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Maria Sobolewska

@profsob.bsky.social
7.2K followers 1.4K following 705 posts

Professor of Political Science at Manchester University. British politics, race and ethnicity, representation.

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Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
Peter Geoghegan @petergeoghegan.bsky.social · 5h
Here's the full story that the Tony Blair Institute doesn't want to answer questions about, on Democracy for Sale
democracyforsale.substack.com
Tony’s minor tantrum: how Blair’s institute responded to fresh “cash for access” questions
We asked TBI about allegations of £500,000 corporate memberships and a logo that vanished at Labour conference. They said they’re not talking to us anymore
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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 7h
Given many UK universities' decision to jettison Arts and Humanities (and some Social Science) subjects, it's interesting to see that top-ranking global universities tend to rank highly in these areas. MIT (ranked 2nd globally here) is ranked 1st in both Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences.
timeshighereducation.com
World University Rankings 2027: results announced
Asian universities’ resumed upward trajectory takes them past mainland Europe for the first time, as reputational lustre protects US and UK for now
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Dr Stylite @columnist.bsky.social · 7h
I was writing the section of my paper on the Syrian-Greek philosopher Damascius’ quest to find what comes before thought and his eureka-like discovery of the idea of potentiality in his blank writing tablet, and I immediately thought of Andy Burnham’s speech and the last 10 years of UK politics…
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Alan Renwick @alanrenwick.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Immediate thoughts on Andy Burnham's announcement today of a national commission on electoral reform. Doing this process well will be really important. theconversation.com/if-he-wants-...
theconversation.com
If he wants to secure legitimacy for electoral reform, Andy Burnham must stick to these rules
Involving both the public and all parties in shaping reforms on how they vote will be crucial.
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UCL Constitution Unit @conunitucl.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
'The electoral system is the very heart of our democracy. Any decisions about it need to be taken with the greatest possible care.' Our Director, @alanrenwick.bsky.social, has written for @uk.theconversation.com about today's announcement of a National Commission on Electoral Reform. Read it 👇
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Duncan Robinson @duncanrobinson.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Weird you can whack a PM yet still be beholden to a random PDF. Committed to a document with a massive picture of Keir Starmer on the front of it
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Roman Sheremeta @rshereme.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Horrific video out of Kyiv shows scientists and researchers jumping out of windows after a russian strike on Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences.
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Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Oh dear. Ted Lasso and I have the same three favourite emojis 🤞🤷🏼‍♀️🙈 I need to branch out
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Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
The piece that contains this… “Strategists like David Shor have developed a robust theory that explains how rising affluence reshaped American electoral politics towards precisely the “post-materialist” future long sketched out by the political scientist, Ronald Inglehart.”
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Zecharias Zelalem @zekuzelalem.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
UPDATE: As war rages on in Ethiopia, @netblocks.org has confirmed what it calls a "subnational internet disruption," in the country's north. Phone/internet is disrupted across the Tigray region. A very bad sign. Comms blackouts in our region are typically implemented when atrocities are planned.
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
But most people told they had 10-15 year path to settlement would lose their legal status by 2030-31. Mahmood's draft policy was remigration by stealth for about a million people - by accident? By design? Just exempting care workers would be a Burnham remigration by stealth plan for 250k people.
Few of those offered a hypothetical 15-year wait in principle will be able to stay long enough to qualify in practice. Those who do not earn the £50,000 salary needed to meet new visa renewal rules in 2030 would have to leave.

The vocal demand of the champi­ons of “remigration” on the political right is that what they call the “Bo­riswave” must be made to leave. Without significant changes, the gov­ernment’s own proposals are a recipe for mass remigration by stealth. How far that was by design or unwitting accident has never been quite clear.

Exempting care workers from the new settlement rules protects three-quarters of those who could have been forced out – but leaves 250,000 other workers at risk of losing their legal status.
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James Breckwoldt @jamesbreckwoldt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This is a great article and I think accurately gets at the place the Lib Dems are in electorally. Highly recommended lunch time reading 👇
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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Can anyone explain to me why this article doesn't mention anywhere that small boat crossings are down 42% from last year? That doesn't mean it's not an issue 781 people arrived in one day. But it seems like the sort of context a reputable news source might mention www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
No 'switch' to stop small boats, Lucy Powell tells BBC
Labour's deputy leader was speaking to BBC local radio ahead of the party's annual conference
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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 24/09/2026
"Shabana Mahmood is the cabinet minister responsible for the UK’s policing and its national security – as well, of course, as managing the country’s borders…I include this reminder because Mahmood increasingly seems to be operating under the assumption that her job only concerns the latter."
thenewworld.co.uk
If Shabana Mahmood is tough, why is she so slow to crack down on Danny Tommo and the far right?
Weeks of what looks like blatant lawbreaking have finally resulted in an arrest. But the home secretary seems happy to look elsewhere
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EPOP @psaepop.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
We are delighted to announce that Paul Whiteley of @uniessexgov.bsky.social has been awarded the 2026 Sir David Butler Prize for his lifetime contribution to the study of elections, public opinion and parties. The prize was presented at #EPOP2026 last week.
Paul Whiteley announced as winner of 2026 Sir David Butler Prize
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Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte @turnbulldugarte.com · 23/09/2026
Today is Bisexual visibility day. Remember to take special care of all the Bisexual Kings in your life. They are far more susceptible to penalties on the dating market than Bisexual Queens.... Girls can kiss girls, but boys can't kiss boys. @ejprjournal.bsky.social doi.org/10.1017/S147...
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Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
As we know nostalgia for a “golden era” past drives support for Reform, so return to Dickensian England is entirely consistent with this
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Steve Peers @stevepeers.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Think-tank linked to Reform Party suggests abolition of state pension to fund tax cuts for wealthy people www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Thinktank linked to Reform UK calls for abolition of state pension
‘Radical’ report likely to influence party’s platform also proposes abolishing inheritance and capital gains taxes
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Emma Yeomans @yeomans.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Worrying scenes in the Channel today, for all interested in asylum policy and maritime tactics. A small boat from Normandy spent more than 30 hours at sea. Those on board now on their 2nd rescue vessel as Border Force forced to play cat and mouse with far-right activists who have their own boat.
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sianushka.bsky.social @sianushka.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Asylum seeking people don’t have the freedom to work, they don’t even have the freedom to shop using cash or choose where to shop, in temp accommodation they don’t have the freedom to cook or choose their own food - honestly this headline is batshit
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Dan Neidle @danneidle.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Nick Candy and Holly Valance. Britain’s most expensive house. A £265m sale. Usual consequence: £32m of stamp duty. But five small flats were included in the sale. By an extraordinary happy accident, that cut the tax by £18.5m. The curious sale of Nick Candy’s mansion A 🧵:
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Thousands of university jobs lost too, and barely a peep either.
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Simon Weschle @simonweschle.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
"a different doctorate"
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Richard Corbett CBE @richardcorbett.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Just 4 months after the local elections, Reform UK (RefUK) have lost 158 of their local councillors: -55 resigned -42 went Independent -28 defected -24 were kicked out -5 lost their seats -2 disqualified -2 suspended. Appalling record - and a waste of taxpayers’ money!
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Emiliano Mellino @mellino.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
The UK government is making upwards of £4.9bn in profit from visa fees, citizenship fees & the immigration health surcharge. Meanwhile, people are getting into thousands of pounds of debt or going without food just to afford to these immigration fees. www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2026...
thebureauinvestigates.com
Government makes £5bn a year from immigration fees while applicants…
Home Office’s fees are up to 10 times the processing cost – and rising every year
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Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This article is absolutely fascinating but not sure about the conclusion that SUVs are out of favour with this crowd. Certainly not where I live. Even the ultimate arsehole potential of Tesla doesn’t appeal enough I don’t think to replace a huge 4x4
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Jo Wolff @jowolff.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
What surprises me is that people who have left Britain for the sake of their own greed still feel entitled to express an opinion about the country.
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Nicola Kelly @nicolakellywrites.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I have spent weeks shadowing the RNLI and I can tell you, they do it out of nothing more than compassion. Wrote about the heroes I've met over the years in this free-to-read post. nicolakelly.substack.com/p/the-rnli-a...
nicolakelly.substack.com
The RNLI aren't traitors; they're heroes
I have spent weeks shadowing lifeboat crews. Here's what they do and what it's like.
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Sara Hobolt @sarahobolt.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Excited to be going to #EPOP2026 @psaepop.bsky.social in Liverpool to discuss all things election related! If you're at EPOP, join us for the Roundtable on the 10-year Brexit anniversary on Saturday 11:30am with the fabulous @profsob.bsky.social, Ed Fieldhouse & Geoff Evans
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Pete Fraser @petefrasermusic.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
In the movie version of this, after Piddington runs out of food water and money as a result of leaving the UK, the residents apply for asylum and end up housed in a military base, with HILARIOUS consequences. www.bbc.com/news/article...
bbc.com
Piddington in Oxfordshire votes to leave UK over asylum plans
Piddington residents voted over proposals to house up to 1,256 male asylum seekers nearby
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
bsky.app/profile/sund...
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Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The large asylum bases are a v slow costly and v high profile polarising way to propose something that probably won't happen. They make a marginal difference to the challenge of clearing hotels & processing claims. There are many better approaches that defuse rather than amplify the issue
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Jonathan Portes @jdportes.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
It's a rare policy that would be welcomed by both business and trade unions - and at the same time would *improve* the UK's fiscal position. Dropping these proposals - for which there is no economic, moral or political case - would be one. www.ft.com/content/8a00...
ft.com
Unions demand softening of UK immigration reforms
Proposals will ‘punish’ low-paid migrants doing essential work in public services and create a new staffing crisis in social care, says motion passed at TUC
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EPSS @epssnet.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
📢 The Call for Papers for EPSS 2027 is open! After a fantastic first conference in Belfast, we’re heading to Copenhagen 🇩🇰, 24–26 June 2027. ⏰ Deadline: 13 Nov 2026 👉 Call for papers: epssnet.org/2027-copenha... 1/2
epssnet.org
Call for Papers | EPSS Belfast 2026 Conference
Submit your abstract or full paper for EPSS Belfast 2026. Share cutting‑edge political science research, network with peers & contribute to academic impact.
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
This is really good!
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Lewis Baston @lewisbaston.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
The comparison with tax avoidance schemes is an interesting one (I say as someone queasy about retrospective legislation). Most tax avoidance contrivances banned in this way were/ are breaches of the ‘don’t take the piss’ principle. And so, arguably, are mega-donations to political parties.
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Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Great news! @psaepop.bsky.social
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Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
For political scientists headed to Liverpool for EPOP this week (and anyone else interested!), @bjpols.bsky.social has made a collection of articles available on elections, public opinion and parties free to read...
cambridge.org
EPOP collection
EPOP collection
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Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 14/09/2026
NEW from @govandopp.bsky.social - Culture Trumps Class and Place: How the Populist Radical Right Thrives on Sociocultural Conflicts in Western Europe - cup.org/4r7YUnb - @mirkocrulli.bsky.social & Gianluca Piccolino #OpenAccesss
Logo of "Government & Opposition" journal with the hashtag OpenAccess on a black and red background.
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Erik Angner @erikangner.com · 14/09/2026
Good morning from Sweden 🇸🇪 where people have suffered the biggest electoral nail biter that I can remember 🧵
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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 12/09/2026
Maybe they'll introduce a cap just when Reform don't need any more cash.... www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
Reform UK given record £36m donation by British crypto billionaire
Ben Delo was convicted in US for failing to implement adequate anti-money laundering controls but pardoned by Trump
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Easy to donate: rnli.org/support-us/g...
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
"Brexit wasn't racist"
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Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Truly disgusting social media post from one of Brexit's most influential backers.
Arron Banks 

Going through Heathrow today, there wasn't one
white face in security or airport services. The
Home office is staffed by the type of people we
are trying to keep out! What hope?
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dawn of the debb @debbshock.blue · 10/09/2026
oh my god everybody WAS kung fu fighting
a little frog fighting a small alligator?
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Leftback @leftback.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Well at least we've heard the worst of this story oh wait the mob got into the hotel onto the floor the players were on and were knocking on bedroom doors. I think I'm moving to rage now. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Group entered hotel of Pakistan cricketers mistaken for migrants
Protesters congregated at a Portsmouth hotel after false rumours that a coach of migrants had arrived.
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Heather Stewart @guardianheather.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
“The idea that you could be here for the next 10, 15 years and you’d still have no legal right to remain in the country … how the hell do you plan?..It cuts across any effort to integrate at all.” www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
theguardian.com
‘Fundamentally unfair’: Burnham must overhaul migration reforms, says TUC general secretary
Paul Nowak says changes to immigration rules risk overstretching social care and fuelling far-right sentiment
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Duncan Weldon @duncanweldon.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Even leaving any politics at all aside: as general rule, no state can allow a group of masked men to be able to close down critical infrastructure. This is basic stuff.
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Chris Terry-Enescu @cjterry.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Truly wild to have lived through moral panics about teenagers wearing hoodies and Muslim women wearing the head dress to now experience 'but is a large group of organised far right activists in balaclavas really that scary'
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Catherine E. de Vries @catherinedevries.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Europe may increasingly need to learn how to act together without always acting as one. My new CEPR Europe 2050 paper on Preserving Europe’s Capacity to Act: cepr.org/publications... Pre-order my new OUP book with Alex Kentikelenis: global.oup.com/academic/pro... /end
global.oup.com
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