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Toby S. James

@tobysjames.bsky.social
950 followers 672 following 102 posts

Professor of Politics & Policy, @UEA Electoral Integrity Project co-Director Policy Studies Editor: @policy-studies.bsky.social Researching and teaching on: democracy, electoral integrity, political science. tobysjames.com

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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
The conclusion draws out recommendations for protecting public admin including: 💡Constitutional protections 💡The use of state committees 💡Oversight of the police and army 💡Strengthening civil service culture 💡The civil service standing up to autocrats 💡Overseas support for good public admin
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
For my own part, I argue that public administration is an essential part of democracy, using the real democracy approach: www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Out now! Democratic Backsliding and Public Administration The new special issue of Policy Studies brings scholars from around the world together to make rich contributions examining how democracy and public are linked - and facing threats. www.tandfonline.com/toc/cpos20/4...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
ICYMI Call for papers…. tobysjames.com/journal-spec...
tobysjames.com
The Governance of Football: Policy, Politics and Possibilities
Football (‘soccer’) is the world’s largest sport. World cups mark major international mega events, which can trigger economic development, and have wider cultural and political co…
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
Football pitches in England, July 2026.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 23/07/2026
Automatic voter registration would help!
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 19/07/2026
The world is a big place. Third isn’t too bad at all.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Might be of interest: @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social; @psasport.bsky.social @ipsa.org @apsa.bsky.social
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Call for papers: The Governance of Football: Policy, Politics and Possibilities With @policy-studies.bsky.social tobysjames.com/journal-spec...
tobysjames.com
The Governance of Football: Policy, Politics and Possibilities
Football (‘soccer’) is the world’s largest sport. World cups mark major international mega events, which can trigger economic development, and have wider cultural and political co…
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
UEFA's take on FIFA's #Balogun decision: 'When the certainty of rules is no longer guaranteed by its guardians, the integrity of the game is at stake.... 'We express our disbelief at such an unprecedented, incomprehensible and unjustifiable decision.' www.uefa.com/news-media/n...
uefa.com
UEFA statement on the Balogun case
Statement on decision related to Folarin Balogun
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 06/07/2026
Harry Kane's voice was much better suited to Live Forever than Wonderwall at the end of game
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
The book also: 🗳️ Argues that major societal megatrends mean that the holding of elections has moved into an age of complexity 🗳️Remeasures electoral integrity worldwide using tools and indicators suitable for this new age 🗳️Develops important lessons for the theory of democracy and elections
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Electoral integrity is therefore defined as: “A set of principles to be achieved in elections that empower the everyday citizen and help to realise the ideals of democracy.”
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
Elections serve a purpose. They are not social practices held merely to comply with national laws and international obligations. They are designed to enable people to have power over their own lives and over their communities.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 01/07/2026
OUT NOW! What is Electoral Integrity? Conceptualising Election Quality in an Age of Complexity, with Cambridge University Press And it is FREE to download until 14 July 2026 www.cambridge.org/core/element... Holly Ann Garnett and I redefine electoral integrity around human empowerment..
cambridge.org
What is Electoral Integrity?
Cambridge Core - American Studies - What is Electoral Integrity?
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 25/05/2026
Call for papers: The Governance of Football: Policy, Politics and Possibilities With @policy-studies.bsky.social tobysjames.com/journal-spec...
tobysjames.com
The Governance of Football: Policy, Politics and Possibilities
Football (‘soccer’) is the world’s largest sport. World cups mark major international mega events, which can trigger economic development, and have wider cultural and political co…
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 20/05/2026
Thanks Maria! Historically, voting rights have only helped people to receive other rights. Elections are also about listening - and those living in the UK without citizenship have a perspective and experience worth listening to.
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Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
What if unenfranchised adults could vote? If all UK residents could vote, 257 seats could have had a different outcome at the 2024 general election. By @tobysjames.bsky.social and Jamie Underwood politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/what-if...
politicalquarterly.org.uk
What if Unenfranchised Adults Could Vote? The Case for Residence-Based Voting in the UK
If all UK residents could vote, 257 seats could have had a different outcome at the 2024 general election.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 25/04/2026
Policy Studies is looking to appoint two Associate Editors! We are looking to appoint Associate Editors for: * Economics and/or * Public Administration Scholars in the Global South are especially encouraged to apply. Find out more here: think.taylorandfrancis.com/editor_recru...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 21/04/2026
Congratulations! And great to see you this morning!
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
Also see our evidence in Parliament last week: parliamentlive.tv/event/index/... and bills.parliament.uk/publications...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 23/03/2026
The Representation of the People Bill is working it's way through Parliament. Here are some ways in which it can be amended to further strengthen democracy: blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
blogs.lse.ac.uk
How the Representation of the People Bill can be amended to strengthen democracy | LSE British Politics
The Government's new Representation of the People Bill is set to transform the way the UK votes, including a move towards automatic voter registration.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 14/02/2026
Changes are coming to UK elections.... theconversation.com/voting-in-su...
theconversation.com
Voting in supermarkets, bank cards as ID and £500,000 fines for breaking the rules – how British elections could be about to change
Measures which will modernise elections to enable young people to vote more easily are included in the bill.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 05/02/2026
Call for papers! The call for our forthcoming summer conference is now, in collaboration with the Carter Center This year we are teaming up with the journal Politics As ever, it is free and runs across multiple time zones Deadline: March 31 www.electoralintegrityproject.com/2026-virtual...
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Patrick Dunleavy @patrickdunleavy.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
Happy Holidays to the 14,240 readers who have downloaded our book “Australia’s Evolving Democracy” or any chapter during its first year of publication. Many thanks from all our authors - we are hugely grateful! It’s open access, and always will be. press.lse.ac.uk/books/e/10.3...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 28/11/2025
By which benchmarks should we assess political leaders? How are Starmer, Badenoch and Farage performing, and why? Watch our expert book launch from this week! lnkd.in/eAjMwpja Academics and teachers - do consider adding it to your course syllabuses!
lnkd.in
LinkedIn
This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 27/11/2025
The @uniofeastanglia.bsky.social via @tobysjames.bsky.social kindly recorded this event. I gave Kemi Badenoch a grade D. But then I hadn't heard her supposedly brilliant Budget response. So should that have been a D+ or a C-?
youtube.com
The State of Political Leadership in Britain
YouTube video by UEA Public Events and Engagement
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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 26/11/2025
Finally got round to a deep reading of @tobysjames.bsky.social and Charles Clarke’s interview with Boris Johnson (done in Feb 2025). It’s well worth it. This passage in particular stuck out. Don’t agree that doing something different would have saved BJ’s skin but a refreshingly honest admission.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 24/11/2025
The State of Political Leadership in Britain Join us for this tomorrow! Free and open to all, online and in person. events.teams.microsoft.com/event/3d662e...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
@bitebackpublishing.bsky.social
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
Crisis of political leadership? What crisis? Join us on Tuesday forms.office.com/e/dnX1qZ4pVR
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 21/11/2025
The Canadian Parliament is considering whether the system used for overseas voting is sufficient for Canadian democracy. I drew from UK-based studies to give evidence about whether proxy voting may help. And learnt a lot about the value of overseas constituencies... tobysjames.com/2025/11/21/o...
tobysjames.com
Overseas voting in Canada
The Canadian House of Commons is examining how overseas voting works in Canadian elections. At present, special ballots can be issued to electors overseas. However, there are concerns inside Canada…
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
@timbale.bsky.social @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @emmanuelleavril.bsky.social
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 10/11/2025
The State of Political Leadership in Britain Roundtable with Charles Clarke, Tim Bale, Emmanuelle Avril and Patrick Diamond Tuesday 25th November 1pm-2.30pm The registration link is: forms.office.com/e/dnX1qZ4pVR. We will send a join link 24 hours before the event
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 24/10/2025
💡 How do different scholars do research on electoral integrity? How should they? 📖 In this new chapter for the Oxford Handbook of Electoral Integrity, I profile three rival approaches Recognition of different pathways would greatly benefit research and policy academic.oup.com/edited-volum...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 17/10/2025
Universal suffrage is often said to be a defining feature of democracy, but not the reality for many elections around the world. In this new piece, we map the arguments for enfranchising all residents and the number of unenfranchised adults in the UK. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
Available here: www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/britis... www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/britis...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
New contributing authors include: Victoria Honeyman, Anand Menon, Alan Wager Dr Andrew S. Roe-Crines-Crines, Timothy Heppell, Ben Worthy, Mark Bennister, Anthony Seldon, Peter Dorey and Patrick Diamond.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
The books also include an interview with Boris Johnston himself with some candid reflections on his own time as leader.....
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
The books now include new chapters on Jeremy Corbyn, Kier Starmer, Theresa May, Boris Johnston and Rishi Sunak. We also have new chapters on Brexit and political leadership, updated conceptual frameworks and leadership league tables.
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 06/10/2025
📣 Out now! Second editions of the British Labour Leaders and British Conservative Leaders books Edited alongside Charles Clarke, @timbale.bsky.social and Patrick Diamond for @bitebackpublishing.bsky.social
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Policy & Politics @policy-politics.bsky.social · 24/09/2025
🔍What is the value of poll-worker voice in the delivery of elections? ✨⬇️New research on the blog from @tobysjames.bsky.social and Alistair Clark! Thank you both! policyandpoliticsblog.com/2025/09/24/t...
policyandpoliticsblog.com
The value of poll-worker voice in the delivery of elections
by Toby S. James and Alistair Clark In their recent article published in Policy & Politics, Toby S. James and Alistair Clark explore how the perspectives of poll workers can inform and improve …
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Stuart Turnbull-Dugarte @turnbulldugarte.com · 05/09/2025
Radical right accommodation really does not work. New paper out with this exceptionally talented team @katharinalawall.bsky.social @robjohns75.bsky.social @drjennings.bsky.social @sarahobolt.bsky.social @zachdickson.bsky.social @danjdevine.bsky.social & @jack-bailey.co.uk doi.org/10.31235/osf...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 05/09/2025
New! Just out in Democratization @HollyAnnGarnett and I on electoral integrity resilience www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... Open access and free to read...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
A great honour to be invited!
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Electoral Integrity Project @electoralintegrity.bsky.social · 27/08/2025
💡 Introducing... The Oxford Handbook on Electoral Integrity Edited by Holly Ann Garnett and @tobysjames.bsky.social Chapters are now being published online ahead of the print version out next year.... 📖 electoralintegrityproject.com/oxford-handb...
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 25/07/2025
Great work from you guys too!
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
Oops. *Europe 😂
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Toby S. James @tobysjames.bsky.social · 18/07/2025
Why automatic voter registration is good news for UK democracy…. theconversation.com/automatic-vo...
theconversation.com
Automatic voter registration: a huge step forward for democracy – and a chance to bring missing millions into elections
As part of a raft of new measures, people will no longer need to register themselves to vote.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 17/07/2025
In case you’re interested, here’s the report by @tobysjames.bsky.social and myself on Automatic Voter Registration - something that the government has now said it’s working towards. www.jrrt.org.uk/wp-content/u...
jrrt.org.uk
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