Alexandra Meakin
@ameakin.bsky.social
490 followers 470 following 120 posts
Lecturer in British Politics & Programme Director BA Politics and Parliamentary Studies, @polisatleeds.bsky.social @universityofleeds.bsky.social Wrote PhD on the Restoration & Renewal of Palace of Westminster. Reposts ≠ endorsements
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
hpsvanessa.bsky.social
Reminder that basing funding on graduate income incentivises unis to close courses like nursing (too poorly paid), and to discriminate against female students and most minority ethnic groups (whose earnings on graduation are lower than white men).
eicathomefinn.bsky.social
'Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is expected to announce plans to cut the number of UK university places by about 100,000 annually by reintroducing student number controls.' 1/3
Badenoch’s number caps plan would cut 100,000 university places
Tory leader to use conference speech to attack ‘debt trap degrees’ and pledge more money for apprenticeships
www.timeshighereducation.com
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
hopenothate.org.uk
Hate seeks to divide us. But hope endures when we stand together. Our solidarity is with the Jewish community today. #britainstandstogether
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
sundersays.bsky.social
On Yom Kippur many Jewish people in Britain have their phones off to mark the holy day.

As it ends at 723pm, some will hear the tragic Manchester news for the first time.

At that time, please join many of us to send a message of solidarity to British Jews.Thanks Together coalition for proposing.
To everyone in Britain's Jewish Community: you are not alone.

We will not let hate or those who spread it win.

We stand with you.
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
nadinebh.bsky.social
Going to synagogue on the holiest day of the year should never, ever end with you lying dead simply because you’re a British Jew

Never

The implications for this for the UK Jewish community are going to be enormous

So many of us have been so, so scared about this moment
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
nadinebh.bsky.social
Bomb proof doors. Barbed wire. Coordinating with police. Community security service. Drilling congregants about the security protocol. Withholding the details of events publicly for security reasons. Always being on high alert. The list goes on.

And it’s still not enough.

What more can we do?
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
alexsobel.co.uk
I have contacted West Yorkshire Police who have assured me that extra resources have been deployed to ensure there will be additional protection for places of Jewish worship in Leeds during this distressing time.

Antisemitism must never prevail.
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
alexsobel.co.uk
I'm horrified by the reports of an attack on the Jewish community at Heaton Park synagogue, on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. My thoughts are with the victims and their families, and all those affected by this horrific attack.
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
aliceolilly.bsky.social
Incredibly useful thread from @chanret.bsky.social for anybody contemplating a PhD
chanret.bsky.social
Time for an explainer on how to get funding for a PhD in the UK (1/n)
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
marcgeddes.uk
The fellow may focus on:

🇩🇪 Qual and quant research on the German/Bavarian parliaments

🇬🇧 Qual and quant research on the UK/Scottish parliaments

🔢 Quant research on the UK, Scottish, German and Bavarian parliaments

🌟 Research in another combination as designed by you (inc. the cases above)
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
helenbramah.bsky.social
Super excited to see the second paper from my PhD now published!

I find that making MPs' pay and expenses more salient significantly reduces political trust. Raising awareness of the regulator mitigates this effect when mentioning pay, but does not improve trust when expenses are mentioned.
bjpir.bsky.social
📣 New #openaccess #BJPIR article out now!

'Does independent regulation of MPs’ pay and expenses improve political trust? Evidence from a survey experiment' by Helen Bramah.

🔗 buff.ly/FPMxXzL

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
groomb.bsky.social
The lane outside Grandma's had a stream running down the middle of it and plenty of mud. They held hands and slithered along together. Illustration by children's author Shirley Hughes, born in West Kirby. #WomensArt #NorthernArt
ameakin.bsky.social
We had Beatties In Reading! Thanks for the reminder 🙌
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
robinwilde.me
Last week, a woman sidled up to Dad (a white American) at the bus stop after seeing some black men and said "soon this whole town will be immigrants".

She was taken aback when he firmly pointed out they were more British than he was, and asked what made her assume he was okay, but they weren't.
tpgroberts.bsky.social
Friends have explained that street harassment today is significantly worse than it was just after the riots a year ago, taking clear action to condemn does set a tone and direction!
stephenkb.bsky.social
Quite. So many Labour people on this website visibly have no idea of just how bad things have got for ethnic minorities since they came on, and how their visible indifference lands.
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
tom-clark.bsky.social
Useful reminder from Peter Kellner on the problems we refuse to acknowledge are getting better, and the politics of hopelessness that this breeds

open.substack.com/pub/kellnerp...
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
polisatleeds.bsky.social
Professor Adrian Gallagher appeared on BBC Radio 4 over the weekend to discuss the United Nations on its 80th anniversary. Listen to the show here: 📻

www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
Sunday - UN at 80; Christian Nationalism; Religion and video games - BBC Sounds
A look at the ethical and religious issues of the week
www.bbc.co.uk
ameakin.bsky.social
Happy first day of 2025/26 intro week for our new and returning @polisatleeds.bsky.social students! So delighted that the Uni of Leeds heron also returned to mark the occasion 🙌
A majestic heron stands on a grassy platform in the middle of the Roger Stevens pond. The Roger Stevens building is in the background, with lots of students trooping up the building ramp. The sky is blue with a few floaty white clouds.
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
universityofleeds.bsky.social
It's Welcome Week here at Leeds, which means our campus is lovely and busy 🙌 ☀️

For new students, life in Leeds starts now, and this week is all about meeting new people, trying new things and exploring your new home.

https://students.leeds.ac.uk/welcome
Graphic featuring an image of students on the Parkinson steps with the text "Welcome to your new home" overlayed
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
seanjones.org
If you support revoking the settled status of people who, even on your own contentious definitions, came to the country “legally” and are “fully integrated”, what, other than xenophobia, is your rationale?
ameakin.bsky.social
Really enjoyed this week's episode of The Rundown on the 'dark arts' of political whipping with @alaintolhurst.bsky.social @sebwhale.bsky.social & former Govt Chief Whip, Lord Harper. Straight onto the Reading List for #PIED2706 Week 2: Who's Who in Parliament open.spotify.com/episode/1zAe...
Unmasking the 'dark arts' of political whipping
open.spotify.com
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
naomialderman.bsky.social
I love London so much. So much.

Did you know that London has the lowest level of ethnic violence of any city of comparable size in the world?

Multiculturalism has in fact worked here. They just don’t want it to be true because we happen to have a Muslim mayor.
london.gov.uk
In London, hate will never win.
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
samfr.bsky.social
Since WW2, 19 seats in Westminster have been won with less than 30% of the vote. Ten of those were last year. They'll be a lot more next time.
robfordmancs.bsky.social
5 parties on more than 12%, winner gains seat with under 30%. Results like this used to be rare, freak outliers. Now they are routine (there was a second just like this yesterday). Electoral chaos.
electionmaps.uk
Newmarket East (West Suffolk) Council By-Election Result:

➡️ RFM: 29.7% (New)
🌳 CON: 25.0% (+4.1)
🔶 LDM: 17.2% (-3.1)
🌹 LAB: 15.3% (-8.3)
🌍 GRN: 12.8% (New)

No WSI (-19.2) or Ind (-16.1) as previous.

Reform GAIN from Labour.
Changes w/ 2023.
Reposted by Alexandra Meakin
headfallsoff.com
every time there's political violence discourse i think about how jo cox was assassinated in broad daylight by a fascist who shouted "britain first" as he shot her, and now nine years later her party is dedicating every moment in power to placating the ideology of her murderer