(Swiss) politicians are bad at knowing what voters actually want. There is a clear conservatism bias: Political elites systematically perceive voters as more conservative than they really are, irrespective of the actual policy debate (e.g., raising retirement age) www.defacto.expert/2026/07/28/s...

It’s not out for another six months or so, but *Electoral Realignment: How Brexit Reshaped British Voting Behaviour*, my book with Ed Fieldhouse, @profjanegreen.bsky.social , Geoff Evans, @jack-bailey.co.uk and @jonmellon.bsky.social, is up on the OUP website! global.oup.com/academic/pro...

This would be the most important local finance reform since Elizabeth I. Finally introducing local revenue sources that aren't property taxes will ensure places really benefit from local growth - more jobs and/or higher wages in a place will translate into more investment and services:

Brian Groom@groomb.bsky.social · 2w ago

Burnham plans to give England's 14 regional and metro mayors a share of income tax revenue to spend on their cities. Unclear whether this will need legislation, or whether 'equalisation measures' will be needed to prevent poorer regions from losing out.

DPIR's @benansell.bsky.social argues in @prospectmagazine.co.uk Labour spent years trying to win over voters it could never keep—and alienated ones it already had. The real battle isn’t left vs right. It’s understanding what the electorate actually wants: https://f.mtr.cool/pgcjiqcony

What an incredible huddle that is

A strong and competent UK state would sweep in here and grab every PhD student we can find. Alas, no such state exists and we won't bother doing anything, as usual.

Ben Allen@evodynamics.bsky.social · 3w ago

Congrats we just made it impossible to come here for a PhD www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/16/m...

The Brits’ neuralgia about the Germans is about to go into overdrive johnkampfner.substack.com/p/is-a-germa...

Is a German about to save the English?

The painful irony after 60 years of hurt

johnkampfner.substack.com

Today His Majesty The King officially opened the Stephen A. Schwarzman Centre for the Humanities at Oxford University - the largest building project ever undertaken by the Uni. Find out more ⬇️ https://bit.ly/3SUeq94

The irony of this man talking about his safety being under threat by investigative journalism when he actively stokes race riots.

As usual, Anton says it best: "the desiccation of the mass-party capillary structures that once connected elected governments to local supporters has weakened rulers’ ability to forge hegemonic cross-class blocs or mobilize support for long-term business strategies" newleftreview.org/issues/ii159...

No.10 North is a good example of a symbol: it works literally and figuratively at once. As I wrote last week: "Perhaps Burnham the English Lit graduate grasps that politics needs to be conducted in metaphors and symbols as well as metrics & stats." www.newstatesman.com/comment/2026...

Jane Green@profjanegreen.bsky.social · last mo.

Number 10 North is strategic, policy-wise, but I think it will probably be more important for its ‘symbolic politics’. Making voters in the north feel more represented because of a tangible, high profile political symbol. These symbols emphasised by @ffaucher.bsky.social.

Some news: Based on work out of the @wzb.bsky.social earlier this year Nourhan Elsayed, Hanno Hilbig, Sascha Riaz, & I published this on how communist era schooling in Germany affects attitudes today in the "British Journal of Political Science." A quick summary www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

@britishelectionstudy.com Director Prof Ed Fieldhouse here explaining the Brexit realignment with insights from our new forthcoming book … please check it out! blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...

Brexit is still shaping British politics | LSE British Politics

Brexit is no longer front of mind for voters, but the values and identities that they organised around in the run up to the referendum still shape how they vote.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

was looking for something else Brexit-related but ended up stumbling upon some copy I filed for the Evening Standard do please join me in spotting the date of the email, then the opening line, then running head first at a wall

We're delighted that Professor Helen Margetts OBE FBA FAcSS, a world renowned expertise in AI, technology, public policy, and democracy, has been appointed as Professor of Political Science and Public Policy in the LSE Department of Government and Director of the Data Science Institute 🙌

Professor Helen Margetts OBE FPA | Data Science Institute

Find out more about Professor Helen Margetts research on the relationship between technology, politics, public policy and government.

lse.ac.uk

What a wonderful few days in Belfast for #EPSS2026 and what a fantastic community! Thank you to everyone who joined the conference with such enthusiasm A special thanks to @simonhix.bsky.social @kenbenoit.bsky.social @macartan.bsky.social & the rest of the EPSS Council for making it all possible

Britain's strategic goal should be to rejoin the EU. But to have a chance, the British have first to understand it. And start a marathon of democratic persuasion… www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

If the UK wants to rejoin the European Union, it first needs to understand it | Timothy Garton Ash

A full return will require a marathon of democratic persuasion, on the continent as much as in Britain. For one side holds most of the cards, says Guardian columnist Timothy Garton Ash

theguardian.com

🚨New article🎉 ➡️ Parliamentary power in early representative assemblies: evidence from XVII century England, published at @JHPE_journal and co-authored with Tom Paskhalis www.emerald.com/jhpe/article... (1/n)

Parliamentary power in early representative assemblies: evidence from XVII century England

The patterns of behaviour of representatives in early parliaments have not received much attention in the political science literature. In this article, we bring in new data and propose several theore...

emerald.com

🚨 What happens with voters when politicians use simpler language? New @thejop.bsky.social paper with @rsenninger.bsky.social: simple language changes not just what citizens understand, but who they think politicians are. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...

Can Simple Language Affect Voters’ Political Knowledge and Their Beliefs About Politicians? | The Journal of Politics: Vol 0, No 0

How does the level of sophistication in political messages affect citizens? While research has examined how politicians use this element to distinguish themselves, little is known about how it resonat...

journals.uchicago.edu

The 2026 update brings you 130 new research articles on the #RadicalRight. Here’s to the people who wrote these, and especially to 7 super-productive super-contributors: Marianna Griffini, Luca Manucci, @mattiazulianello.bsky.social, 1/2

Hot references summer: the 2026 update of the radical right bibliography is here - kai arzheimer

Voting! Gender! Normalisation! 130 new pieces on the far right for you

kai-arzheimer.com

Speaking in Madrid yesterday, Pope Leo XIV stated: "I encourage you to nurture the process of the European Union, which is not merely a counterweight to other powers, but a gift to humanity."

I explain why Labours vote is splintering left, why the Tories lost so much to Reform, how the latter are more vulnerable than assumed, why we cannot know if Burnham would improve Labours ratings as PM. BUT …. the ways it *could* potentially happen.

UK in a Changing Europe@ukandeu.bsky.social · 2mo ago

💥 NEW PODCAST 💥 On this episode of the UK in a Changing Europe podcast, @anandmenon.bsky.social is joined by @profjanegreen.bsky.social for a discussion on all the latest in British politics 🎧 Listen now ukandeu.ac.uk/podcasts/pol...

Social capital was meant to be #democracy's bulwark. It isn't (not on its own) My brand new research with @pedrofierroz.bsky.social, @fcorowe.bsky.social & @Helsper in JRS shows that bonding social capital fuelled the #Trump swing. Bridging #SocialCapital blunted it. doi.org/10.1111/jors...

Currently on an interesting tour with my new book across Germany and very surprised how much love, affection and interest there still is for Britain and its ppl. We haven’t forgotten you ! Really enjoying it, and actually quite moving.

This new tool from the Commons library, allowing you to see the wards and parishes in any constituency, is fantastic: commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri...

Constituency data: Wards and parishes

Explore which electoral wards, civil parishes and communities are part of your constituency, including an interactive map

commonslibrary.parliament.uk

2% of LE26 Labour voters consider voting for Reform at the next election. Less than 1% of Reform voters consider Labour. Yet, Labour continues to target exactly those voters. Literally, politics for the 1%. Meanwhile, 42% of Lab voters consider the Greens. After already having lost tons to them.

I am very excited to be returning to LSE and joining @lsepublicpolicy.bsky.social. Eager to help develop this already fantastic policy school, co-teach with @alicirone.bsky.social, and launch a new course on "Designing Democracy”.

LSE School of Public Policy@lsepublicpolicy.bsky.social · 3mo ago

We’re delighted to announce that Simon Hix will join the LSE School of Public Policy as Professor of Political Science in January 2027. Full announcement: https://ow.ly/iKS250Z24uS

6 years ago, I started asking a question that political science had largely ignored: how & why do women get involved in PRR parties as grassroots members? Today, my 1st book proposes an answer. Grassroots Women in the Populist Radical Right is now out online with OUP: academic.oup.com/book/62754

Grassroots Women in the Populist Radical Right

Abstract. This book investigates women’s involvement as members of populist radical right (PRR) parties. The latter have long been characterised as ‘men’s

academic.oup.com

I remember Keir Starmer saying we should be at the “heart of Europe” as if it were only last week.

John Self@john-self.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Why does Keir Starmer look like he's just hoisted his bosom while gossiping with Cissie Braithwaite?

Still some imperfections with this but I've updated my local elections explorer to have (a) all county level wards, (b) bloc politics as an option, (c) more demographics, and (d) ability to control for other variables on the scatterplot. And the new URL is below. 1/n benwansell.github.io/le2026/

Ben Ansell@benansell.bsky.social · 3mo ago

I know the local elections were seven hundred years ago in Labour-time but I thought I'd share a little app I made that lets you look at the English ward results on a map and compared to various Census demographics. Warning the map takes a while to load. 1/n benwansell.github.io/local-electi...