Lawrence McKay
@lawrencemckay.bsky.social
1.4K followers 1.1K following 74 posts
Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of Reading - urban-rural divides, political trust, public opinion, UK/W Europe. Sometimes music/film/F1. Professional Simpsons reference overuser.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
sundersays.bsky.social
New from Institute of Jewish Policy Research: most comprehensive study of Jewish attitudes
> Rising experience + perception of antisemitism:feel less safe
> Growing (now majority) criticism of military campaign in Gaza; rising attachment to Israel
(July 2025 fieldwork)
www.jpr.org.uk/reports/two-...
Two years after the October 7 attacks: British Jewish views on antisemitism, Israel and Jewish life
www.jpr.org.uk
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
commsearth.nature.com
UK members of parliament overestimate the time available to mitigate climate change, with notable partisan differences, and a similar lack of knowledge is evident among the public in Britain, Canada, Chile, and Germany.
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com
fuck it we ball; give us Eric Adams as US ambassador to the UK, heaven knows we need the comic relief
gregk.co.uk
They need to give him some made-up title like US Ambassador of Standing on Business and just send him around the world doing fake official shit so he can keep giving sound bites. We can’t lose his voice at a time like this.
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
jamesomalley.co.uk
There’s an even bigger conspiracy and it goes even deeper. It turns out that well over half of Parliament and thousands of councillors around the country are all members of a leftist organisation called “The Labour Party”.
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
ruralspatialj.bsky.social
Join our team: We're recruiting 2 x 3-year post doc researchers for the Rural-Spatial-Justice project at Aberystwyth, to undertake fieldwork on rural discontent & support for disruptive politics in the UK, Europe & USA. Closing date: 19 Oct. Details: jobs.aber.ac.uk/en/vacancy/p...
Aberystwyth University - : Post-Doctoral Research Associate (Rural-Spatial-Justice) (5874)
jobs.aber.ac.uk
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
robfordmancs.bsky.social
I'll have more to say on Reform's proposals to scrap ILR at some point but for now I'll just note this - anyone telling you this is a popular idea doesn't know the polling. Overwhelming majority of public back giving people who work and pay taxes most or all rights after 5 years or less
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
*PSA OPPORTUNITY* House of Commons internship opportunity. This is exclusively for #EarlyCareer Network members of the PSA who are currently studying towards their #PhD.
📆 Apply by 28 September 2025
➡️ Full details buff.ly/xY1xXxn
#Politics #PoliticalStudies #Internship
2025 House of Commons Internship | The Political Studies Association (PSA)
Become a member Log in
buff.ly
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
aalrababah.bsky.social
🚨 New working paper alert 🚨
Missing summer — and the Tour de France? Don’t worry, we got you covered. 🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️🚴‍♂️
In this paper, we show that being on the route of Tour de France reduces far-right voting. osf.io/preprints/so...
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
dorianlynskey.bsky.social
The Nigel Farage who wrote this about Charlie Kirk's murder will be furious at the Nigel Farage who made Lucy Connolly a star of the Reform conference
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
stefwalter.bsky.social
Undecided which section to submit your paper to for the 2026 EPSS conference?

Look here for short explainers by our stellar set of section chairs:
epssnet.bsky.social
📢 Call for Papers for EPSS 2026 conference in Belfast is out: epssnet.org/belfast-2026...

Starting today, we'll feature two sections each week to provide more information about the conference.

🔝 This week: Comparative Politics & International Relations
Call for Papers | EPSS Belfast 2026 Conference
Submit your abstract or full paper for EPSS Belfast 2026. Share cutting‑edge political science research, network with peers & contribute to academic impact.
epssnet.org
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
joxley.jmoxley.co.uk
Bloody hell. The one, cost-free, open goal the new government had to differentiate itself from the last one was to be ethically sound and laser-focused on propriety. Well.
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
britishelectionstudy.com
🚨DATA RELEASE 🚨

The BES team are pleased to announce the release of Wave 30 of the British Election Study Internet Panel.

Please follow the link below, and we look forward to seeing your research!

www.britishelectionstudy.com/bes-resource...
Release Note: British Election Study Internet Panel Wave 30 - The British Election Study
www.britishelectionstudy.com
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
britishelectionstudy.com
🚨New Research 🚨

Ahead of the release of Wave 30 of the BES Internet Panel, the team has examined Labour's decline since the 2024 GE.

Labour's support has splintered into mostly indecision or left-liberal parties, but they've also lost their few right-wing voters.

🧵⬇️

tinyurl.com/3m62exph
Looking for Labour’s lost voters - The British Election Study
www.britishelectionstudy.com
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
sundersays.bsky.social
If an Islamist regime is established, the vision is co-religionists should flock towards it.

When refugees flee an Isis caliphate or flee Taliban regime for democratic west, its a particular humiliation

So Taliban have a shared interest in the Trump/Orban politics of tearing up refugee protection
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
stephenkb.bsky.social
Indeed. From 2010 to 2015, would hear constantly (and correctly) that things would change when the forced choice was Cameron vs Milband, but the Cameron machine didn't just complacently assume this. They attacked Ed Miliband relentlessly.
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
gsoh31.bsky.social
Do you want some great reading about the dilemmas Labour faced when it was last in power? Well, you're in luck - because my book on New Labour is out in February, and you can pre-order it now for a mere twenty quid! manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526146328/
Manchester University Press - New Labour, New Britain?
New Labour, New Britain? - Browse and buy the Hardcover edition of New Labour, New Britain? by Glen O'Hara
manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
lawrencemckay.bsky.social
Deftones is the big one no-one has mentioned yet.
Also Greg Freeman, TOPS, The World is a Beautiful Place & I am No Longer Afraid to Die, and quannic.
Insane week!
Reposted by Lawrence McKay
williamlallen.bsky.social
As UK net migration continues falling to about 350k, how much will this impact public opinion, and what political benefits would this present to Labour? Research with @lawrencemckay.bsky.social and @robjohns75.bsky.social suggests probably little on both counts: see 🧵 bsky.app/profile/robj...
robjohns75.bsky.social
Tomorrow there's a big White Paper on immigration (www.gov.uk/government/n...). Whatever else it does, it's bound to refuel Labour’s internal debate about net migration -- a debate full of assumptions about public opinion. Strap in for a long thread about a survey testing some of those assumptions.
Radical reforms to reduce migration
Britain's failed immigration system will be radically reformed so the system is controlled, managed and fair under a landmark White Paper.
www.gov.uk
lawrencemckay.bsky.social
Hitting ~350k is significant - our recent survey experiment finds no real political benefit to getting overall net migration numbers below their current level

See earlier thread on the findings - bsky.app/profile/robj...

@robjohns75.bsky.social @williamlallen.bsky.social
sundersays.bsky.social
Net migration for January to December 2024 was 431,000, down from 860,000

Immigration is lower again in 2025 than 2024

We don't get the emigration figures for new net migration headline until November - but net migration now clearly lower in 2025 than 2024: currently in ballpark of 300-350k