New on our Substack: The case for reforming the Westminster voting system has strengthened in recent years. It may plausibly happen now that Burnham is PM. @robfordmancs.bsky.social tells us about its necessary conditions. thepoliticalquarterly.substack.com/p/has-the-mo...

The 2026 local elections in Tower Hamlets produced one of the more striking results of the cycle. And it revealed why traditional campaigning can no longer detect the voters who end up deciding the outcome. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/the-vot...

New on our Substack: The rise to power of Andy Burnham, a vocal critic of first past the post, has put reform back on the political agenda. @robfordmancs.bsky.social explains what this means, and the necessary conditions for reform. thepoliticalquarterly.substack.com/p/has-the-mo...

Plaid Cymru's 2026 win marks a transformation of the Welsh political landscape. Anwen Elias asks: has the party finally come of age? politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/plaid-c...

Plaid Cymru Finally Comes of Age? Electoral Success and Political Transformation in the 2026 Senedd Election

Plaid Cymru's 2026 win marks a transformation of the Welsh political landscape. Has the party finally come of age?

politicalquarterly.org.uk

This is very good by @sundersays.bsky.social

Political Quarterly@politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 3d ago

Can Labour's immigration policy fuse control, contribution and compassion? @sundersays.bsky.social explores what a social democratic plan on immigration would mean for the new government. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1467923x...

Can Labour's immigration policy fuse control, contribution and compassion? @sundersays.bsky.social explores what a social democratic plan on immigration would mean for the new government. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/1467923x...

Does door-knocking influence an election result, or private Whatsapp groups and social media feeds? A first-hand account of the 2026 Tower Hamlets elections reveals why traditional campaigning can no longer detect the voters who decide the outcome. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/the-vot...

The Voters We Couldn't See

A first-hand account of the 2026 Tower Hamlets elections reveals why traditional campaigning can no longer detect the voters who decide the outcome.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

"Goodwin is aiming at a nerve that is triggered by feelings rather than verifiable evidence, and in that sense, it will not matter to many of the book’s most enthusiastic readers that so much of it reads like the ramblings of a pub bore."

Political Quarterly@politicalquarterly.bsky.social · last wk.

Interested in what Matt Goodwin's new book 'Suicide of a Nation' is like? "The ramblings of a pub bore", according to Stephen Coleman. We've published his journal review on our website, so it's free to read. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/review-...

“That is a constructive lesson to learn for politicians today: people weren't turning away from democracy as such; they were turning towards those who could paint a positive picture of the future.”

Political Quarterly@politicalquarterly.bsky.social · last wk.

"What people haven't really looked at is: why were the Nazis so popular in the first place?" Katja Hoyer's acclaimed book on Weimar tells the story of how ordinary people became witnesses, perpetrators, victims and bystanders in the Nazi regime. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/we-need...

It’s too scholarly to be a true hatchet job, but this is still a joy to read. Goodwin is “a drop-out from academic life who prefer[s] the public exercise of his own unedited anxieties to empirical rigour”. More of a scalpel job. Really good stuff

Political Quarterly@politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 4d ago

"Why is it that nationalists always have such poor memories?" asks this reviewer of Matt Goodwin's new book 'Suicide of a Nation'. "Perhaps this is not a book that should be judged on its empirical detail..." Read it now, for free, here: politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/review-...

The far right’s election breakthrough in eastern Germany is about more than protest, writes David Fleschen politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/germany...

Germany: What Alternative?

The far right’s election breakthrough in eastern Germany is about more than protest.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

Burnham has argued passionately against the first-past-the-post electoral system. But Proportional Representation may not protect the interests of ethnic minorities in the way that many people assume, argues LSE professor Tarunabh Khaitan. Find out more: politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/proport...

"Why is it that nationalists always have such poor memories?" asks this reviewer of Matt Goodwin's new book 'Suicide of a Nation'. "Perhaps this is not a book that should be judged on its empirical detail..." Read it now, for free, here: politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/review-...

Review: Suicide of a Nation. Immigration, Islam, Identity, by Matt Goodwin.

The ramblings of a pub bore.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

Free book review: 'Murky Water' lays bare some inner contradictions of the water and sewerage industry, offering the blueprint for a foundational water management system in the age of climate change. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/review-...

Review: Murky Water. Challenging an Unsustainable System, by Luca Calafati, Julie Froud, Colin Haslam, Sukhdev Johal and Karel Williams

Very murky waters indeed.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

What if PR doesn't benefit ethnic minorities? - It could harden societal cleavages - It could stop mainstream parties appealing to minorities - It could leave minorities represented but rarely governing. Find out more: politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/proport...

Proportional Representation may not Protect the Interests of Ethnic Minorities After all

The perils of Proportional Representation for ethnic minorities.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

"What people haven't really looked at is: why were the Nazis so popular in the first place?" Katja Hoyer's acclaimed book on Weimar tells the story of how ordinary people became witnesses, perpetrators, victims and bystanders in the Nazi regime. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/we-need...

"We Need to Understand how Ordinary People Gradually get Used to Extreme Ideologies": Interview with Katja Hoyer

Anya Pearson interviews Katja Hoyer, the German-British historian, journalist, and author whose acclaimed book Weimar: Life on the Edge of Catastrophe was published earlier this year. Drawing on...

politicalquarterly.org.uk

The far right’s election breakthrough in eastern Germany is about more than protest, writes David Fleschen politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/germany...

Germany: What Alternative?

The far right’s election breakthrough in eastern Germany is about more than protest.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

We've published a free book review of 'Hyperpolitics' - a newly revised, English-language version of Jäger's social history of the present moment, "and his findings are cogent" writes Katrina Cano. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/review-...

Review: Hyperpolitics. Extreme Politicization Without Political Consequences, by Anton Jäger

Today, politics is ubiquitous. Anton Jäger, a historian of the political, sensed this in the early 2020s. His friends echoed his sentiment, sharing that people they knew from their past as...

politicalquarterly.org.uk

Graph of the day. Proportional Representation may not protect the interests of ethnic minorities, as some have claimed. In fact, it can reward extremism. Taken from Tarunabh Khaitan’s recent article for PQ. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/proport...

Trump's Schedule F did not abolish the merit system. He changed who civil servants answer to – giving him political control while retaining administrative expertise. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/trump-d...

Next month, I'm going to be launching my new @bloomsburybooksuk.bsky.social book at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social! Speakers include the voice of Radio 4 Carolyn Quinn, @politicalquarterly.bsky.social's Ben Jackson and a MYSTERY Scottish politician. Do come! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/now-or-nev...

Now or Never! The First Scottish Referendum and its Legacy, 1979-2026

Join us at the Mile End Institute to celebrate Tom Chidwick’s new book Now or Never! A History of the First Scottish Devolution Referendum.

eventbrite.co.uk

The Greens' recent success is not the product of a single political moment, writes @jamesrdennison.bsky.social. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/from-pr...

I don't have a hard position on PR, mainly because of this kind of analysis by an LSE colleague. Ive always liked the idea of proportional fairness but that might not work for everyone.

Political Quarterly@politicalquarterly.bsky.social · last wk.

Burnham has argued passionately against the first-past-the-post electoral system. But Proportional Representation may not protect the interests of ethnic minorities in the way that many people assume, argues LSE professor Tarunabh Khaitan. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/proport...

Burnham has argued passionately against the first-past-the-post electoral system. But Proportional Representation may not protect the interests of ethnic minorities in the way that many people assume, argues LSE professor Tarunabh Khaitan. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/proport...

Proportional Representation may not Protect the Interests of Ethnic Minorities After all

The perils of Proportional Representation for ethnic minorities.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

After Andy Burnham recently revealing more details about a proposed shake-up of adult social care, we've unearthed an article in our journal dating from 1960 lamenting that "there is no policy for old age". Interesting similarities between then and now: politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/from-ou...

From Our Archive: A Policy for Old Age

An article published in 1960 considers how social services for older people should be improved.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

Interested in what Matt Goodwin's new book 'Suicide of a Nation' is like? "The ramblings of a pub bore", according to Stephen Coleman. We've published his journal review on our website, so it's free to read. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/review-...

Review: Suicide of a Nation. Immigration, Islam, Identity, by Matt Goodwin.

The ramblings of a pub bore.

politicalquarterly.org.uk

Important to remember that we’ve been here before! How we could make reform actually happen this time? Done great advice from @robfordmancs.bsky.social

Political Quarterly@politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 2w ago

@robfordmancs.bsky.social gives us a run-down of the necessary conditions for electoral reform's success: - A legislative majority for change in principle - A legislative majority for a specific change proposal - A means for securing public consent. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

An irony of private equity is that it undermines the institutions that capitalism (or at least the version of capitalism we’ve grown used to) relies on, argues Hettie O'Brien. Her new book explores an industry that could explode the financial system. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/if-you-...

“If you Delivered Public Services in a way That Truly Works for the Public, Private Equity Funds Wouldn't be Interested”: Interview with Hettie O’Brien

Anya Pearson interviews Hettie O’Brien about her new book 'The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against Itself'

politicalquarterly.org.uk

@robfordmancs.bsky.social gives us a run-down of the necessary conditions for electoral reform's success: - A legislative majority for change in principle - A legislative majority for a specific change proposal - A means for securing public consent. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

"In an enterprise such as the water industry, nearly all issues have a technical aspect and, even more important... a political aspect" An article published in 1981 – before water privatisation – explores how the water resources should be managed. politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/from-ou...

From Our Archive: Politics or Technocracy? The Regional Water Authorities

Before water companies in England were privatised in 1989, an article originally published in 1981 asks whether the management of water resources should be handled by elected democratic politicians…

politicalquarterly.org.uk