I reviewed former PM Liz Truss’s book for @politicalquarterly.bsky.social. Ended the review with some reflections on the differences between ideology and dogma: doi.org/10.1111/1467-9…

New piece from me on Lord Falconer’s forthcoming bill on assisted dying - whether it could pass, whether that matters, and what all this tells us about ‘private members’ bills’ at Westminster. The Conversation Queen Mary Politics and IR theconversation.com/why-a-house-of…

Lord Falconer has this morning introduced into the Lords his private member's bill on assisted dying. Read my article on whether it's likely to pass, what its wider effects might be, and how PMBs work in practice. Queen Mary Politics and IR Mile End Institute theconversation.com/why-a-house-of…

❓ So much is known about the causes of disease and death in women all over the world – so why are so many women still prematurely dying? Sophie Harman from Queen Mary University of London, has written a new book, Sick Of It, that examines this question. She joins anita rani to discuss it ⬇️

'“[R]eal Conservatives” take it as read that to be a proper Tory these days you have to be both a full-throated Thatcherite on the economy and, when it comes to cultural issues, a boys-are-boys girls-are-girls, lock-‘em-up, flag-waving, statue-defender.' telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/…

I’m back being translated into Japanese - this time talking about the UK general election. From Hodo 1930 on TS-BTS, around 36 mins in. youtu.be/WIEfeoNHa9c?fe…

Welcome to all of the new students joining Queen Mary Politics and IR today, and welcome back to our returning second and third year students! Make sure you follow SPIR on X and Instagram (instagram.com/qmpoliticsir/) to keep up with news and events!

🧵10 Key findings from our BFPG Annual Survey of public opinion on foreign policy. 1. At 78% more Britons are interested in the UK's foreign policy than many realise. Interest has risen among younger Britons, likely driven by their engagement with events in the Middle East

My Queen Mary Politics and IR colleague Matthew Barnfield's piece on voters' time horizons seems even more relevant today in the light of the briefing we've heard this morning around Keir Starmer's short-term pain/long-term gain schtick! theconversation.com/evidence-tells… via The Conversation

The School of Politics and International Relations at Queen Mary University of London has created a new MA programme in International Political Sociology. For more information: qmul.ac.uk/postgraduate/t…

Titles of all the ballot private members' bills being introduced into the Commons today. Those towards the top were drawn highest in the ballot, so will be first in line for debate.

Our lecturer in British Politics @colm_m will be taking part in the panel discussion 'Histories of the British Political Left' on Wednesday 23 October, 14:00 BST. Register here: eventbrite.co.uk/e/histories-of…

New piece by me on the prospects for today’s new Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill. ‘Assisted dying bill enters parliament – how likely is it to become law?’ #assisteddying The Conversation theconversation.com/assisted-dying…

We are delighted to share that Queen Mary University of London's Nivi Manchanda has been awarded a The Leverhulme Trust Philip Leverhulme Prize. The prize recognises Nivi's work on the politics of knowledge production, empire and colonialism, race and racism, queer theory and borders.

One month to go until our Annual Conference in Cardiff 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 The full programme and details on how to register can be found here: psaparliaments.org/annual-confere…

My article on the Sebastopol Committee is now in print as part of a special issue of Critical Military Studies looking at the politics of public inquiries. Congrats to Owen D Thomas, Dr Margot Tudor and Prof. Catriona Pennell for putting the issue together! tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.10…

But what powers does the House of Commons have in these situations? It depends on the size of the deployment, whether it's a combat situation, the type of forces being used, and, of course, on the parliamentary politics... More here: doi.org/10.1177/136914…

Thank you to UCL Constitution Unit for publishing my written evidence (submitted in December) to the Commons Modernisation Committee, on private members' bills - drawing partly on the early experience on the assisted dying bill - and opposition days. constitution-unit.com/2025/04/01/pri…

'Is First Past the Post Undemocratic?' I've written a policy brief responding to the common claim that the system we use to elect MPs in Britain is 'undemocratic'. TLDR: It depends what you want in your democracy. Proportionality or accountability? qmul.ac.uk/mei/policy-hub…

Last month, I finally finished the draft manuscript of “Now or Never!” – the book I’ve been working on about Scotland’s first devolution referendum in March 1979. Thanks to the brilliant Atifa Jiwa, it should be published early next year by Bloomsbury Academic!