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Politics at Southampton @sotonpolitics.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

We'll be at @psaepop.bsky.social #epop2026 this week in Liverpool, with ten colleagues involved in 14 presentations over the two days. Come along and say hi!

The list of PAIR colleagues presenting on Friday 18 September:

09.30-11.00 (TR 5) Immigration, Citizenship & Public Attitudes
Will Allen: Visualization Choices About Refugees Have Delimited Impacts Along Partisan Lines

Will Allen: Immigrant Occupational Essentialness and Preferences for Welfare Redistribution

09.30-11.00 (TR 4) Affective Polarisation & Political Emotions
Lala Muradova: Regulating Emotions and Affective Polarization

11.30-13.00 (TR 4) Gender, Disability & Candidate Evaluation
Jessica C. Smith: A Turning Point for Women? A Systematic Review of Voter Bias against Women Candidates

Stuart J. Turnbull-Dugarte: Do Women Make the Far Right More Acceptable (and Therefore Electable)?

11.30-13.00 (TR 5) Parliament, Knowledge & Public Trust
Chris Butler: Citizens’ Knowledge of Parliament and Their Sources of Knowledge

Will Jennings (attending co-author): How Well Do Politicians Understand Levels of Political Trust in Their Country?

Saturday 19 September (morning)
09.30-11.00 (Flex 2) The 2025–26 Elections in Britain & Ireland
John Kenny: Candidate Authenticity and the 2025 Irish Presidential Election

09.30-11.00 (LT 3) Economic Voting & Political Accountability
Will Jennings: An Experimental Test of the Costs of Governing

11.30-13.00 (TR 4) Measuring Political Attitudes & Behaviour
Rob Johns: Upgrading the Standard Measures of Left-Right and Libertarian-Authoritarian Attitudes

11.30-13.00 (Flex 1) Radical-Right and Populist Trajectories
Daniel Devine (attending co-author): Where Did You Come From, Where Did You Go? The Trajectories of Radical Right Support in Britain

Saturday 19 September (afternoon)
14.00-15.30 (Flex 1) Occupation, Status & Political Values
Stuart J. Turnbull-Dugarte: Small Men

16.00-17.30 (TR 5) Mental Health, Psychological Traits & Political Persuasion
Rob Johns (attending co-author): Public Perceptions of Politicians with Mental Health Problems in the UK

16.00-17.30 (Flex 2) Democratic Institutions, Innovations & Citizen Voices
Paul Kindermann: Politicising Democratic Innovations? Evidence on the Divided Public Resonance of Mini-Publics

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Daniel Sugarman @danielsugarman.bsky.social · 08/09/2026

This Neo-Nazi is attempting to target RNLI volunteers. The police have to act, and the Prime Minister should be making a public statement.

Neo Nazi attempts to target RNLI volunteers

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Anna Orridge @anna-orridge.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Pay very careful attention to the difference between the press's reaction to this and the actions of groups like XR and JSO, which also disrupted traffic sometimes.

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Very surprised and delighted that my lead-authored article with @robfordmancs.bsky.social & @martamiori.bsky.social has won the BJPIR John Peterson Best Article Prize for 2025! If only I could find a uni to employ me I would keep trying to produce research at this level 🤣

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

New publication: I've been interested in how male and female politicians differ in their attitudes towards whether parties should emphasise their differences or try to work collaboratively having picked up such a gendered difference among politicians I interviewed for a project on political trust

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John Munro @johnmunro.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Thinking today of all the water-absorbing front gardens torn out and paved over to park cars on - all without any government oversight or regulation.

bbc.co.uk

Birmingham weather warning as 'significant flooding' leads to fire service callouts

Heavy rain creates problems for residents, with flood alerts in place on Thursday across the region.

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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

There has been a significant breakdown of anti-racism norms in British politics and it’s impossible not to see a connection with how X has changed as a platform and the unwillingness of gatekeepers in Westminster to speak up.

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Professor Daniele Albertazzi @dralbertazziuk.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Farage’s biggest achievement was convincing Labour that "Red Wall" voters are a monolith who hate asylum seekers and care workers, despise local universities, and reject culture. Labour swallowed a caricature of working-class communities whole—and rebuilt their entire strategy around it.

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

I had totally forgotten I had a website until I received a large bill for renewing its hosting 🙄

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Tom Holbrook @thomholbrook.bsky.social · 25/07/2026

Quarter of a million people now fleeing out of control wildfires in France and Spain, and it is still acceptable for leaders of apparently mainstream political parties (Badenoch, Trump, Farage) to deny climate science, cheered on by the Murdoch press.

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Guy Shrubsole @guyshrubsole.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

We can now see the smoke from the Canadian wildfires in the UK. Meanwhile, the rightwing press are pushing for more drilling in the North Sea, and Badenoch is banning Tory candidates who support net zero. Cool cool bsky.app/profile/meto...

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

What is the point of VAR if it doesn’t exist overrule the ref here?

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

It might be briefly amusing to imagine Farage losing to a joke candidate, but Clacton has many deprived constituents who would benefit from an MP’s office that is good at casework. It really would be better if a serious candidate won

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Tim Smith-Laing @timsmith-laing.com · 16/06/2026

Linguist here! Love this skeet. Couple of really nice US-UK language differences here. A little primer for the curious: 'interesting' US = 'wrong and stupid' UK 'somewhat' US = 'not at all, not one bit, actively not' UK If you enjoyed this guide, please subscribe and retweet!

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 14/06/2026

Interesting. Here’s another thought - how about we try and stop social media platforms inciting riots in the first place? 🤦‍♂️

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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Yes to all of this, but also let's not forget Jeremy Hunt, laying a trap (that Labour shouldn't have walked into) that basically salted the earth and has left the country weaker and less able to defend itself as an electoral gimmick

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Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 11/06/2026

Perhaps Tony Gallagher might like to let us know if his view is that 8000 migrants a year in Northern Ireland is a level that justifies firebombing houses.

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Jonn Elledge @jonnelledge.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

If you're gonna pick a group to compensate for their treatment by government why not pick one that did acrually face financial disadvantage without notice, like Plan 2 graduates? As opposed to "some people who had many years' notice but didn't open some letters"

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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

A reminder that Brazil banned Twitter for failing to stop the spreading of disinformation. There is nothing stopping the British government from doing the same.

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Didn’t the government temporarily suspend blackberry messenger during the 2011 riots or am I misremembering?

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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Nadhim Zahawi describes Nowak as someone "who lost his life because of incompetence". Greg Dyke points out that nobody is saying the mistake by police caused the death. Phillips intervenes with "nobody knows". A lack of basic research on a very sensitive topic. Paragraph 16 of sentencing remarks:

The pathologist, Amanda Jeffrey, found 1200 ml, or over 2 pints, of blood there.
She said that no emergency medical treatment would have permitted access to
the bleeding vein. In simple terms, he would not have survived, however quickly
he received first aid, CPR or expert medical treatment.

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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

A reminder of what Nigel Farage said following the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving police officer.

We must not allow the tragic murder of a
young woman turn into attacks on men
and attacks on the police

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 22/05/2026

I am proud to play with Arthur as with all my trans teammates. This guidance is horrifically short-sighted and dehumanising. We cannot let this pass without a fight.

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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 15/05/2026

If you totted up the sums for every financial scandal in British politics (£2k per parliamentary question for cash-for-questions, £200k for Johnson’s No 10 renovation, the cost of that very nice campervan) even with second tier stuff like Rayner and Polanski, would you get close to £5mn *in total*?

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Jo Kibble (Political Animal) @politicanimal.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

As an act of mayoral solidarity, perhaps Sadiq could post one of these to Andy.

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

The briefings that Starmer is ready to run really echo Portillo & the phone lines in ‘95. He choked, only Redwood challenged and Major clung on. Perhaps we’ll see a repeat 30 years on?

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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

To add, perhaps, to Rob's argument... separate Kingston, Richmond and Sutton from the rest of London and compare 2006 and 2026. In those three strongholds they're up from 93 seats to 149, in the rest of London they're down from 224 to 94.

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 12/05/2026

Guys I don’t know about you but given how exhausting this all is maybe we should just give Chaos with Ed Miliband a go?

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Rob Blackie @robblackie.bsky.social · 09/05/2026

Not much noticed yet but the Green belief that they are the biggest Lambeth party depends on Saiqa Ali remaining as a Green party councillor.

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Rob Blackie @robblackie.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Lambeth Green party are still delivering leaflets featuring their candidates who are accused of anti-semitism.

Leaflet delivered in Clapham today featuring Mark Bittlestone

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Steve 🏳️‍🌈🇬🇧 @wohyeahwohyeah.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

Also as a father he should be more worried if he's daughter commit crimes serious enough to end up in prison in the first place.

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Matthew Holehouse @matthewholehouse.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Odd to recall that Starmer’s critique of the state has hitherto been that it is too slow, too risk averse, too procedural, too obstructive, too lacking in initiative.. “a cottage industry of blockers and checkers…” “you pull a lever and nothing happens..”

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Arthur Webber 🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈 @bernietranders.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

My book is out now!! Jacob’s Transition Goals is a positive, hopeful story about an 8 year old transgender boy who loves football. In today’s political climate, trans joy is so needed - you should grab a copy! You can buy Jacob’s Transition Goals in LGBTQ+ bookshops and online all over the world

Arthur outside Gay’s The Word holding Jacob’s Transition Goals

Arthur inside Gay’s The Word holding a copy of Jacob’s Transition Goals

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 12/04/2026

Just popping on here to ask a) does his name actually translate as Peter Hungary? & b) who are his candidates? Are many of them ex-Fidesz?

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Phil Brickell MP @philbrickellmp.bsky.social · 10/04/2026

The Telegraph just gave a convicted criminal a two-page spread to explain why he's pumping £4 million into Reform UK. They tucked his criminal record away in the small print. So as a former financial crime specialist I’ll do their job for them👇

telegraph.co.uk

You are seeing this page because our security systems have detected some unusual activity on this connection. To regain access to The Telegraph website please try the following:

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Alice Lilly @aliceolilly.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Lots of debate on here about what MPs do, how exposed they are to the problems people in experience in their day-to-day lives, and what they can do to change policy - here is something I wrote to try and shed a bit of light on that

politicshome.com

Casework Crisis: Increase In Constituency Caseload Takes Its Toll

The inexorable growth in casework is stopping MPs from fulfilling their other roles. Alice Lilly sifts through the inbox looking for what might be ...

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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

Perhaps an unpopular take, but I hate it when MPs are described as out of touch. They meet a greater variety of different people than 99% of the population, often in order to hear their complaints. They think far harder about issues than ordinary voters do.

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Smooth Dunk @smoothdunk2.bsky.social · 16/04/2025

right winger getting cancelled vs. trans person getting cancelled

4 panel comic titled Right Winger getting cancelled

Panel 1: Newspaper headline: I HAVE BEEN CANCELLED.
Subheading: Bront Fondant speaks exclusively to the Times.

Panel 2: Bront Fondant speaking on BBC Radio: “…Forced into silence”

Panel 3: Bront Fondant talking to Sky News: “Unseen. Unheard.”

Panel 4: Bront Fondant giving a speech in front of a huge audience. He screams “CONDEMNED to live in OBSCURITY”

4 panel comic titled Trans Person Getting Cancelled

Panel 1: Is empty

Panel 2: Is empty

Panel 3: Is empty

Panel 4: Is empty

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Political Studies @polstudies.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Is partner partisanship associated with vote choice? @cerifowler.bsky.social finds that it was for the 2016 Brexit Referendum & subsequent elections in the UK & argues that this can help us understand gender gaps in vote choice. Read OPEN ACCESS: buff.ly/D8Fdnbw @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social #polsky

buff.ly

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

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Henry Mance @henrymance.ft.com · 18/03/2026

congratulations to Viktor Orbán's father on his house, which raises no questions at all as.ft.com/r/e20a43e6-e...

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Ralph Scott @ralphscott.bsky.social · 16/03/2026

This seems like a relatively unprecedented aspect of our new fragmented politics - politicians of the same party who barely know one another yet are forming administrations

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👻 Jack Djinn Wail 🧞 @jacktindale.bsky.social · 12/03/2026

The best thing about this is that of the three headline speakers about young people "moving to the right", at least two of them recently lost an election to the Green Party.

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 10/03/2026

And what is the EU going to say about this?

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

But Trump's no FDR.

Telegraph front page: 'Starmer is no Churchill'

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Parody Nigel Farage @parodypm.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

"We called London a war zone and moved to Dubai by mistake"

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Pleased to see this work with @rozemarijnvandijk.bsky.social @martamiori.bsky.social & @robfordmancs.bsky.social published: We look at the effects of involving party members in candidate selection at the 2019 UK general election: eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com?url=https%3A...

eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com

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Chris Butler @chrisbutlerpol.bsky.social · 28/02/2026

Finchley has a large Iranian Christian community and they’ve taken over the high street in joyous celebration

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