Simon Hix
@simonhix.bsky.social
Stein Rokkan Chair in Comparative Politics, EUI. President of @epssnet.bsky.social. FBA, FRSA. Democracy, parties, elections, electoral systems etc. Live music. COYI
Simon Hix@simonhix.bsky.social · 41m agoI have no idea what “Hard Right” means! We have established terms: Far Right, Extreme Right, Radical Right. Why invent a new one? Bizarre how UK journos have adopted a term that no-one else in the world uses or understands. Pathetic parochialism I guess 🤷♂️ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
I have no idea what “Hard Right” means! We have established terms: Far Right, Extreme Right, Radical Right. Why invent a new one? Bizarre how UK journos have adopted a term that no-one else in the world uses or understands. Pathetic parochialism I guess 🤷♂️ www.theguardian.com/world/2026/a...
The events at Ceuta show how Europe’s hard right now set the tone on immigration
The narratives of the right are seeping into mainstream EU policy, and Spain finds itself increasingly isolated in its humanitarian stance on borders
theguardian.com
Could Wenger be the candidate to defeat Infantino? (and I say that as a West Ham fan 😉)
The irony of that is that PM’s big policy push is only about English devolution and unlike Scotland, Wales or N Ireland it is unconstrained even by statute. This is English devolution backed with the full unbridled sovereignty of the U.K. Parliament.
While I favour a written UK constitution, the devil will be in the details, and I fear all sorts of bells and whistles that will be attached along the way, making it unwieldy, and difficult ratify. Maybe start with a Citizens Assembly and see what happens … www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Devolution plans strengthen case for written UK constitution, says Burnham
PM argues for codified model of decentralisation that would fundamentally change centuries-old workings of state
theguardian.com
Should immigrants be given the right to vote in elections? And what political implications would this have? On @lseeuroppblog.bsky.social, @simonhix.bsky.social @tarekjaziri.bsky.social show that granting voting rights to immigrants in Spain has had little impact on party vote or seat shares.
Why not give immigrants the right to vote? - LSE European Politics
Granting voting rights to immigrants in Spain has had little impact on party vote or seat shares, removing one of the main objections to the policy.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Should immigrants be given the right to vote in elections? New research shows that when voting rights were given to immigrants in Spain, it had little impact on party vote or seat shares. ✍ @simonhix.bsky.social & @tarekjaziri.bsky.social blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2...
Why not give immigrants the right to vote? - LSE European Politics
Granting voting rights to immigrants in Spain has had little impact on party vote or seat shares, removing one of the main objections to the policy.
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Super excited to see the second article from my dissertation published in @politicsgenderj.bsky.social Drawing on unique Norwegian data, I find the green gender gap already exists in early adolescence. Boys are less climate-concerned, less supportive of green policies and less likely to vote green.
The Green Gender Gap in Adolescence: A Case Study of Norway | Politics & Gender | Cambridge Core
The Green Gender Gap in Adolescence: A Case Study of Norway
cambridge.org
I am pro a wealth tax. But I’m sceptical starting at 2% would work, as superrich would hide or move assets (as cases in other countries have shown). Why not start at a low level, eg. 0.5%. That would still raise a huge amount and would test feasibility. www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Wealth tax on UK’s super-rich could raise £10bn a year, Andy Burnham told
New PM urged to introduce a 2% minimum charge on households with more than £100m in wealth
theguardian.com
The UK fall not as dramatic as EU-wide fall. This won't change much changing UK terms of protection (2023 ban on claims had v little impact). It could be addressed by deeper UK-EU cooperation. We aren't in shared database of claims, so people will now try the UK second. Scale up routes/returns deal
Great piece by @hetanshah.bsky.social giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... We need humanities more than ever in the age of AI
We need humanities more than ever in the age of AI
Subjects like literature, languages and history are vital to a thoughtful and prosperous society
giftarticle.ft.com
I never thought I'd write a paper with null results, yet here we are. With @simonhix.bsky.social, we studied whether giving immigrants the right to vote moves election results. He summarizes the paper very well below, so let me dig further into the methods and results. 🧵
Simon Hix@simonhix.bsky.social · 3w agoShould immigrants be allowed to vote? This is a highly politically charged question. In a new research paper and substack piece, me and @tarekjaziri.bsky.social test the biggest objection to letting foreign residents vote locally, and find it doesn't hold up. 🧵 simonhix.substack.com/p/why-not-gi...
Americans say they want less inequality. Why don’t they support policies to reduce it? New paper: across 31 nationally representative survey waves (N=384,248) and a preregistered experiment (N=1,009), Americans favor PREdistributive over REdistributive policies 🧵 osf.io/preprints/so...
Should immigrants be allowed to vote? This is a highly politically charged question. In a new research paper and substack piece, me and @tarekjaziri.bsky.social test the biggest objection to letting foreign residents vote locally, and find it doesn't hold up. 🧵 simonhix.substack.com/p/why-not-gi...
Why Not Give Immigrants the Right to Vote?
The fear that allowing foreign residents to vote in local elections would benefit left-wing parties turns out to be wrong.
simonhix.substack.com
I don't remember ever feeling this disappointed after an England defeat (and I remember every tournament since the 1980 Euros). Maybe a combination of expectation (the best Eng team for decades), the cynical play of Argentina, and the nature of our capitulation in the last 20 minutes :-(
I fear that this could be a “Reichstag Fire moment” for British politics www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...
Ann Widdecombe killing: police investigating possible leftwing motivation
Detectives examining whether hatred of Widdecombe’s strong views or of Reform party were factors in killing described as a ‘targeted attack’
theguardian.com
Three weeks ago, the inaugural @epssnet.bsky.social conference took place in Belfast. The enthusiasm, active participation and support from the community made this conference a huge success.
Last episodeof the season and I think it's the one I'm most proud of. Origin Story in its most distilled form: telling a tight, thrilling story of the past which equips us to understand the present.
Origin Story@originstorypodcast.bsky.social · 4w agoThe Luddites are the subject of our season finale. The spectre of AI coming for our jobs makes Luddite rebellion feel surprisingly relevant today. Join @dorianlynskey.bsky.social and @iandunt.bsky.social as they search for the true history of the Luddites. Listen / watch ➡️ linktr.ee/originstoryp...
The rejoin debate is focussed on the wrong things - whether opt outs from € and Schengen could be secured. Not whether it makes sense to join the EU of 2026 which is different in character and DNA than the club we left ten years ago. My latest for @theguardian.com www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The EU that the UK left no longer exists | Mujtaba Rahman
Andy Burnham’s rise has stoked talk of the terms for a future British return – but this is the wrong question, says political risk analyst Mujtaba Rahman
theguardian.com
Fascism on the march in Washington DC, on the US’s 250th anniversary. Shameful.
Rafael M Batista@rafmbatista.bsky.social · last mo.Patriot front marching from Union Station right now. White supremacist and neo-fascist organization. Cowards.
Europe needs to invest in AirCon manufacturing on a massive scale. Crazy that we rely on Japanese, Taiwanese, and Chinese companies for such a basic appliance.
Me (and lovely others) for @theconversation.com on how much things have changed in the last decade Spoiler: not much in EU policy theconversation.com/what-brexit-... @oupolitics.bsky.social @ou-gcsj.bsky.social @openuniversity.bsky.social
What Brexit has actually changed, ten years later – expert panel
It’s still more about ‘leave v remain’, rather than Britain’s place in a changing Europe
theconversation.com
Q. for you folks: who was the last UK PM to win an election after becoming a party leader in opposition and then be replaced as party leader after losing an election as PM?
