Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 19/09/2026Today at EPOP, I'm presenting a paper which examines the relationship between public sector entry and political behaviour. We find mixed evidence for the bureau vote model's prediction that public sector employment makes people more left-wing and likely to turnout to vote. 031
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 10/09/2026Today at ECPR, I'm presenting a paper on the relationship between third sector employment and political values using British Election Study data. Coherent results are, alas, a work in progress... 050
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 12/08/2026Coming from such a prestigious journal, this pro-AI editorial policy seems pretty significant. In the social sciences, are most journals moving/likely to move in this direction? 020
Reposted by Thomas ProsserJane Green @profjanegreen.bsky.social · 10/08/2026This is work by me, Geoffrey Evans, Zack Grant, Justin Robinson. We show The Economic Insecurity Trap. Published today by @jrf-uk.bsky.social. Thanks to @benzaranko.bsky.social for seeing the importance of household experiences of economic insecurity. NEW REPORT: www.jrf.org.uk/public-attit...jrf.org.ukThe economic insecurity trapFinancial insecurity is self-reinforcing. Setbacks mean reduced planning and saving, and increasing unemployment, income loss and housing costs. Financial vulnerability is persistent and widespread an... 12612
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 10/08/2026So is Arday's memoir still going to be published tomorrow? *If* it contains false claims on topics such as autism and brain tumours, publication would be the height of irresponsibility; these are serious matters which affect vulnerable people. 010
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 07/08/2026I’m more worried about UK academia than ever. On the one hand, the Arday affair is indicative of certain fields with egregious problems and little potential for self-reform. On the other, conservative plans for reform tend to be destructive and shallow. Our future may be grim. 2143
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 06/08/2026Over on X, the movement to restore academic integrity to British universities is extremely sophisticated... 220
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 06/08/2026What a mess in UK higher education. However poor Arday's conduct, I hope that he manages to rebuild his life. Meanwhile, a future right-wing attack on universities, which will not distinguish between worthy and unworthy parts of the sector, feels much closer. 130
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 04/08/2026In recent years, a disturbingly high proportion of high-profile academics have shown themselves to be unserious and/or unsuitable people. Unfortunately, (social) media selects for such people and, when flaws become apparent, the image of regular academics declines unjustly. 020
Reposted by Thomas ProsserJoe Phillips @polpsychjoe.bsky.social · 03/08/2026In some major professional news, tomorrow I will be starting as Assistant Professor in Political Science at Trinity College Dublin! 🇮🇪 Super excited about this opportunity, and huge thanks to everyone who made this possible. 191093
Reposted by Thomas ProsserNick Huntington-Klein @nickchk.com · 30/07/2026One of my empirical-work econ takes is that I think academia should be *more* open to publishing work based on best-we-can-do weak data, as long as there's really no other way to address the question and that work is very clear about what it can and can't actually say. 318529
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 29/07/2026Is there some kind of paid/professional service available which replicates the results of your paper prior to journal submission? Given the increasing importance of replication, it seems preferable to relying on the generosity of colleagues! 120
Reposted by Thomas ProsserChris Prosser @caprosser.com · 29/07/2026It’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... 13013
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 28/07/2026Just met an American, in the cafe at the university, who has learned Welsh to a fluent level. It's always wonderful to see 030
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 24/07/2026Congratulations to Substack; the site has embedded Pangram (an effective AI detector) into its system. Can't academic journals do something similar?!? 220
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 21/07/2026As difficult as conditions in universities are becoming, the assertion that academics are proletariats remains ill-advised. 041
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 19/07/2026If Argentina win this, will they be the worst world champions ever?!? 000
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 19/07/2026On the subject of the 1990s, this is also making me think of Marseille v Red Star Belgrade! 020
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 19/07/2026This evokes the 1990 final. A limited Argentinian team, defending the trophy with an ageing superstar, playing negative and dirty football against a better team. 051
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 18/07/2026Been working with Claude Code for 4-5 months now. Notwithstanding impressive efficiency gains, I'm far from convinced it's going to revolutionize academic publishing. From what I can see, there are too many bottlenecks, e.g. the need to check code, co-authors, journal reviewers... 220
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 16/07/2026As an institutional theorist, I'm not surprised that Tuchel's tournament performance resembled Southgate's; structures matter more than the decisions of agents! Relatedly, I suspect that Burnham's premiership will follow a similar trajectory to Starmer's. 130
Reposted by Thomas ProsserWill Davies @will-davies.bsky.social · 15/07/2026The idea of staff who are well paid, have substantial autonomy, high cultural capital, are effectively impossible to sack, and hard to performance manage, is a complete anathema to those who now view the future via the lens of geopolitical turbulence and balance sheets. 2274
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 13/07/2026I was 13 when the last Chinese imperial eunuch died. 110
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 12/07/2026Look how popular this post is. A specific problem for many Bluesky apologists is that, unlike many X apologists, they assert that wider behaviour on a social network implicates other users. 010
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 06/07/2026How much can you trust the Stata code that Claude Code produces? Is there any literature on this? 010
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 06/07/2026Well done England! Ref had quite a good game, no?!? 020
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 06/07/2026The climate's influence on this match is making it (almost) as interesting as a cricket match... 010
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 03/07/2026Anyone know much about this case? Not sure the examples in the article are sufficient to justify a UK ban... www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...theguardian.comMPs seek to end UK broadcast of Russian ‘soft power’ cartoon Masha and the BearCross-party group writes to ministers of concerns children’s show contains unsubtle ‘propaganda content’ 020
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 30/06/2026Wtf is that noise outside my office window?!? 🤬 Why it's Lewis Capaldi doing a soundcheck for his gig in Blackweir fields tonight 😎😎😎 010
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 28/06/2026Is there likely to be a major press article which excoriates Stokes? If not, it speaks very poorly of the British cricket press. 110
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 28/06/2026I'm desperate for New Zealand to get Stokes out 140
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 28/06/2026Incredibly inappropriate from Stokes - don't think I've ever seen such selfishness from an England cricketer. And with Woakes and Broad in the commentary box, you're unlikely to hear a word of criticism on Sky. 030
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 28/06/2026'It is clear, however, that... [student] confidence will be impaired if there is suspicion on the part of the student that... university teachers in general are a repressed and intimidated class who dare not speak with that candor and courage which youth always demands.'- AAUP, 1915 000
Reposted by Thomas ProsserDr Emily Jones @jonesemily.bsky.social · 25/06/2026Hot day, hot book 🔥 It's here, in the flesh! my new book, The Disraeli Myth, in all its glory. Princeton have done such an amazing job on this. 54811
Reposted by Thomas ProsserUCU Commons @ucucommons.org · 23/06/2026Despicable: Uni of Exeter putting over 500 staff at risk of compulsory redundancy. Thoughts are with all Exeter branch comrades. #UCU #UKHE 33719
Reposted by Thomas ProsserPaul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 24/06/2026Now is a time when university degrees need to be *less* about acquiring ‘skills’ than ever. Abstract thought, flexibility, problem-solving and so forth are much more important. That means *less* vocational education, not more. 1410326
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 22/06/2026Solidarity with @phoebebovy.bsky.social. Her essay on female straightness is reasonable and interesting yet she’s suffering a pile-on. Unfortunately, there are lots of mean people on this site. 010
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 22/06/2026So he's gone. I'll never be convinced Starmer was that bad a PM and favour the 'sticky wicket' hypothesis. Several very different PMs have failed and I suspect that Burnham will do too! 110
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 21/06/2026Likes/reposts appreciated if you find this interesting :-) 000
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 21/06/2026🚨🚨NEW🚨🚨 Ten years ago, I campaigned in Cardiff for the ill-fated and chaotic Remain campaign. Was it a waste of time? www.thepathnottaken.net/p/my-brexit-...thepathnottaken.netMy Brexit, ten years onThis week marks the tenth anniversary of the UK’s vote to leave to EU. 100
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 18/06/2026Or mute them, if there's a diplomatic reason for not unfollowing 😝 000
Reposted by Thomas ProsserUniversity and College Union (UCU) @ucu.org.uk · 18/06/2026A damning 97%. That's how many University of Lincoln staff who voted have lost confidence in senior management, after the university cut a third of its workforce and refused to rule out more compulsory redundancies. www.ucu.org.uk/article/1454...ucu.org.uk 03021
Reposted by Thomas ProsserNuffield College Library @nuffieldlibrary.bsky.social · 15/05/2026This week's new books! Find them all on the new books display in the First Floor Lobby #NewBooks 1101
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 11/06/2026Proud to have signed this letter in support of Michael Foran, the Oxford academic who had his lectures disrupted by activists. Universities *must* be able to host debates about sensitive topics. johnarmstrongmaths.com/openletters/...johnarmstrongmaths.comDear Vice Chancellor, 1113
Thomas Prosser @prossertj.bsky.social · 08/06/2026This looks bad - universities *must* be able to host difficult debates about sensitive topics. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/06...telegraph.co.uk 020
Reposted by Thomas Prosservalue plus discounted @akhilrao.bsky.social · 07/06/2026increasingly skeptical on the value of causal inference without mechanisms or clear ways to reproduce the effects, particularly for thinking about the future. I think I'd trade a lot of identification for more credible insights into mechanisms and plausible bounds in realistic novel settings 7618