CV
Publications
2024
Politicians are better at estimating public opinion when they think it is more salient.
Party Politics. With Stefaan Walgrave, Karolin Soontjens and Peter Loewen.
2023
Do governments always take unpopular decisions knowingly? How perceptual inaccuracy affects policy decisions.
Representation. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2023.2281312
2023
The politics of competence – is it an election-winning strategy?
2023
Selecting Sunak: Conservative MPs’ Nomination Preferences in the (Second) British
Conservative Party Leadership Election
Parliamentary Affairs. With Oliver Booth, David Jeffery & Andrew Roe-Crines. https://doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsad010
2023
Trusting Truss: The Conservative MP’s Voting Preferences in the (First) British Conservative Party Leadership Election of 2022
Representation 59(4): 555-572. With David Jeffery, Tim Heppell & Andrew Roe-Crines. https://doi.org/10.1080/00344893.2023.2231469
2022
Heuristics and Policy Reponsiveness: A Research Agenda
European Political Science 22(2): 202-227. With Barbara Vis.
2021
Political Recruitment Under Pressure, Again: MPs and Candidates in the 2019 General Election
Co-authored with Rosie Campbell and Jennifer Hudson. Chapter in: P Surridge, T Bale, W Jennings & R Ford (eds.) The British General Election of 2019 (Palgrave Macmillan). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-74254-6_11
2021
When are governing parties more likely to respond to public opinion? The strange case of the Liberal Democrats and tuition fees.
British Politics 16: 336–354. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41293-020-00139-3
Recent and selected presentations
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
Twisting, but not Turning: How Thatcher's Macroeconomic Policy Revolution was Informed by Polling.
UK Political Psychology Conference, January 2021
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.
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.
Education and qualifications
2017 - 2021
2015 - 2016
2004 - 2007
2022
2019
2018
2013
Languages spoken
PhD in Politics, University of Manchester
Thesis title: How do parties in office respond to electoral incentives? A study into the positioning, issue prioritisation and perceptions of decision-makers in the UK.
MRes Politics, Birkbeck University. Awarded Distinction.
BA (Hons.) Politics, Philosophy, and Economics, University of Essex. Awarded 2:1.
Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Attended Oxford Spring School in Advanced Research Methods sessions on Advanced R Techniques and Causal Inference.
Attended Essex Summer School in Panel Data Analysis in R.
Prince2 Project Management Registered Practitioner.
English (Native), French (C1), Spanish (B1), Dutch (A1)
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, Intro 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
As a PhD student, 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.