leadership. renewal.org.uk/blog/public-...

Across all ages, Reform UK and the Conservatives have increased their combined vote share by 8pts. Among the under 30s, they have only increased 5pts

Britain is now one of very few countries where Gen Z are firmly left-of-centre

The BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grants scheme is now open for applications. This opportunity allows postdoctoral – or equivalent – scholars in the humanities and social sciences to apply for funding to support their research projects. Learn more: https://bit.ly/3K4kEyA

Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...

IN NEW ISSUE: British attitudes to ‘Europe’ have been long characterised as ‘reluctant’. @jamesrdennison.bsky.social explores the exception between 1988–1992 - Britain’s Pro-European Moment: buff.ly/3D41PIx (OPEN ACCESS) @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social #ECRs @sagepub.com

Artists and designers are collaborating with craftspeople to revive dying craft heritage. How are these collaborations shaping the heritage-art-craft ecosystem? My latest paper @scgrg.bsky.social addresses this question by working on the concepts of distance and aura. Read👇 doi.org/10.1080/1464...