Good morning Bluesky

Taken earlier today for a LinkedIn post, here I am, sitting the office, planning a new research output! Nothing much else to note, other than I'm looking forward to a new article appearing soon on the factions in the Parliamentary #Labour Party!

We'll be looking to produce a follow up shortly, focused on the factions and divisions within #Starmer's UK Labour Party! Hopefully coming soon!

Published a year ago, 'Backing #Badenoch: The #Conservative Party L/ship Election 2024' is a reminder of how she became Tory leader! Co-authored with @drdavidjeffery.bsky.social & Tim Heppell, the article utilises an original dataset of #Tory MPs voting preferences. academic.oup.com/pa/article/7...

Best of luck campaigning to all candidates over the coming month. Let's keep it civil, to the point, & remember that public service is about serving the public. Votes include English #LocalElections & #mayoralElections, the #ScottishParliamentaryElection, #SeneddCymruElections

The US needs to follow the rule of law because it is meant to be the exemplar for the rest of the world to follow. If it chooses this dark path, then it cannot be a country to lead - it would need to be ready for rogue status and abandonment. It's not worth any victory it thinks is on the table.

If #Trump carries out this threat to target civilians and civilian infrastructure in #Iran (eg, power, water, sanitation), then Trump will lead the US to the guilty side of the dock. There's no winning a war if the rules are broken. It also raises the question what is the point of international law?

Attacking and targeting civilian infrastructure is wrong. It's against the rules of #war, an act of international criminality, and a #war-crime. It sticks with the guilty country like a skunks odour. For example, we never escaped the condemnation for Dresden, or the Germans for Coventry. It sticks.

Very much looking forward to joining the @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social annual conference and the dinner in Hull next year! I'll (hopefully!) be delivering a paper on #conservatism and the right! Let's see how the research goes... either way, will be good!

A banner featuring the title "Government & Opposition," with the ampersand in red. The words are in white on a black background with a red vertical stripe on the left. The hashtag "#OpenAccess" appears in the bottom right corner.

#PSA26 - did you know that from 2026 @govandopp.bsky.social publishes continuously with no more issues, just one volume each year?

Browse the 2026 volume here - https://cup.org/4uNoFu7

Government & Opposition is an #OpenAccess International Journal of Comparative Politics.

This will be an interesting and important read concerning the Politics academic job market. #PSA26

Attending #PSA26? Let us know which panels and events you've enjoyed so far.
If you are attending sessions at Wadham @wadhamcollege.bsky.social check out the historic antechapel where refreshments will be served.

Congratulations to all the #PSA26 prize winners!

Filming! Today, I'm filming a short video about Mrs #Thatcher over the course of the 1980s... the finished result will appear as part of an OUP series of information videos on British Politics for students. Will (hopefully!) be fun!

Great to see Archaeology, Classics & Ancient History amongst 12 subjects shining through as part of the globes top 100! We in @livunihss.bsky.social are very proud! Congratulations all! The 12 ensures the @liverpooluni.bsky.social community continues to grow and share in our global success. Proud!

One for #POLI102 students! On May 7, the Scottish Parliament will be electing 129 seats. Currently, the #SNP hold the largest with 60, then the #Tories with 28, #Labour on 20, #Greens with 7, #LibDems on 5, & #Reform with 1. How *might* things change? Data: www.ipsos.com/sites/defaul...

Cover of the Parliamentary Affairs journal, published by Oxford University Press.

Delighted to have a new forthcoming journal article (co-authored with Tim Heppell, (@polisatleeds.bsky.social) & David Jeffery (@drdavidjeffery.bsky.social))! The article examines Parliamentary signalling & factionalism of #UKLabour, & appears in Parliamentary Affairs soon! @livunipol.bsky.social

Bill voted down - defeated.

The final and historic vote on the #AssistedDying Bill due soon in the Scottish Parliament. This follows a deeply emotional debate from both sides.

Far more than 40! I'd like to think I've grasped the point of doing a PhD, and yes, I've compiled numerous bibliographies and reference lists over the years, including for my thesis. To know if a paper is relevant, it is necessary to read it all.

Tomorrow my PhD student, @josefnicholson.bsky.social will be delivering an exciting paper on the #rhetoric of north/south divide in the ancient Aegean! Will be great! The paper takes place at 3pm in Rendall LT4. @livunipol.bsky.social

The whole point of a PhD (& other scholarship/UG studies) is to do the reading and writing yourself in order to become an expert in a particular area. It's not to look like you are - you actually have to be one! Otherwise, the AI-produced 'scholar' has no expertise and wouldn't be able to function.

Looking forward to talking about devolution and English identity with the #POLI102 students this morning! It is, as expected, more complex than it first appears, but relatively simple concepts!

Exactly. AI can describe, but can't analyse. (Even if it could at some point, it wouldn't be the work or perspective of the student). AI does have some potential benefits, but as a writing tool, it defeats the object of the purpose of academic writing in the humanities. Key word - HUMANities.

The whole point of a PhD (& other scholarship/UG studies) is to do the reading and writing yourself in order to become an expert in a particular area. It's not to look like you are - you actually have to be one! Otherwise, the AI-produced 'scholar' has no expertise and wouldn't be able to function.

The Jury" by John Morgan, painted in 1861

🧵Three years ago I wrote a short piece Twelve good men (and women!) and true: a very brief history of trial by jury. I started it
"Some things in life are rightly considered sacrosanct, such as the right to education and to work. One such right is the right to trial by jury. In the last few 1/5

Very much looking forward to delivering a talk this afternoon on mental health and Higher Education, using myself as a case study! Hopefully it'll be of interest, but we'll see! The event is full, so no more places, assuming everyone comes along! Again, we'll see!

Also, I'll be one of the ones staying up for the result! It'll be an interesting one, regardless of the outcome, in part because of the interpretations of what the result means for the state of British politics in general, & for the state of the parties, & possible attempts to project a GE meaning.

Lovely that TWO articles in the Global Discourse #rhetoric special edition are on the 'most-read' list! The first is by Pete Dorey on the discourses of the populist right, and the second is by Steven Kettell & Peter Kerr on Boris Johnson's evidence to the COVID inquiry! Great to see! Links below.