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Rick Whitaker

@rickwhitaker.bsky.social
866 followers 310 following 35 posts

Professor of Politics at University of Leicester, UK. Research on legislatures. Reviews editor @govandopp.bsky.social. Views are my own.

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Reposted by Rick Whitaker
History, Politics & IR at the University of Leicester @hypirleicester.bsky.social · 12/08/2026
We're on Bluesky! To get the ball rolling, here are some great books published recently by our historians 🍾
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
New Review Article in @govandopp.bsky.social assessing the concept of democratic resilience with evidence particularly from the Global South, written by @fromagehomme.bsky.social, Marie-Eve Desrosiers and Edem E. Selormey. Open access: www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
cambridge.org
Rethinking Pathways of Autocratisation and Democratic Resilience in Comparative Perspective | Government and Opposition | Cambridge Core
Rethinking Pathways of Autocratisation and Democratic Resilience in Comparative Perspective - Volume 61
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Cambridge University Press Political Science & IR @cambup-polsci.cambridge.org · 03/08/2026
NEW from @govandopp.bsky.social - When Do Shadow Ministers Become ‘Realities’? Evidence from the UK, 1964–2024 - cup.org/4hQrIxA - @profnjallen.bsky.social & John Bartle #OpenAccess
Logo of "Government & Opposition" journal with the hashtag OpenAccess on a black and red background.
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Just out in @govandopp.bsky.social, a review article assessing research on transnational authoritarianism, by @cooleyoneurasia.bsky.social and @alexdukalskis.bsky.social www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
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Andrew Johnstone @historyandrew.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Come work with us! We've got a 5 year fixed-term teaching fellow position in International Relations. Deadline next Thursday. www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DRO007/t...
jobs.ac.uk
Teaching Fellow in International Relations at University of Leicester
Apply now for the Teaching Fellow in International Relations role on jobs.ac.uk - the leading job board for higher education jobs. View details.
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 16/04/2026
Great discussion of (among many other things) written parliamentary questions and the considerable increase in their use in the very recent past, in this podcast.
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Reposted by Rick Whitaker
European Consortium for Political Research @ecpr.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
📣 Applications are open for the Summer School of the Standing Group on Parliaments! 🗓️ 27 Jul–6 Aug, Goethe University Frankfurt @sgparliaments.bsky.social proudly presents its Summer School which offers a platform to: ✔️ Explore recent advancements ✔️ Present research ✔️ Receive career advice ⌛️7 May
buff.ly
Find out more and apply
Deadline: Thursday 7 May 2026
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Simon Hix @simonhix.bsky.social · 26/01/2026
NEW PAPER ALERT! My paper, with @bjornhoyland.bsky.social , on how “policy loss” shapes support for the EU has just been published in @cpsjournal.bsky.social. Check it out! 1/
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Ruxandra Serban @ruxandrasrbn.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
📣 We are very excited for this year’s @psa-parliaments.bsky.social annual conference taking place at the University of York! 📝 More details and registration: psaparliaments.org/annual-confe...
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Does anyone in the UK Parliament or legislative studies world know what is happening with The Public Whip website? It doesn't seem to have been updated with new divisions since May. #thepublicwhip #ukparliament www.publicwhip.org.uk
publicwhip.org.uk
The Public Whip — Counting votes on your behalf
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
Marco Giugni & Maria Grasso review literature on political participation in a new review article for @govandopp.bsky.social. They argue for the benefits of linking work in this area from political science, (political) sociology and social movement studies: tinyurl.com/cbe34v3w.
tinyurl.com
United in Diversity: Building Bridges in the Study of Political Participation | Government and Opposition | Cambridge Core
United in Diversity: Building Bridges in the Study of Political Participation
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
In a new review article for @govandopp.bsky.social, Dr Aline Sierp assesses the nature of research in memory studies over the last 25 years: tinyurl.com/u46bm7sc.
tinyurl.com
The Politics of Memory: Between History, Identity and Conflict | Government and Opposition | Cambridge Core
The Politics of Memory: Between History, Identity and Conflict
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PSA Early Career Network @psaecn.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
🚨 Internship alert! 🚨 Are you an ECN member currently studying your PhD? Don’t miss out on this fantastic career development opportunity to work at the House of Commons! 🙌🏻 🗓️ Apply by 28 September 2025 More details below ⬇️
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 04/08/2025
I managed to see the outside of the Maltese Parliament while on holiday last week. #parliaments #stv
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 02/07/2025
Looking forward to presenting research with @philiplynch.bsky.social on votes in select committees at #sgop25 in Barcelona tomorrow.
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Cristina Leston-Bandeira @estrangeirada.bsky.social · 15/05/2025
We had the most brilliant launch of Exploring Parliament this evening at the Institute for Government! Thank you to all the panellists, all the guests, and most of all to @instituteforgovernment.org.uk for hosting us, truly appreciated 🙏😊. V special also to have our own students attending 😊1/2:
Panel at the launch of the book Exploring Parliament, hosted by the Institute for Government - from left to right: Chloe Mawson (House of Lords, Clerk Assistant), Dr Sean Haughey (Liverpool University), Dr Hannah White (Institute for Government) and Professor Meg Russell (Constitution Unit, UCL).Panel at the launch of the book Exploring Parliament, hosted by the Institute for Government - from left to right: Margaret McKinnon (House of Commons, Director, People and Culture Team), Professor Nick Allen (Royal Holloway University), Dr Hannah White (Institute for Government) and Dr Rebecca McKee (Institute for Government).Students attending the launch of the book Exploring Parliament, hosted by the Institute for Government - from left to right: Emily Carter, Isabella Elie, Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira, Lewis Rantell, Soleen Ali and Dr Alexandra Meakin.Guests enjoying the launch of the book Exploring Parliament, hosted by the Institute for Government.
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PSA Parliaments @psa-parliaments.bsky.social · 14/04/2025
Kicking us off with his and @philiplynch.bsky.social‘s very recent work on committee divisions in the House of Commons is @rickwhitaker.bsky.social
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 13/04/2025
Heading to Birmingham for #PSA25 to present some research conducted with @philiplynch.bsky.social on select committee divisions in the House of Commons.
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 09/04/2025
In a new article in @jcms-eu.bsky.social with @kgattermann.bsky.social & @sofiavasilopoulou.bsky.social we look at how close MEPs are to their voters on the left-right and EU integration scales using MEP survey data & European Election Study data onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.... A brief🧵.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
A new edition of Exploring Parliament is out! It includes a chapter by Lucinda Maer and me on how the UK Parliament went about scrutinising government during Brexit and the Covid pandemic.
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Cristina Leston-Bandeira @estrangeirada.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
Publication day! The 2nd edition of Exploring Parliament is out. Thank you to the 73 authors who brought academic and parliamentary practice expertise to the book; special thanks to my fab co-editors @ameakin.bsky.social and @louisevthompson.bsky.social 😊👇:
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 17/03/2025
We have reached 200 institutions in 34 countries from whom researchers have requested our MEP survey data, collected by @simonhix.bsky.social, @davidfarrell-ucd.bsky.social, @rogerawanscully.bsky.social, Galina Zapryanova and me! You can find out more about the data here mepsurvey.eu/users-of-the...
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
On my way home from Edinburgh after giving evidence to the @scotparl.bsky.social Delegated Powers committee’s inquiry on framework legislation and Henry VIII powers. Thanks to the committee and panel for a fascinating discussion. Written evidence here: yourviews.parliament.scot/dplr/framewo....
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Should you be so inclined, you can find out my preferences for the order in which jam and cream should be added to a scone and various other more parliamentary-type things, via the PSA Parliament group's website here psaparliaments.org/urgent_quest....
psaparliaments.org
Urgent Questions – PSA Parliaments
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 29/11/2024
In light of the today's agenda in the House of Commons, you can read about the legislative process for private members' bills in this House of Commons Library Briefing commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-bri....
commonslibrary.parliament.uk
Private Members' Bills
This briefing describes the stages a bill goes through when it is introduced to the House of Commons as a private member's bill.
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PSA Parliaments @psa-parliaments.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
@rickwhitaker.bsky.social (University of Leicester) presents his commissioned research on what skeleton bills are, why they are used in the UK Parliament, Senedd & Scottish Parliament, and what the implications of delegated powers are You can read more about it here: blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 21/11/2024
Heading to Cardiff for the @psa-parliaments.bsky.social ECR event and then annual conference where I’ll be presenting some research on skeleton bills. psaparliaments.org/annual-confe...
psaparliaments.org
Annual Conference – PSA Parliaments
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Hansard Society @hansardsociety.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
You can now follow the Hansard Society's starter pack below. The pack includes academics, researchers, and practitioners with insights about parliaments and legislatures and the issues we discuss each week on our Parliament Matters Podcast. go.bsky.app/TzkXFzP
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
Really enjoying the @histparl.bsky.social podcasts, 'Tales from the Green Benches' shows.acast.com/tales-from-t.... Would highly recommend if you are interested in the experiences and motivations of MPs.
shows.acast.com
Tales from the Green Benches: Trailer | Tales from the Green Benches: An Oral History of Parliament
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Adam Tucker @adam.publiclaw.space · 16/10/2024
This is a superb short critical explainer on the constitutional risks of skeleton/framework bills. (Rick is very relaxed about choosing "individual parliamentarians being able to claim personal credit for legislation/policy" as a reason Parliament might delegate rather than legislate though!)
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Rick Whitaker @rickwhitaker.bsky.social · 11/10/2024
What are skeleton bills and how much are they used? See my LSE British Politics and Policy blog on this topic: blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
Can Parliament effectively scrutinise skeleton bills?
Skeleton bills set out the broad principles of a new policy, allowing ministers or regulatory bodies to spell out the details later, once the bill has already passed. While this allows the Governme…
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