Rosie Campbell

In a world of lies, we need the BBC more than ever. This week could be our last chance to save it | Polly Toynbee As the public consultation on the BBC nears its end, the right will be out in force to undermine it. But its supporters can do their bit – with this guidance, says Guardian columnist Polly Toynbee

As a nation we should be proud supporters of the BBC. It’s not perfect but we need quality international journalism funded by us all rather than by a few rich individuals - especially now. Consultation on its future is live now. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

Shameful that Parliament makes no effort to rein in Farage or Cox to reasonable levels (= £40k on an MP’s salary). F & C clearly are full time on non-Parliament tasks.
And utterly dixgraceful that a massive Labour majority & a supposed Labour government does no reform at all. (Diagram Harry Eccles)

The Prevent Counter-Terrorism Strategy After Southport Who can and should be engaged by the Prevent Strategy?

The 2024 Southport attacker was referred three times to the counter-terrorism Prevent Strategy without being engaged by it.

Who can – and should – be engaged by Prevent, and what are the recommendations of the Anderson review? Paul Thomas investigates.

Great analysis from @hannahbunting.bsky.social on the Gorton and Denton by-election @uniofexeterhass.bsky.social

What does AI sovereignty for the UK involve?  - Bennett School of Public Policy The UK has recently announced investment agreements with several large US tech companies. But there are risks in over-dependence on these firms. In this post, Aleks Turobov argues that a truly soverei...

Just read @samfr.bsky.social important piece on our over exposure to US tech giants as a nation. He referenced www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/what-do... this is the sovereignty that matters most for our long term security. We should all be able to get behind this as patriots.

Such an important piece. We really need to do more to protect our national security from US tech giants. Tackling these issues head on should help unite us as a nation and play a role in job creation.

Just to illustrate the scale of this a bit more. The shift in votes in the Gorton by-election wasn't so much left right - but from the traditional big two parties to the two insurgent parties.

Decisive victory for the Greens. 68% of the vote on the left/centre left

Evans apologized and said it was the kind of “genuine mistake that we can all make from time to time.”

Reform said it investigated, “considers it an honest mistake and will not be taking any action,” having accepted his version of events.

Over 50 Academics Warn That Voting System Is Not Fit For Multi-Party Politics Dozens of academics have written to the government to warn that the current voting system risks producing distorted results on an 'unprecedented' s...

It’s time to change the electoral system for UK general elections to one that fairly reflects our multiparty system www.politicshome.com/news/article...

As a proud serial signer of letters I had forgotten about this one (and I’m told I was the first to sign - so it was a little while ago tbf!). Britain’s electoral system cannot handle the present scale of political fragmentation and could easily turn up a bizarre result.

Time for change!

My short piece with Minna Cowper Coles on the gender gap in left right attitudes among gen z is free to download here doi.org/10.1332/2515...

Just finished the series. Feels appropriate for our times.

The left-behind economy and what to do about it New insights into regional inequality

Another nice mention of @drjennings.bsky.social's work on local decline and political trust here:

I met a very educated and thoughtful Texan man at a US conference this year who thought nowhere was safe in the UK. He subscribed to the Daily Mail. This is my street this morning. It’s not Minnesota.

What will it Take for a Woman to Become President of the United States? Why resistance to female candidates in the USA is hard wired into the institutions of candidate selection and the primary system.

For a woman to be elected as US president, an astonishing convergence of events will need to have taken place to enable her to step through the hurdles and over the men in her way.

By @profrosiecamp.bsky.social & @jonilo.bsky.social

MAGA Has Repulsed Young Women Sarah Longwell on the growing voting divide between the sexes, the 2025 elections, and how Donald Trump remade electoral politics. Plus: David Frum discusses the deal to end the government shutdown and “The Emergency,” by The Atlantic’s George Packer.

Democrats have accomplished all they could hope to from the shutdown, David Frum argues. Watch more in the latest episode of “The David Frum Show”:

What Will it Take for a Woman to Become President of the United States? In this article we consider what it will take for a woman to be elected President of the United States. We examine the available data from the 2024 election, in comparison to previous elections; we i....

@jonilo.bsky.social @politicalquarterly.bsky.social what would it take for a women to become President of the United States? A series of unlikely events. doi.org/10.1111/1467...

What Will it Take for a Woman to Become President of the United States? In this article we consider what it will take for a woman to be elected President of the United States. We examine the available data from the 2024 election, in comparison to previous elections; we i....

@politicalquarterly.bsky.social what would it take for a woman to become President of the United States? Joni Lovenduski and I outline 4/5 unlikely scenarios doi.org/10.1111/1467...

📊 now in English @fesonline.bsky.social:
Gender gap in voting behavior in Germany📊

It's about the “big picture” since 1953 & current trends 2021-2025.

The gender gap keeps growing, especially among the young.

-> Longer trends are continuing & partly accelerating.

library.fes.de/pdf-files/a-...

This was v good.

Vertical comic structured like flow chart. (1) Einstein had an insight that overturned physics, thus proving his value. (2) I hope *I* have value. I’ll try to have an insight that overturns physics, to check. (3) [Time Passes] (4) Oh no! My insight didn’t overturn physics! But I don’t think I’m worthless… [arrows to two different options] (5a) Healthy Path: Maybe this was not a well-thought-out test of my value. (5b) Path of Ruin: The establishment must be *suppressing* my insight!

Physics Paths

xkcd.com/3155/

"Exploring Gender Differences in Support for Rightist Parties: The Role of Party and Gender Ideology" by @profrosiecamp.bsky.social & Silvia Erzeel.

www.cambridge.org/core/journal...

Affective polarization and habits of political participation Affective polarization, or relative dislike of opposing partisans, is associated with several negative outcomes for democracy. However, a number of st…

@electoralstudies.bsky.social If you’re interested in academic studies of political polarisation we have loads of great papers at Electoral Studies. Check out this one by Joseph Phillips www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

AntiSocial - Angry middle-aged white men - BBC Sounds Are they dividing the country?

Was Gary Neville right- are middle-aged white men to blame for political polarisation? Adam Fleming asks me and @robfordmancs.bsky.social www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...

Today is #WorldPostDay, marking the establishment of the Universal Postal Union—a UN agency coordinating postal policies globally. The post revolutionised communication and is an increasingly common voting method, so to mark the occasion, here are some of our recent articles on postal voting... 📫 ✉️

I was kidnapped by Russia at 16 — like so many Ukrainian kids It’s estimated nearly 20,000 children in Ukraine have been abducted during the war and sent by Russia for ‘re-education’. A new documentary film reveals the horrors they face

Heartbreaking & distressing testimony from children kidnapped by Russia as part of their genocidal acts in Ukraine but we must not look away.

I was kidnapped by Russia at 16 — like so many Ukrainian kids

www.thetimes.com/article/f8e4...

‘Whitby Woman’, ‘Waitrose Woman’: Gender and Voting Behaviour at the 2024 UK General Election Women were identified as key targets in the 2024 British general election. There was much speculation as to whether ‘Whitby’ or ‘Waitrose’ women would swing the result for Labour. This interest in wo....

Women always more likely to say don’t know or be undecided but just as likely to turn up and vote onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

@iaindale.bsky.social out today with a chapter by yours truly on the Chesham and Amersham by-election. The first brick in the blue wall. Buy copies signed by Iain from Politicos www.politicos.co.uk/products/by-...

IT'S PUBLICATION DAY

British By-Elections 1769-2025 is out today. 732 pages covering 88 by-elections. Thanks to all 87 contributors who wrote the essays.

Order your signed copy here
www.politicos.co.uk/products/by-...