Maria Sobolewska
@profsob.bsky.social
Professor of Political Science at Manchester University. British politics, race and ethnicity, representation.
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
More from @markpackuk.bsky.social on his question about the government use of X: government will carry on prioritising X for government comms, despite the evidence about X's promotion + protection of unlawful activity. It no longer pays to advertise there
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
Will the government reduce its reliance on Elon Musk's X?
Welcome
lordseyeview.substack.com
January 5, 2026 at 7:51 PM
More from @markpackuk.bsky.social on his question about the government use of X: government will carry on prioritising X for government comms, despite the evidence about X's promotion + protection of unlawful activity. It no longer pays to advertise there
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
lordseyeview.substack.com/p/will-the-g...
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
I am extremely confused as to why the UK government and police are saying Grok’s mass-scale CSAM generation is an issue for Ofcom.
This isn’t about X failing to moderate CSAM, which is an Online Safety Act issue. It is about the company and its technology being actively involved in its generation.
This isn’t about X failing to moderate CSAM, which is an Online Safety Act issue. It is about the company and its technology being actively involved in its generation.
January 7, 2026 at 7:37 AM
I am extremely confused as to why the UK government and police are saying Grok’s mass-scale CSAM generation is an issue for Ofcom.
This isn’t about X failing to moderate CSAM, which is an Online Safety Act issue. It is about the company and its technology being actively involved in its generation.
This isn’t about X failing to moderate CSAM, which is an Online Safety Act issue. It is about the company and its technology being actively involved in its generation.
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
Speaking as someone who ran a small, rural pub... I'm unconvinced it'll have a huge impact. Most designated drivers keep to one anyway and those who do run close to (or over) the limit don't particularly care about the law.
Minister rejects claim tougher drink-driving rules will kill off rural pubs – UK politics live
Minister rejects claim tougher drink-driving rules will kill off rural pubs – UK politics live
Minister says evidence from Scotland suggests cutting drink-drive limit does not have a ‘significant impact’ on pub trade
Good morning. Keir Starmer is taking his first PMQs of 2026 today, and it is hard to imagine that he will get through that without being able to comment on Donald Trump escalating his threats about annexing Greenland – a prospect that would tear apart Nato.
But, even with the world in crisis, domestic policy making has to continue and this morning the government is focusing on something closer to home – its road safety strategy. Continue reading...
www.theguardian.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:33 AM
Speaking as someone who ran a small, rural pub... I'm unconvinced it'll have a huge impact. Most designated drivers keep to one anyway and those who do run close to (or over) the limit don't particularly care about the law.
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
This is the other shoe dropping. It’s not unexpected that the Trump admin wants an authoritarian they can work with to do their bidding, not democracy
Venezuela’s government is arresting journalists and sending paramilitary forces to suppress anyone who is too happy about Maduro's removal
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... via @FT
Venezuela launches wave of repression after US seizure of Nicolás Maduro
Armed militias patrol the streets and journalists arrested as government crackdown on dissent widens
giftarticle.ft.com
January 7, 2026 at 3:44 AM
This is the other shoe dropping. It’s not unexpected that the Trump admin wants an authoritarian they can work with to do their bidding, not democracy
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
No idea who Laurent Brindeau is, but isn’t this caricature of @zackpolanski.bsky.social in today’s @dailymailpolitics.bsky.social ragingly antisemitic?
December 28, 2025 at 6:42 PM
No idea who Laurent Brindeau is, but isn’t this caricature of @zackpolanski.bsky.social in today’s @dailymailpolitics.bsky.social ragingly antisemitic?
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
When people say they want to go back to a time "when men were men", I point them to Issue 2528 of the "Men in Belted Sweaters" catalogue.
December 29, 2025 at 1:10 PM
When people say they want to go back to a time "when men were men", I point them to Issue 2528 of the "Men in Belted Sweaters" catalogue.
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
only 50 years since the quota on women going to Yooni ended, since women got the right to go into pubs (the right to buy a drink in one had to wait another 8 years)
Equal rights to piss took another 18 years
Equal rights to piss took another 18 years
On this day 29th December 1975
“Radical new legislation” introducing a woman's right to equal pay and status came into force in the UK
(Picture: A Second Picture Dictionary, artist: Eric Winter)
“Radical new legislation” introducing a woman's right to equal pay and status came into force in the UK
(Picture: A Second Picture Dictionary, artist: Eric Winter)
December 29, 2025 at 9:42 AM
only 50 years since the quota on women going to Yooni ended, since women got the right to go into pubs (the right to buy a drink in one had to wait another 8 years)
Equal rights to piss took another 18 years
Equal rights to piss took another 18 years
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
The most-read PQ article of 2025 was....
.... Drumroll....
'The Most Disproportionate UK Election: How the Labour Party Doubled its Seat Share with a 1.6Point Increase in Vote Share in 2024'
Congrats, @martamiori.bsky.social @profjanegreen.bsky.social!
.... Drumroll....
'The Most Disproportionate UK Election: How the Labour Party Doubled its Seat Share with a 1.6Point Increase in Vote Share in 2024'
Congrats, @martamiori.bsky.social @profjanegreen.bsky.social!
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:26 AM
The most-read PQ article of 2025 was....
.... Drumroll....
'The Most Disproportionate UK Election: How the Labour Party Doubled its Seat Share with a 1.6Point Increase in Vote Share in 2024'
Congrats, @martamiori.bsky.social @profjanegreen.bsky.social!
.... Drumroll....
'The Most Disproportionate UK Election: How the Labour Party Doubled its Seat Share with a 1.6Point Increase in Vote Share in 2024'
Congrats, @martamiori.bsky.social @profjanegreen.bsky.social!
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
yes of all the horror stories of AI, I think the use of "synthetic publics" to do research on might be - in a very crowded field - the worst one?
*as a novelist* - I can write you fake characters who believe whatever you like. it is just stories.
this is a whole culture developing AI psychosis.
*as a novelist* - I can write you fake characters who believe whatever you like. it is just stories.
this is a whole culture developing AI psychosis.
Pleased to see this piece. Personally, I find these uses of synthetic data v concerning and I find the traction and endorsements that this work has to be quite baffling, esp given the well-storied role of algorithmic targeting in undermining democracy
"We risk inheriting a future in which institutions answer to synthetic publics rather than real ones" rebootdemocracy.ai/blog/researc...
December 22, 2025 at 10:36 AM
yes of all the horror stories of AI, I think the use of "synthetic publics" to do research on might be - in a very crowded field - the worst one?
*as a novelist* - I can write you fake characters who believe whatever you like. it is just stories.
this is a whole culture developing AI psychosis.
*as a novelist* - I can write you fake characters who believe whatever you like. it is just stories.
this is a whole culture developing AI psychosis.
Errr… it’s delicious 🤤
For reasons nobody can make sense of, a disgusting dense sphere made of dried fruit and candied peel is due to be served in homes around the world on December 25th.
Non-autistics celebrate most wonderful time of year with worst pudding imaginable
Neurotypicals have once more opted to celebrate a cherished day in the winter calendar with a dessert option unanimously thought to be revolting, it has been announced. For reasons nobody can make…
thedailytism.com
December 22, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Errr… it’s delicious 🤤
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
The UK will celebrate net emigration and depopulation come 2027.
And by 2028 it will start to realise, with an ageing society and low growth, what a really silly thing it has done.
The right will go "pro-natalist", the centre-left will be completely stuck.
And by 2028 it will start to realise, with an ageing society and low growth, what a really silly thing it has done.
The right will go "pro-natalist", the centre-left will be completely stuck.
December 22, 2025 at 7:28 AM
The UK will celebrate net emigration and depopulation come 2027.
And by 2028 it will start to realise, with an ageing society and low growth, what a really silly thing it has done.
The right will go "pro-natalist", the centre-left will be completely stuck.
And by 2028 it will start to realise, with an ageing society and low growth, what a really silly thing it has done.
The right will go "pro-natalist", the centre-left will be completely stuck.
I’d defo go for a pint if I had just saved Liverpool from rampage. Nothing male about that
December 16, 2025 at 7:57 PM
I’d defo go for a pint if I had just saved Liverpool from rampage. Nothing male about that
Good news of the day.
I first came to the UK university system on an Erasmus exchange so I might be biased, but I am so happy British students can choose to experience this great opportunity again 🙌🙌
I first came to the UK university system on an Erasmus exchange so I might be biased, but I am so happy British students can choose to experience this great opportunity again 🙌🙌
EXCL: An agreement to rejoin Erasmus – the EU’s student exchange programme – set to be announced on Wednesday as part of UK government’s drive towards closer relations with Brussels.
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/d...
UK to rejoin EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme
Exclusive: British students will be able to participate in EU-wide scheme from January 2027, sources say
www.theguardian.com
December 16, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Good news of the day.
I first came to the UK university system on an Erasmus exchange so I might be biased, but I am so happy British students can choose to experience this great opportunity again 🙌🙌
I first came to the UK university system on an Erasmus exchange so I might be biased, but I am so happy British students can choose to experience this great opportunity again 🙌🙌
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
From a professional comms perspective, I'd say a good start for Labour combatting far right rhetoric would be to stop repeating it, saying they "understand it" or including its stock tropes in official documents pretty much any time they talk about migration.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
December 16, 2025 at 6:10 PM
From a professional comms perspective, I'd say a good start for Labour combatting far right rhetoric would be to stop repeating it, saying they "understand it" or including its stock tropes in official documents pretty much any time they talk about migration.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Should the FT journalists talk to each other? 🤔
December 16, 2025 at 5:20 PM
Should the FT journalists talk to each other? 🤔
I think what you’re missing here is that this policy proposal is entirely based on vibes and not on any practical forethought / we all know from Trump’s current run that gives are so much more powerful as a policy making tool
December 14, 2025 at 4:43 PM
I think what you’re missing here is that this policy proposal is entirely based on vibes and not on any practical forethought / we all know from Trump’s current run that gives are so much more powerful as a policy making tool
Don’t forget the time! All the time that it wastes! How much actual research we’d be able to do if we had that time back
December 14, 2025 at 9:21 AM
Don’t forget the time! All the time that it wastes! How much actual research we’d be able to do if we had that time back
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
This is an insane proposal, which has to be taken serious anyway, as that is the time and place we live in.
Expect similar plans to be discussed in GOP-controlled states soon (in my state higher teaching loads have been pushed by some Republicans for a while).
Expect similar plans to be discussed in GOP-controlled states soon (in my state higher teaching loads have been pushed by some Republicans for a while).
Proposed Model Bill Would Change College Tenure, Teaching, & Research
Three conservative groups have proposed model legislation that would dramatically change faculty tenure paths, teaching loads, research activities and hiring authority
www.forbes.com
December 13, 2025 at 2:03 PM
This is an insane proposal, which has to be taken serious anyway, as that is the time and place we live in.
Expect similar plans to be discussed in GOP-controlled states soon (in my state higher teaching loads have been pushed by some Republicans for a while).
Expect similar plans to be discussed in GOP-controlled states soon (in my state higher teaching loads have been pushed by some Republicans for a while).
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
📢 Call for Submissions
UK-based early career researchers in political science, political economy & public policy: apply to our January Early Career Workshop at LSE.
🗓️ Deadline: 28 Dec 2025
🔗 forms.gle/HXU4DnBq9HmX...
UK-based early career researchers in political science, political economy & public policy: apply to our January Early Career Workshop at LSE.
🗓️ Deadline: 28 Dec 2025
🔗 forms.gle/HXU4DnBq9HmX...
LSE - Political Economy and Political Science Early Career Workshop
We invite submissions for the LSE Political Economy and Political Science Early Career Workshop. This workshop is designed to support the development of early-career scholars’ research, including PhD,...
forms.gle
December 5, 2025 at 10:41 AM
📢 Call for Submissions
UK-based early career researchers in political science, political economy & public policy: apply to our January Early Career Workshop at LSE.
🗓️ Deadline: 28 Dec 2025
🔗 forms.gle/HXU4DnBq9HmX...
UK-based early career researchers in political science, political economy & public policy: apply to our January Early Career Workshop at LSE.
🗓️ Deadline: 28 Dec 2025
🔗 forms.gle/HXU4DnBq9HmX...
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
Tone and intent aside: that a far-right American president tells us Europeans that we are weak and decaying is a bit jarring, sure, but somehow I find the far-right Europeans cheering for that while the rest of Europeans shrug it away with a "it's just Trump" equally if not more depressing.
December 11, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Tone and intent aside: that a far-right American president tells us Europeans that we are weak and decaying is a bit jarring, sure, but somehow I find the far-right Europeans cheering for that while the rest of Europeans shrug it away with a "it's just Trump" equally if not more depressing.
Reposted by Maria Sobolewska
Any interested stakeholders (policymakers, planners, developers etc) feel free to get in touch. We have also produced 350 LA specific reports accessible here: www.warwick.ac.uk/cage/whereto....
Where to Build
www.warwick.ac.uk
November 11, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Any interested stakeholders (policymakers, planners, developers etc) feel free to get in touch. We have also produced 350 LA specific reports accessible here: www.warwick.ac.uk/cage/whereto....
That universities are politically bad for them, and that they are ‘not worth’ the money for most students. The second one demonstrably false as having a degree continues to be an economic gain. The first one is sure- if you want an authoritarian state Unis are bad for that
December 6, 2025 at 11:35 AM
That universities are politically bad for them, and that they are ‘not worth’ the money for most students. The second one demonstrably false as having a degree continues to be an economic gain. The first one is sure- if you want an authoritarian state Unis are bad for that
Universities employ more than twice the number of people of car manufacturing for example, and used to be one of UK’s most profitable sectors. The government’s started killing them in a way that would not happen in any other sector, hurting growth in the name of ideologically blinkered view
December 6, 2025 at 11:35 AM
Universities employ more than twice the number of people of car manufacturing for example, and used to be one of UK’s most profitable sectors. The government’s started killing them in a way that would not happen in any other sector, hurting growth in the name of ideologically blinkered view
They are obviously concentrated more than let’s say Tesco employees, there are many Unis across the country but obviously they create a local contraction. As there is one uni in most smaller cities/towns.
What you refuse to accept is that it’s not just Southend, the whole sector is losing jobs
What you refuse to accept is that it’s not just Southend, the whole sector is losing jobs
December 6, 2025 at 11:27 AM
They are obviously concentrated more than let’s say Tesco employees, there are many Unis across the country but obviously they create a local contraction. As there is one uni in most smaller cities/towns.
What you refuse to accept is that it’s not just Southend, the whole sector is losing jobs
What you refuse to accept is that it’s not just Southend, the whole sector is losing jobs