LightNews
philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley
@philipjcowley.bsky.social
7.4K followers 440 following 490 posts

Professor of Politics.

Videos

Philip Cowley is a British political scientist and an academic at Queen Mary University of London in the School of Politics and International Relations. He previously held the same title at the University of Nottingham. Within academia he is particularly notable for his analysis of Parliamentary voting behaviour in the UK House of Commons and House of Lords and secondly his opposition to a lowering of the UK voting age below 18. .. more

Political science 86%
Sociology 5%
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 20h
Amazing to me how expensive it is to buy a (complete) copy of this. Doesn't seem to be in print any more - I had assumed there would be dozens of cheap second hand copies floating around, but no.
1 1

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 20h
Production standards were clearly low.
1 6

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 20h
It's-a-me, Mario!
1 1 13

Reposted by Will Jennings, Ben Worthy, Philip Cowley

aliceolilly.bsky.social
Alice Lilly @aliceolilly.bsky.social · 20h
Really interesting- and, I think, welcome- to see MPs sharing this kind of data about casework.

Casework is largely invisible (other than to the constituents it helps!) compared to what MPs do in the Commons chamber but is a huge part of MPs’ workload, and it’s really hard to get robust data on it
drbeccycoopermp.bsky.social
Dr Beccy Cooper MP @drbeccycoopermp.bsky.social · 21h
15 27 110

Reposted by Paul Cairney

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 20h
A reminder: people say "guru" because it uses fewer characters than "charlatan". But still, do come along...
robertsaunders.bsky.social
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 21h
We'll be exploring the Thatcher legacy & her impact on British politics today at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social on 20 Oct.

With former Thatcher minister, Gillian Shephard; Conservative peer Simone Finn; legendary politics guru @philipjcowley.bsky.social & me.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/still-that...
Still “Thatcher’s Britain”? The Thatcher Legacy, 1925-2025
Join the Mile End Institute to explore why Margaret Thatcher continues to cast such a shadow across British politics!
www.eventbrite.co.uk
5 8 40

Reposted by Tim Bale, Philip Cowley

robertsaunders.bsky.social
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 21h
We'll be exploring the Thatcher legacy & her impact on British politics today at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social on 20 Oct.

With former Thatcher minister, Gillian Shephard; Conservative peer Simone Finn; legendary politics guru @philipjcowley.bsky.social & me.
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/still-that...
Still “Thatcher’s Britain”? The Thatcher Legacy, 1925-2025
Join the Mile End Institute to explore why Margaret Thatcher continues to cast such a shadow across British politics!
www.eventbrite.co.uk
2 5 8

Reposted by Philip Cowley

excelpope.net
Andrew R @excelpope.net · 2d
See yer da’s got a new car.
55 55 270

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, Tim Bale , and 5 more

stephenkb.bsky.social
Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 2d
Something grimly predictable about the way that the conversation about 'ripoff degrees' in the UK is always about degrees that aren't rip-offs, but are instead fairly obvious 'this student has chosen something unlikely to pay off economically' rather than the short tail of crap business degrees:
Everyone needs educating in the fight over university degrees
Political confusion over the purpose of these institutions means the obvious fixes are being neglected
www.ft.com
34 79 410

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 2d
I am fairly sure that is from the same campaign as this one, which I always think is one of the best political posters I've ever seen...
1 5

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 2d
Anyone who buys my book can have their radio as dirty as they like.
1

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 2d
Friends have started to send me photos of it in the room for which I had intended it to be read...
2 3 13

Reposted by Philip Cowley

chanret.bsky.social
Chris Hanretty @chanret.bsky.social · 2d
No one speak to me today, I am trying to book travel through my university approved travel provider.
9 1 110

Reposted by Dave O’Brien, Philip Cowley

robertsaunders.bsky.social
Robert Saunders @robertsaunders.bsky.social · 3d
Still, a good opportunity to advertise our next event at the @mileendinstitute.bsky.social on 20 October:

"Still Thatcher's Britain? The Thatcher Legacy, 1925-2025".

Featuring Gillian Shephard, Simone Finn, @philipjcowley.bsky.social and me.
www.qmul.ac.uk/mei/events/m...
Still “Thatcher’s Britain”? The Thatcher Legacy, 1925-2025
www.qmul.ac.uk
2 11 14

Reposted by Will Jennings, Steve Peers, Tim Bale , and 5 more

jamesrball.com
James Ball @jamesrball.com · 5d
*gasp*
“Everyone thought we’d come in and there were going to be these huge costs we could cut away but there just aren’t,” said a third senior Reform cabinet member in Kent.
190 1.1K 3.1K

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 5d
Opening sentences of the pitches from the two deputy leadership candidates writing in @thehousemag.bsky.social. This is not the time for subtlety.
2 1 4

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 6d
She looks different to how I remember her.
histparl.bsky.social
History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 6d
Born #OTD 1946 Ann Widdecombe, MP 1987-2010.

As part of our #OralHistory project, Widdecombe described the feeling of sitting in the House of Commons for the first time. Listen to this clip and reflections from other former MPs in this article: historyofparliament.com/2022/09/29/y...
‘You just become a tiny little speck of history’: First Impressions of the Palace of Westminster - The History of Parliament
When newly elected MPs first enter the Palace of Westminster, it is hard to ignore the hundreds of years of history that surrounds them. And as Dr Emma
historyofparliament.com
1 1 14

Reposted by Philip Cowley

histparl.bsky.social
History of Parliament @histparl.bsky.social · 6d
Born #OTD 1946 Ann Widdecombe, MP 1987-2010.

As part of our #OralHistory project, Widdecombe described the feeling of sitting in the House of Commons for the first time. Listen to this clip and reflections from other former MPs in this article: historyofparliament.com/2022/09/29/y...
‘You just become a tiny little speck of history’: First Impressions of the Palace of Westminster - The History of Parliament
When newly elected MPs first enter the Palace of Westminster, it is hard to ignore the hundreds of years of history that surrounds them. And as Dr Emma
historyofparliament.com
1 2 1

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 7d
Academic life:

In March, OUP sent proofs of an article, demanding any corrections within two working days.

Seven months later, article is still not out, even online.
2 1 17

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 8d
Barbara Windsor?

At least then the film would have been interesting.
1

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 9d
Political Studies Association announces it is no longer going to send out hard copies of its journals to members.

Maybe I'm the only dinosaur still to get them and find them useful. But feels like other example of enshitification to me.
1 3 29

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 9d
Not at all true in academia.
thetimes.com
The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 10d
Underperforming analysts who self-promote vigorously are more likely to be promoted, particularly if they are men
Boasting on LinkedIn a good way to mask incompetence, study finds
Underperforming analysts who self-promote vigorously are more likely to be promoted, particularly if they are men
www.thetimes.com
7

Reposted by Christian Odendahl, Philip Cowley

thetimes.com
The Times & Sunday Times @thetimes.com · 10d
Underperforming analysts who self-promote vigorously are more likely to be promoted, particularly if they are men
Boasting on LinkedIn a good way to mask incompetence, study finds
Underperforming analysts who self-promote vigorously are more likely to be promoted, particularly if they are men
www.thetimes.com
5 14

Reposted by Philip Cowley

roberthutton.co.uk
Robert Hutton @roberthutton.co.uk · 11d
What Would Andy Do? My SKETCH of an ordinary northern man who's sick to death of all this speculation about why he'd be a much better leader than Keir Starmer. Although, now you mention it...
What Would Andy Do? | Robert Hutton | The Critic Magazine
“Get a grip.” Andy Burnham was offering some helpful advice to Keir Starmer. The full quote, in the interests of fairness, was “I’m saying get a grip on the everyday basics.” But those three words in…
thecritic.co.uk
4 11 35

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 11d
That's from here, although the book itself isn't exactly a long read either.

www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
The professor will see you now: ethos
Lessons in political science. This week: ethos
www.politicshome.com
3

Reposted by Nathalie Duclos

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 11d
How Henry Drucker's 1979 book helps explain why Labour's electoral strategy seems so misplaced...
1 6 9

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 11d
Tbf to the author (which i am not wholly inclined to be), he is coming off the back of the apocryphal Mandelson mushy peas story, a dish which is less common in Southern chippies (altho hardly unknown). But still...

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 11d
Is there a word for an article which makes a basically fair point but goes too far/uses crazy examples? The latter makes it easy to ridicule, but the essential point remains true.

Example: today's Telegraph piece on the middle class nature of Lab support and supporters, which includes this claim...
4 1 16

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 11d
You should try writing them...
1 5

philipjcowley.bsky.social
Philip Cowley @philipjcowley.bsky.social · 11d
Harsh but true
cjayanetti.bsky.social
Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 11d
I don't think misinfo/disinfo is about paywalling really. The academic journal industry is ofc utterly parasitic but who's really reading academic studies whether they're paywalled or not? And in terms of journalism - again, articles can originate behind a paywall but then get picked up elsewhere
2 1 3

Reposted by Philip Cowley

cjayanetti.bsky.social
Chaminda Jayanetti @cjayanetti.bsky.social · 11d
I don't think misinfo/disinfo is about paywalling really. The academic journal industry is ofc utterly parasitic but who's really reading academic studies whether they're paywalled or not? And in terms of journalism - again, articles can originate behind a paywall but then get picked up elsewhere
10 1 58