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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1h

Yep from wave 30 - Westminster VI

Reposted by Paula Surridge

Linus Westheuser @lwestheuser.bsky.social · 2h

JUST OUT: "Boundaries and Cleavages: Elements of a Cultural Sociology of Political Divides."

OA: direct.mit.edu/ecps/article...

It develops what the cultural sociology of group formation can contribute to research on political cleavages.

(And why "Somewheres vs Anywheres" really doesn't cut it.)

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 4h

It's been at least 15 years since I could ring a GP and get a same day appointment without doing the 8am dash for the phone lines and then hope to be judged an emergency, including at least one occasion 10+ years ago where not being judged worthy of an appointment resulted in a hospital stay.

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 5h

"We used to ring up our GP and get an appointment on the same day," says Kemi Badenoch. She does not add: we're all looking for the guy who did this!

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 4h

That is (mostly) explained by generational replacement - younger generations are more educated, more ethnically diverse and to some extent less religious.

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 5h

It has become more pronounced (I have a working paper on this here though it doesn't show the longer time period to get the full context media.ukandeu.ac.uk/wp-content/u...) we've been capturing it since the early 1990s. I will be working on this further in the first few months of 2026.

media.ukandeu.ac.uk

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 5h

I have been over this ground endlessly, because the meaning is specific to the field of study in this case. This is a validated attitudinal scale used extensively in the study of British politics since the early 1990s. The substack sets out the content for transparency.

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 5h

Deliberately not divided to be equal parts. Can get a sense of the relative sizes from this

pollingsnippets.substack.com/p/values-and...

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 5h

My thinking and the measures are explained more here pollingsnippets.substack.com/p/values-and...

Values and British Politics

Measuring values in the British electorate

pollingsnippets.substack.com

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 5h

Will the traditional poltiics of left and right manage to reassert some influence (potentially helping the 'old parties?

(As shown here both Labour and the Conservatives could potentially shore up vote shares across the economic dimension)

bsky.app/profile/psur...

Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

Meanwhile the Conservatives are losing even more support in those groups Reform dominate. And Labour have lost support most heavily among groups of the economic left

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 5h

Question for today - will the 2029 UK general election be the first where the '2nd dimension' dominates vote choice (rather than also being important) - which looks like very bad news for the 'old' parties or /1

Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

You can see clearly the party space fragmenting as Reform dominate the authoritarian (and increasingly the 'moderate') groups but staying virtually at 0 on the liberal left. While the Greens move to a strong second place in the liberal left group but struggle outside that group.

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 7h

Hadn't expected this to be quite so relevant today. I understand why Conservatives might have Sociology in their sights but English and Performing Arts?

Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

He wants mixed communities in the same way Conservative MPs want to reduce how many young people to go to University.

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 9h

I think that one shows your age more than Sooty. Definitely more niche.

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Reposted by Paula Surridge

Josiah Mortimer @josiah.writes.news · 9h

"Non-voters stand out as consistently the most anti-growth group across nearly every question. After them, the next most anti-growth groups are either Green or Reform UK supporters"

Tldr: Talking non-stop about "growth" probably isn't doing the Govt many favours
open.substack.com/pub/jamesbre...

What Do The Public Actually Think About Economic Growth, Technological Change and "Abundance"?

There's an "anti-growth coalition" and a “pro-growth coalition” out there, it’s just not necessarily the people you think it is

open.substack.com

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 10h

I spent the time marvelling that Tim M had managed to get a hotel room colour coordinated with his new party 😀

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 19h

Looks more like Sweep though!

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

By learning the 'lingo' presumably...

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks - this substack also explains in more detail substack.com/@paulasurrid...

Values and British Politics

Measuring values in the British electorate

substack.com

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

He wants mixed communities in the same way Conservative MPs want to reduce how many young people to go to University.

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

Meanwhile the Conservatives are losing even more support in those groups Reform dominate. And Labour have lost support most heavily among groups of the economic left

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

You can see clearly the party space fragmenting as Reform dominate the authoritarian (and increasingly the 'moderate') groups but staying virtually at 0 on the liberal left. While the Greens move to a strong second place in the liberal left group but struggle outside that group.

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

Pressing marking and review deadlines so of course I decided to update this tracking votes shares in the values groups in England since the 2019 election.

public.flourish.studio/visualisatio...

Party share by values groups, 2019 - 2024

A Flourish data visualization by Paula Surridge

public.flourish.studio

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

Fitting that the first Yougov Con/LibDem tie should appear during a conference where the Conservatives seem to have again forgotten the LibDems exist.

YouGov @yougov.co.uk · 1d

Latest YouGov Westminster voting intention (5-6 October 2025)

Reform UK: 27% (-2 from 28-29 Sept)
Labour: 20% (-2)
Conservatives: 17% (+1)
Lib Dems: 17% (+2)
Greens: 12% (+1)
SNP: 4% (+1)

yougov.co.uk/topics/polit...

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

What colour is the scarf?

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 1d

Haven't read the article, which I am sure has a stronger argument, but have we forgotten the British public elected Johnson?

Prospect Magazine @prospectmagazine.co.uk · 1d

Yes, Reform is currently riding high in the polls, writes @arusbridger.bsky.social. But could British voters become more reluctant to put someone so flaky into Downing Street the closer an election nears?

Nigel Farage has no idea how to be a prime minister

The Reform leader undoubtedly has charisma, but lacks the judgement, gravitas or respect for truth needed to lead a country

www.prospectmagazine.co.uk

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Paula Surridge @psurridge.bsky.social · 2d

Once again I am using @britishvoter.bsky.social to make a how did this person vote quiz for seminars. Think it would be a bit mean to use this voter though

(These should be next year's @psaepop.bsky.social quiz though)

British Voter Bot 🇬🇧 @britishvoter.bsky.social · Aug 3

👤 I'm a white British Anglican ✝️ woman from Stoke-on-Trent South 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿, aged 33, with a bachelor's degree.

🏠 I own my home with a mortgage. 💼 My social grade is (B) intermediate managerial/professional.

💷 Economy (general) is my top issue.

🤔 I am moderately socially authoritarian 🔒.

🗳️ I voted Liberal Democrat 🟧 in 2024.

🚫 I would vote to stay out of the EU today.

Some opinions I hold:
• 🏭 Private sector in public services has not gone far enough.
• 😠 Very dissatisfied with UK democracy.
• 👎 Disagree: Government should redistribute income from rich to poor.

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