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Anand Menon

@anandmenon.bsky.social

41K followers 4.5K following 2.5K posts

Director @ukandeu Bitter and twisted observer of politics. ‘Not yoda’ (DC) ‘Slightly matey politics don' (Q. Letts) Trustee, @fullfact #LUFC Most views someone else’s

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Anand Menon is Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King's College London in the United Kingdom and was appointed in January 2014 as director of the UK in a Changing Europe initiative. He was a special adviser to the House of Lords EU committee. .. more

Political science 72%

Economics 11%

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 1h

I’ve googled it

Reposted by Anand Menon

Bennett School of Public Policy, University of Cambridge @bennettschool.cam.ac.uk · 1h

The government's ‘pride in place’ programme aims to revitalise local places and empower communities.

But it remains to be seen whether the expanded regeneration scheme will mark a meaningful shift in power from the centre, writes @alwalker.bsky.social.

www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/unpacki...

Unpacking the pride in place programme - Bennett School of Public Policy

The government's new ‘pride in place’ strategy promises to empower communities to restore local spaces and revive high streets. The widened and rebranded regeneration scheme forms a key pillar of its ...

www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk

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Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Anand Menon

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 2h

Among the many possibilities for the next few years, the scenario of swapping one pair of dominant parties (Lab and Con) for another (Reform and LD) is intriguing, under-discussed and, in English elections, not entirely implausible either (several county councils made this leap in May)

Election Maps UK @electionmaps.uk · 4h

Aggregate Result of the 122 Council By-Elections (for 125 Seats) since the 2025 Local Elections:

RFM: 47 (+40)
LDM: 32 (+10)
CON: 13 (-15)
LAB: 12 (-30)
GRN: 11 (+3)
Ind: 5 (-4)
Local: 3 (-3)
SNP: 1 (-1)
PLC: 1 (=)

Explore: electionmaps.uk/byelections-...

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 3h

Understandably, we designed our institutions with an eye on the past, not the future. www.politico.eu/article/germ...

Nazi legacy complicates Germany’s efforts to fight Russian drones

Postwar constitutional provisions meant to keep the German military out of domestic affairs leave the country more vulnerable to the Kremlin’s incursions.

www.politico.eu

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 4h

Come along. See if you can recognise me from the photo below....

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Reposted by Anand Menon

Election Maps UK @electionmaps.uk · 4h

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Reposted by Anand Menon, Simon Usherwood

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 4h

Enjoyed doing this @ukandeu.bsky.social event with my #BGE2024 co-author @psurridge.bsky.social - and 👏 to @jillongovt.bsky.social for coping admirably with the 'two-Tims-problem'!

UKICE Lunch Hour: the state of the right - UK in a changing Europe

UK in a Changing Europe is bringing together a team of experts to understand the developments in right-wing politics. Join us online to hear their analysis of the state of the right.

ukandeu.ac.uk

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 6h

While I am, by nature, a tight fisted bastard, this is a good read every day so you should consider it

Jack Kessler @jackkessler.bsky.social · 7h

My newsletter, Lines To Take, is changing.

Here’s what’s next — and why I hope you’ll join me.

✍️ www.linestotake.com/p/this-newsl...

Music was blaring, lights strobing, bodies gyrating. There was glitter everywhere. Welcome to Daybreaker, an early morning dance movement based in 33 cities around the world, where people come to “sweat, dance and connect with ourselves and each other”. It is also how I ended up in a nightclub at seven in the morning, sober and alone, approaching strangers to ask if they were having a good time.

I suppose I should consider myself lucky. My editor at the time had initially (and a little too cheerily, I felt) suggested I go walking with wolves somewhere in the Lake District. Back in 2019, Daybreaker was a noisy example of what seemed like a striking shift in our consumption habits. The so-called “experience economy” was booming then and — following the Covid-19 interruption — has come back with a vengeance

“The history of economic progress,” Joseph Pine II, who helped coin the term “experience economy” told me (and many others, I suspect, given the rhyme), “is paying a fee for what used to be free.”

Can you see where I’m going with this?

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Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Anand Menon

Jack Kessler @jackkessler.bsky.social · 7h

My newsletter, Lines To Take, is changing.

Here’s what’s next — and why I hope you’ll join me.

✍️ www.linestotake.com/p/this-newsl...

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 7h

‘Fix the foundations of higher education’. Jesus Christ, it’s like being governed by robots.

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 22h

This is good. But I think we should bear in mind just how long people think the parties have been failing them for. 2015 was a dress rehearsal for current fragmentation and disillusion. The Brexit hiatus I think hides the fac that this is a long term thing dating back far before Truss or Johnson.

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

Some thoughts on an undercovered line in Kemi Badenoch's speech and the Tory party's half-right theory of 'why Reform are leading the polls' more generally in today's note:

Tories need a leader who can say sorry

British public remain angry with the previous government, with many turning to Reform as alternative to Labour

www.ft.com

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Reposted by Anand Menon, Jill Rutter

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 1d

"The underlying point is that, given the history, there was nothing like sufficient trust that the UK state could, or would, provide the safeguards and protections of minority rights in Northern Ireland, and that remains the case today."

ukandeu.ac.uk/the-belfast-...

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement and Human Rights - UK in a changing Europe

Andrew McCormick explains the role ECHR membership plays in the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement.

ukandeu.ac.uk

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Reposted by Anand Menon, Jill Rutter

Markus W. Gehring @mwgehring.bsky.social · 1d

Warm invitation @eulegalstudies.bsky.social annual lecture with the most inspiring @ukandeu.bsky.social Director Prof @anandmenon.bsky.social with Reflections on the Brexit ‘Revolution’ - please join us @cambridgelaw.bsky.social on 3 Nov 5.30pm - open to all.

www.cels.law.cam.ac.uk/press/events...

2025-26 Mackenzie Stuart Lecture: 'Reflections on the Brexit

Speaker: Professor Anand Menon, Director, UK in a Changing Europe Biography: Anand Menon is Director of the UK in a Changing Europe and Professor of European Politics and Foreign Affairs at King’s

www.cels.law.cam.ac.uk

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Reposted by Anand Menon

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

Some thoughts on an undercovered line in Kemi Badenoch's speech and the Tory party's half-right theory of 'why Reform are leading the polls' more generally in today's note:

Tories need a leader who can say sorry

British public remain angry with the previous government, with many turning to Reform as alternative to Labour

www.ft.com

7 6 33

Reposted by Anand Menon

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 1d

And for more infromation on what polling is and how it works, check out our report here 👉 ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/poll...

Polling: what is it, and how does it work? - UK in a changing Europe

Rob Ford, Zain Mohyuddin and Sophie Stowers explain what public opinion polling is, what it measures and how it works.

ukandeu.ac.uk

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Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Will Jennings, Anand Menon , and 1 more Jonathan Portes, Will Jennings, Anand Menon, Jill Rutter

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 1d

"Are they [MRPs] any use to anyone at this stage of the Parliament? No! Do something more useful. Stop producing these polls. They're not magic."

Expert pollster @psurridge.bsky.social reflects on polls and electoral reform

Catch up on the discussion in full here 👇 www.youtube.com/live/ivRLHUb...

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 1d

No idea what you said, but I'm taking a gamble and liking it. Hope you're doing well!

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Reposted by Anand Menon

Marina Costa Lobo @marinacostalobo.bsky.social · 1d

Agradeço à @comculturaearte.bsky.social que quis entrevistar-me sobre o livro que publiquei recentemente com a Ana Espírito Santo “O eleitorado português no século XXI”.

Comunidade Cultura e Arte @comculturaearte.bsky.social · 2d

“A homogeneidade nas eleições é inimiga dos ganhos eleitorais”, sublinha Marina Costa Lobo em entrevista à Comunidade Cultura e Arte.

👉Entrevista da jornalista Ana Monteiro Fernandes: comunidadeculturaearte.com/entrevista-m...

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 1d

Wander round Mumbai these days and you’ll hardly see a brown face.

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Reposted by Anand Menon

JP Spencer @jpspencer.bsky.social · 2d

£2.7bn of stamp duty receipts in 23-24 came from properties worth more than £1.5m.

SDLT may be a bad tax, but I don’t think a pure tax giveaway to multimillionaire property owners should be a priority.

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Reposted by Anand Menon

Jill Rutter @jillongovt.bsky.social · 2d

I dialled in from Manchester to discuss the state of the right with @psurridge.bsky.social @timbale.bsky.social and Tim Montgomerie (also in Manchester - even though he is now in Reform) for @ukandeu.bsky.social Utterly fascinating (TM @anandmenon.bsky.social) - watch www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivRL...

UKICE Lunch Hour: the state of the right

YouTube video by UK in a Changing Europe

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Anand Menon

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 3d

"Yet the EU can only do so much. When it comes to marshalling the use of force, an institution intended to tame rather than to deploy power has its limits."

@anandmenon.bsky.social on Europe's 'hard power problem' and why defence cooperation must go beyond the EU

ukandeu.ac.uk/europes_hard...

Europe's hard power problem - UK in a changing Europe

Anand Menon reflects on Europe's role in its own security and argues that it must rapidly undo the consequences of underinvestment in defence and relience on the US.

ukandeu.ac.uk

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Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Anand Menon, Vaughan S. Roberts

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 3d

I'm guessing Robert Jenrick might be hard-pressed to see a black face if he walked round his own constituency of Newark for 90 minutes, given the ethnic minority population of its main town looks to be smaller than the white population of Handsworth. (Source: citypopulation.de/en/uk/eastmi...)

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Reposted by Steve Peers, Anand Menon, Ben Rosamond , and 1 more Steve Peers, Anand Menon, Ben Rosamond, Nicolai von Ondarza

Election Maps UK @electionmaps.uk · 3d

Westminster Voting Intention:

RFM: 27% (-2)
LAB: 20% (-2)
CON: 17% (+1)
LDM: 17% (+2)
GRN: 12% (+1)
SNP: 4% (+1)

Via @yougov.co.uk, 5-6 Oct.
Changes w/ 28-29 Sep.

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Reposted by Anand Menon

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 3d

"The prize of ‘killing off’ the Tories has lured the Lib Dems into prioritising 2024 Conservative voters. Such a strategy has its upsides but the likelihood of success appears limited"

David Cutts, Charles Pattie & @prfandrwrssll.bsky.social on the Lib Dems' strategy

ukandeu.ac.uk/the-liberal-...

Targeting Tory voters over Labour: the Liberal Democrats' strategic error? - UK in a changing Europe

David Cutts, Charles Pattie and Andrew Russell argue that the Liberal Democrats’ strategy to target disaffected Conservative voters to boost their support...

ukandeu.ac.uk

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Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Steve Peers

Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 3d

‘After highlighting the lack of white people, the shadow justice secretary said it was not about “the colour of your skin or your faith”’ www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Robert Jenrick complained of ‘not seeing another white face’ in part of Birmingham

Shadow justice secretary criticised for suggesting he could tell how integrated Handsworth was based on short visit

www.theguardian.com

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Reposted by Anand Menon

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 4d

"There is an urgent need for the EU to come to its defence or risk finding itself aligned globally with the rogue states who uphold international law only when it suits them."

Mihail Evans argues that the EU must act to defend the Ottowa Convention that bans landmines

ukandeu.ac.uk/the-eu-and-t...

The EU and the Mine Ban Convention - UK in a changing Europe

Mihail Evans reflects on the decision by Ukraine and several EU member states to leave the Ottowa Treaty that bans the use of anti-personnel landmines. He argues that the EU must act to defend to Mine...

ukandeu.ac.uk

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Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 4d

Will bottle some sunshine

Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 4d

Good Lord no. I wouldn’t dare risk losing it.

Anand Menon @anandmenon.bsky.social · 4d

Manchester 0 tbf