CV
Academic Appointments
2023 - Postdoctoral Scholarship Holder, Media, Movements & Politics (M2P), University of Antwerp
2021-3 Lecturer in Politics, University of Manchester
2020 Associate Lecturer (Teaching) in Quantitative Research Methods, University College London
Education
2017-21 Ph.D., Political Science, University of Manchester. Awarded Ai.
2015-16 M.Res., Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London. Awarded Distinction.
2004-07 B.A. (Hons.), Politics, Philosophy and Economics, University of Essex. Awarded 2:1.
Publications
Butler, C., Jennings, W. & Stoker, G. (2025). How do UK Political Elites Reconcile with a Low Trust Environment? Political Studies.
Butler, C., Miori, M. & Ford, R. (2024). Inside the ‘secret garden’: candidate selection at the 2019 UK general election. British Journal of Politics and International Relations.
Butler C., Walgrave, S., Soontjens, K. & Lowen, P.J. (2024). Politicians are better at estimating public opinion when they think it is more salient, Party Politics.
Butler C. (2023). Do governments always take unpopular decisions knowingly? How perceptual inaccuracy affects policy decisions. Representation.
Butler C. (2023). The politics of competence – Is it an election-winning strategy? Renewal, 31(2), 33-40.
Booth O., Butler C., Jeffery D & Roe-Crines A. (2023). Selecting Sunak: Conservative MPs’ nomination preferences in the (second) British Conservative Party leadership election. Parliamentary Affairs, 77(3), 450-469.
Jeffery D., Heppell T., Roe-Crines A. & Butler C. (2023). Trusting Truss: Conservative MPs’ voting preferences in the (first) British Conservative Party leadership election of 2022. Representation, 59(4): 555-572.
Butler C. & Vis B. (2023). Heuristics and policy responsiveness: a research agenda. European Political Science, 22, 202-227.
Butler C., Campbell R. & Hudson J. (2022) “How MPs have changed”, in: British Politics After Brexit, UK in a Changing Europe, pp. 31-33.
Butler C., Campbell R. & Hudson J. (2021) “Political Recruitment Under Pressure, Again: MPs and Candidates in the 2019 General Election”, in: P Surridge T Bale W Jennings & R Ford (eds.) The British General Election of 2019 (Palgrave Macmillan).
Butler C. (2021). When are governing parties more likely to respond to public opinion? The strange case of the Liberal Democrats and tuition fees. Br Polit 16, 336–354.
Grants and Awards
2022
2022
2019
2017 - 2020
2018
2016
Awarded £1,973 by University of Manchester School of Social Science for research assistant into candidate selection at the 2024 UK General Election (with Rob Ford).
Successfully submitted proposal for Understanding Society’s Innovation Panel Competition (with Ceri Fowler).
Awarded £1,800 from University of Manchester Faculty of Humanities for study visit to Utrecht University School of Government.
Manchester University School of Social Sciences Studentship.
As part of University of Manchester Politics Department Democracy and Elections PhD Cluster, successfully bid for ERSC funding for conference “The 2017 UK General Election: One Year On”.
Special Commendation for Outstanding Performance in a Postgraduate Dissertation, Department of Politics, Birkbeck College, University of London.
Recent and Selected Presentations
International Society of Political Psychology, Santiago, July 2024
How Politicians Assume that Voters don't Care (co-authored with Julie Sevenans, Pirmin Bundi, Fred Varone & Stefaan Walgrave)
International Society of Political Psychology, Santiago, July 2024
Brexit, Motivated Reasoning and Cognitive Reflection (co-authored with Ceri Fowler)
Politicogenetmaal, Maastricht, June 2024
Are Female Politicians Less Supportive of Conflict? (co-authored with Emma van der Goot, Pirmin Bundi & Ondrej Cisar)
EPOP Conference, Southampton, Sept 2023
How do political elites reconclie with operating in a low-trust environment? (co-authored with Will Jennings & Gerry Stoker)
ECPR General Conference, Prague, Sept 2023
EPOP Conference, Newcastle, Sept 2022
Politicians are better at estimating public opinion when they think it matters more (co-authored with Stefaan Walgrave & Karolin Soontjens)
Candidate Selection at the 2019 UK General Election (co-authored with Rob Ford & Marta Miori)
ECPR Joint Sessions Workshop, Edinburgh, April 2022
What can privately commissioned polls tell us about how governments respond to public opinion?
SciencesPo Bordeaux, November 2021
UK Political Psychology Conference, January 2021
Twisting, but not Turning: How Thatcher's Macroeconomic Policy Revolution was Informed by Polling.
Motivated Reasoning and Policy Non-Responsiveness.
Administration and Service
Sept 2022 - Jan 2023
Employability Lead
Department of Politics, University of Manchester
April 2022
ECPR Joint Sessions Workshop Co-Chair
Elites and public opinion: Analysing the interaction of public opinion, policy-making and party strategy,
Sept 2021 - Jan 2023
MA Programme Director
Democracy and Elections pathway, Department of Politics, University of Manchester
August 2020
Panel Organiser and Chair
‘Elites’ Perceptions of Public Opinion’, at 2020 ECPR General Conference (online)
March-June 2020
Research assistant to Prof. Will Jennings
I produced Impact Case Studies on the British Polling Council’s Inquiry into the performance of polls at the 2015 general election, and on the influence of the Centre for Towns thinktank.
Teaching
2021-3
2021-2
2022
2021-2
2022
2022
2022
2020
2019-20
Module Convenor, Understanding Political Change
PGT module looking at changes in voters' attitudes and behaviours in established democracies. The role involved managing the curriculum, updating learning materials for online learning, co-ordinating with guest Lecturers on the module, and leading on assessments and marking.
Lecturer, Understanding Political Choice in Britain
Third year UG module teaching statistical analysis through the fun medium of British Politics.
Lecturer, Making Sense of Politics
First year UG module introducing students to quantitative and qualitative research methods.
Lecturer, Introduction to Comparative Politics
First year UG module.
Lecturer, How To Conduct Politics Research
Second year UG module on undertaking independent research.
Lecturer, Democracy: Theory and Practise
PGT module.
Seminar leader, Dissertation Research Design
PGT module.
Associate Lecturer, Quantitative Research Methods
PGT module at UCL that introduced students to using R to undertake quantitative analysis.
Seminar Leader, British Politics and Society: From Blitz to Brexit
I led seminars on this 2nd year UG British Politics module.
Other experience
Member of steering committee of Liberal Democrats’ Innovation Fund which commissions experiments to test the effectiveness of different campaigning techniques. Feb 2021-present.
Commissioned to write a report for the Liberal Democrats’ Federal Campaigns and Elections Committee on the impact of the Unite to Remain electoral pact, August 2020.
Research Director, Music in Secondary Schools Trust, November 2015 - November 2020.
Various campaign management roles, Liberal Democrats, November 2007 - July 2018.