Peter Allen

@peterallen.bsky.social

1.9K followers 600 following 220 posts

Professor of Politics & Co-Director of the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Bath, U.K. / British politics, representation, public sphere / author of How to Think About Politics (2025) and The Political Class (2018) .. more

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Political science 76%

Sociology 10%

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Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · Feb 12

My book is now available to pre-order from OUP ahead of a March 27th UK release date. Use the code AUFLY30 to get it for £11.89 — global.oup.com/academic/pro...

Reposted by Steve Peers, Tom Griffin, James Cameron , and 1 more Steve Peers, Tom Griffin, James Cameron, Peter Allen

David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 1d

Dismissing Katen Pierce was also a poor decision by Starmer. They do keep piling up.

The Observer understands that Starmer was open-minded on whether the senior diplomatic role should be taken up by Mandelson or the Conservative former chancellor George Osborne, but that McSweeney was the one pushing Mandelson. Karen Pierce, the previous ambassador, was dismissed by Starmer despite winning praise for her work with both Joe Biden and Trump in his first presidency.

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 2d

Brown included it in her own Substack yesterday substack.com/@tinabrown

Tina Brown | Substack

Author, journalist, editor

substack.com

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 2d

It’s a trip.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Dave O’Brien, Lesley A. Hall , and 2 more Will Jennings, Dave O’Brien, Lesley A. Hall, Felicity Callard, Peter Allen

Nick Clarke @nickclarkegeo.bsky.social · 3d

New paper on luck, geography, and politics

www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Right place, right time: Luck, geography, and politics

On 12th May 2020, Mass Observation collected c5,000 diaries from people across the UK. Many of these diaries mention luck and many of these luck stori…

www.sciencedirect.com

Reposted by Ben Worthy, Peter Allen

Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 4d

Thoughts in the FT on why I don't like the idea of an automatic by election if an MP changes party - but understand why some people do, along with a possible compromise...

How to deal with defecting MPs - giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT

How to deal with defecting MPs

Voters should be able to force parliamentarians who change parties to face the electorate

giftarticle.ft.com

Reposted by Peter Allen

Boak & Bailey (Jess & Ray) @boakandbailey.bsky.social · 5d

GOOD MORNING! Here's this week's edition of news, nuggets and longreads, with thoughts on publicans with personality, among other things. 🍻🍺

boakandbailey.com/2026/01/news...

News, nuggets and longreads 31 January 2026: Flowers for the Judge

Every Saturday we round up the best writing about beer from the past week. This time, we’ve got Bavaria, Egerland and Guildford. First, what might be good news, via Jeff Alworth: family-owned German b...

boakandbailey.com

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 6d

I was walking in the West Village in 2011 and saw him dressed in workout gear and shadow boxing with some friends on the pavement. One of the most unlikely things I’ve ever seen.

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Tim Bale, Dave O’Brien , and 4 more Ben H. Ansell, Tim Bale, Dave O’Brien, Philip Cowley, Federica Genovese, Nick Clarke, Peter Allen

Will Jennings📉🗳️ @drjennings.bsky.social · 8d

Read the full report here -> www.southampton.ac.uk/publicpolicy...

Reposted by Peter Allen

Twlldun @twlldun.bsky.social · 10d

Gonna be honest, if the government did give in to this letter (I very much hope they won’t), I will become a Maoist

Vikki Slade MP @vikkislademp.bsky.social · 10d

I’ve joined over 100 MPs calling on the Government to finally do the right thing for WASPI women. Women born in the 1950s were harmed by pension changes made without proper notice. Despite the Ombudsman’s findings, ministers are still delaying fair compensation.
I will keep pushing for justice.

Dear Secretary of State,
Re: Compensating women affected by the Government’s communication of State Pension age
changes.
We are writing following the out-of-court settlement reached between WASPI and the
Government on 2 December 2025, and your commitment to undertake a full review of all the
evidence relating to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO)’s investigation
within 12 weeks.
We welcome your acceptance that the Government’s initial decision not to compensate 1950sborn women was flawed, and the new opportunity which has arisen to reconsider the case for
compensation and restore public confidence in the independent bodies that exist to hold the
executive to account.
Women born in the 1950s have suffered a clear injustice, as detailed in the PHSO’s thorough
and comprehensive report which took six years to produce. The investigation concluded those
affected were denied the opportunity to make alternative arrangements for their retirement and
still suffer the consequences today.
As you know, the PHSO found maladministration in the way the DWP failed to act on its own
research which showed that significant numbers of 1950s-born women did not know about
forthcoming increases to their State Pension age. The DWP has yet to explain why this
occurred.
The Government was right to carefully reconsider its position on the Winter Fuel Payment,
Personal Independence Payments, and most recently, inheritance tax relief on agricultural
properties. We hope the coming weeks will allow you to reach the right decision for 1950sborn women.
We urge you to update the House on your plans to ensure that women born in the 1950s are
finally treated fairly and properly compensated at your earliest convenience, or by 2nd March 2026 at the latest

Yours sincerely,
Steve Darling
Member of Parliament for Torbay
Adam Dance MP
Adrian Ramsey MP
Afzal Khan MP
Al Pinkerton MP
Alex Brewer MP
Alison Bennett MP
Alistair Carmichael MP
Andrew George MP
Andrew Gwynne MP
Andrew Rosindell MP
Angus MacDonald MP
Anna Sabine MP
Bell Ribeiro-Addy MP
Ben Lake MP
Ben Maguire MP
Bobby Dean MP
Brendan O’Hara MP
Brian Mathew MP
Calum Miller MP
Carla Denyer MP
Carla Lockhart MP
Caroline Voaden MP
Cat Eccles MP
Charlie Maynard MP
Chris Coghlan MP
Christine Jardine MP
Claire Hanna MP
Claire Young MP
Clive Jones MP
Colum Eastwood MP
Daisy Cooper MP
Danny Chambers MP
David Chadwick MP
Diane Abbott MP
Douglas McAllister MP
Dr. Ellie Chowns MP
Edward Morello MP
Freddie van Mierlo MP
Gavin Robinson MP
Gideon Amos MP
Graham Leadbitter MP
Graham Stringer MP
Grahame Morris MP
Helen Maguire MP
Helen Morgan MP
Ian Byrne MP
Ian Roome MP
Ian Sollom MP
Iqbal Mohamed MP
James MacCleary MP
Jamie Stone MP
Jeremy Corbyn MP
Jess Brown-Fuller MP
Jim Allister MP
Jim Shannon MP
John Milne MP
Josh Babarinde MP
Joshua Reynolds MP
Julian Lewis MP
Lee Dillon MP
Liz Jarvis MP
Manuela Perteghella MP
Marie Goldman MP
Martin Wrigley MP
Monica Harding MP
Munira Wilson MP
Nadia Whittome MP
Neil Duncan-Jordan MP
Olly Glover MP
Pete Wishart MP
Pippa Heylings MP
Rachael Maskell MP
Rachel Gilmour MP
Richard Burgon MP
Richard Foord MP
Robin Swann MP
Roz Savage MP
Sarah Champion MP
Sarah Dyke MP
Sarah Gibson MP
Sarah Olney MP
Seamus Logan MP
Shockat Adam MP
Sian Berry MP
Simon Opher MP
Sir John Hayes MP
Sorcha Eastwood MP
Steff Aquarone MP
Steve Witherden MP
Susan Murray MP
Terry Jermy MP
Tessa Munt MP
Tom Gordon MP
Tom Morrison MP
Victoria Collins MP
Vikki Slade MP
Wendy Chamberlain MP
Wera Hobhouse MP
Will Forster MP
Zöe Franklin M

Reposted by Will Jennings, Tim Bale, Philip Cowley , and 1 more Will Jennings, Tim Bale, Philip Cowley, Peter Allen

Karl Pike @karlpike.bsky.social · 10d

I have a new article just published in Political Studies: What is Centrism? Open access here: doi.org/10.1177/0032...

What Is Centrism? - Karl Pike, 2026

Centrism, an ambiguous political term, requires greater analytical scrutiny. After summarising conceptualisations of centrism – and of a centre in politics – th...

doi.org

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 11d

I have two left so making a note to do the same once I’m done. They have been remarkably consistent so far bar the Free Navy one which was a bit turgid by comparison, I thought.

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 14d

I’ve preordered Morgan’s book and am looking forward to reliving the halcyon days of the second referendum campaign. Simpler times.

Morgan Jones @morganj0nes.bsky.social · 14d

Out this day next week ! You could pre order it now and it could come to your house next Thursday!

Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 14d

Hugely looking forward to this book by @morganj0nes.bsky.social - the inside story of the campaign for a second referendum. Pre-order here: amzn.to/4b7KZaH

Reposted by Peter Allen

Morgan Jones @morganj0nes.bsky.social · 14d

Out this day next week ! You could pre order it now and it could come to your house next Thursday!

Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 14d

Hugely looking forward to this book by @morganj0nes.bsky.social - the inside story of the campaign for a second referendum. Pre-order here: amzn.to/4b7KZaH

amzn.to

Reposted by Peter Allen

Mark Wallace @wallaceme.bsky.social · 14d

Hugely looking forward to this book by @morganj0nes.bsky.social - the inside story of the campaign for a second referendum. Pre-order here: amzn.to/4b7KZaH

amzn.to

Reposted by Peter Allen, Steven H. Seggie

LeithMotive @leithmotive.bsky.social · 16d

Lol this is insane. The civil service is not a startup. It is the opposite of startup. And this is not what agile is.

Reposted by Tim Bale, Dave O’Brien, Ben Worthy , and 2 more Tim Bale, Dave O’Brien, Ben Worthy, Philip Cowley, Peter Allen

Colm Murphy @colmpm.bsky.social · 18d

My latest article is out in British Politics. I try to account for the distressed confusion gripping the UK government's economic strategy. In honour of the article's namesake, I include a tortured football analogy.

It's free to read (open access) here.

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

This is the abstract for the article 'Labour's choices: The political economy of Keir Starmer's party', by Colm Murphy. It reads: 'This article explores the dilemmas at the heart of the economic strategy of Keir Starmer’s government by tracking developments in British (centre-)left political economy since the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. It first traces the emergence of a shared narrative of political economy circulating among the UK and transatlantic centre-left, as well as some further left and right, over the 2010s and into the early 2020s. Identifying the core diagnoses and prescriptions contained within this narrative, this article situates them in economic, ideological, and political developments since 2008. It then traces the fragmentation of this economic imaginary from 2022. In combination with an unhappy transition to office, this fragmentation has generated a deeply confused and internally contradictory economic strategy in the UK Labour government. This paper then explains this process by placing ideological and political developments in their material and external contexts. A worsening macroeconomic and geopolitical context actively decomposed the constituent parts of the narrative and challenged some of its assumptions; in turn, this revived submerged disagreements within the governing party. The paper consequently argues that while these tensions can be explained partly by ideological closure, they derive to a significant and probably greater extent from institutional and material factors, especially questions of statecraft and the UK’s misfiring growth regime in an increasingly gloomy global context. The paper ends, however, by cautioning against an overbearing determinism. It indicates the remaining arenas for political agency open to the government, should it prove able and willing to act.'

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Chris Hanretty, Silja Häusermann , and 2 more Ben H. Ansell, Chris Hanretty, Silja Häusermann, Federica Genovese, Peter Allen

Ana Catalano Weeks @anacweeks.bsky.social · 21d

How do you measure the domestic mental load? 🧐

And how does your experience stack up against our research of 3,000 US parents?

I created a quiz using the same approach we use in peer-reviewed sociological research so you can find out!

Hope this sparks some conversations 💡

tally.so/r/447Xxk

The Mental Load Quiz

Made with Tally, the simplest way to create forms.

tally.so

Reposted by Peter Allen

Anoosh Chakelian @anooshc.bsky.social · 23d

London is safer, but I see the criminality we do see rising as part of a wider public realm issue - an atmosphere of "chaos creep".

My column for this week's @newstatesman1913.bsky.social:

London may be safer – but it is suffering "chaos creep"

It's unsettling to live in a city where the state seems unable to stop petty crime

www.newstatesman.com

Reposted by Jason Reifler, Philip Cowley, Sofia Stathi , and 2 more Jason Reifler, Philip Cowley, Sofia Stathi, Stuart J. Turnbull‐Dugarte, Peter Allen

Joe Phillips @polpsychjoe.bsky.social · 24d

How does information on public opinion on environmental issues shape citizens' opinions? Out and open access with @mbarnfield.bsky.social, @florianstoeckel.bsky.social, @benlyons.bsky.social, @vittoriomerola.bsky.social, and @jasonreifler.bsky.social + others! www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

Information on public opinion has lasting effects on second-order climate beliefs, but minimal and ephemeral effects on first-order beliefs

Across western democracies, pro-climate beliefs are widespread. Yet, vocal minorities contest scientific consensus about global warming. Perhaps as a …

www.sciencedirect.com

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 26d

Looks superb, thanks.

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 26d

Whatever works! I’ve tried to have more rice-based lunches but trip up over the cooking admin/it not being recommended to reheat etc. So this is a good solution.

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 26d

Are you using a rice cooker for the rice or pan boiling it each time?

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 27d

Interesting polling. My hunch is that the fragmentation of the media and public sphere will make it hard for newer faces to gain national treasure status, no matter how old they get.

Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 27d

👑🇬🇧 Who do we count as our national treasures? That’s the question we asked for this week’s Rest is Entertainment - as you may expect David Attenborough was the run away winner from our list. Only 7 people were considered national treasures by over half the country & none are under 75!

Reposted by Jack Stilgoe, Peter Allen

Luke Tryl @luketryl.bsky.social · 27d

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 28d

*dial

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · 28d

Fully agree, but the ECB has systematically sidelined the County Championship in a way that will be hard to turn around in a meaningful way (a key issue being fixture congestion thanks to The Hundred). Linking CC performance to England selection might begin to shift that dual again.

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · Dec 21

Santa Cl-oars

Peter Allen @peterallen.bsky.social · Dec 17

It is, but I was saying to a colleague that I would support having this in academic departments describing the former occupants of key administrative roles. “Dr X oversaw the calamitous curriculum review of 2018”, etc.

Reposted by Will Jennings, Stefan Müller, Peter Allen

Lotte Hargrave @lottehargrave.bsky.social · Dec 17

🧵 Thread on new research on gender gaps in “don’t know” responses

Some of you will know that my stellar coauthors @hannahbunting.bsky.social @cerifowler.bsky.social @jess-smith.bsky.social @annasanders.bsky.social & I have been working on a large-scale project on “don’t know” responses in surveys.

Reposted by Peter Allen

Matthew Holehouse @matthewholehouse.bsky.social · Dec 12

All the photography in this week's Economist Britain section is by Martin Parr

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