Birkbeck Politics

On 6 September 2022, Liz Truss became the third women in history to occupy the UK's highest political office and the UK’s ninth ‘takeover' Prime Minister since the Second World War. Truss inherits a Parliamentary Conservative Party which remains scarred by Brexit and divided over how to handle the cost-of-living crisis and worsening outlook for economic growth. International challenges, including the war in Ukraine, require close cooperation between the UK and European partners, but Truss enters Downing Street with a reputation as a divisive figure who plays to the domestic gallery. And yet, throughout her political career, Truss has beaten expectations and changed her policy positions. In this roundtable, members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck discussed what to expect from Liz Truss’s premiership, as a general election and perhaps even further leadership challenges loom on the political horizon. The panel was chaired by Dr Samantha Ashenden (Reader in Politics and Sociology) and included Dr Laura Richards-Gray (Lecturer in British Politics) and Dr Ben Worthy (Senor Lecturer in Politics) as speakers.

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In Episode 62, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss the Conservative leadership election. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In Episode 61, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss Boris Johnson’s resignation as leader of the Conservative Party and his legacy as Prime Minister. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

‘Studying Politics at Birkbeck prepared me for this campaign'. Listen to current Birkbeck Politics student Ben Wood talking about his experience of running for Parliament in the recent North Shropshire by-election. For more information about Birkbeck’s undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In episode 60, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss Boris Johnson’s troubled premiership and Dominic Raab’s review of the Human Rights Act. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In episode 59, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss political sleaze and the government’s on-off approach to the Northern Ireland Protocol. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Politics and the Arts is a new undergraduate module at Birkbeck that explores the representation of politics in literature, film and other branches of the arts. It asks how artists think about politics and what political scientists can learn from the arts. To mark the launch of this module. Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy from Birkbeck’s Department of Politics discuss the first chapter of George Orwell’s 1984. For more information about undergraduate modules at Birkbeck, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In this episode, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy debate Boris Johnson’s lobbying scandal and Arlene Foster’s resignation announcement. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Beyond Westminster is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College look at politics outside the UK. It discusses events in other parts of the world and asks what if the UK had a political system closer to that of other countries. In Episode 3, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy compare UK and US politics in the light of the 2020 presidential election.

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In this episode, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy debate the Conservative rebellion over the English lockdown and what the US election means for the special relationship. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Beyond Westminster is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College look at politics outside the UK. It discusses events in other parts of the world and asks what if the UK had a political system closer to that of other countries. In Episode 2, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss Italy’s constitutional referendum and ask whether, in political terms, the UK is becoming more Italian. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In this episode, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy debate the prospects for Scottish independence and the perennial politics of civil service reform. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College, University of London discuss current issues in British politics. In this episode, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy explore the impact of COVID-19 on British politics and the tumultuous state of Brexit negotiations. For more information about research on politics at Birkbeck, the range of events run by the Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life and our undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD programmes in politics, please visit www.bbk.ac.uk/politics

The newly relaunched Birkbeck Centre for British Political Life (BPL) will host a public-facing seminar on progressive Ulster unionism. With funding from the Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities, this seminar brings together journalists, political scientists, and historians, from Birkbeck and Northern Ireland. Representations of Northern Irish Politics in recent years have been dominated by the £1billion confidence and supply agreement between the Conservatives and the DUP; allegations of corruption over a renewal heating scheme; the contestation of abortion rights and celebratory cakes; and failing political institutions at Stormont. Such representations are often partial and superficial readings of the politics of Northern Ireland. But if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that Britain’s tendency to ‘park’ questions of Northern Ireland is no longer sustainable. Given this new focus – and to better understand Ulster unionist’s position in UK politics, there is an urgent need for greater consideration of unionism; to explore voices from the wide spectrum of opinions which exist within modern unionism. The prominence of the DUP in the UK Parliament in recent years creates a narrative of an inherently socially conservative unionism. This excludes voices including other unionist parties, liberal unionists in favour of progressive reforms, and those who backed Remain in 2016. As attention focused on Northern Ireland during the Brexit impasse in 2019, major constitutional and social changes have occurred including the legalisation of both gay marriage and abortion. This seminar centres progressive unionism’s role in Northern Ireland as it enters a new decade where its relationship with the European Union, within the United Kingdom, and on the Island of Ireland are uncertain and subject to competing aims/perspectives. Speakers: Dr Sean Brady Lecturer in Modern British and Irish History at Birkbeck. His research focuses on gender, sexuality, politics and religion in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Britain and Ireland. He is currently working on a book entitled: ‘Sex and Sectarianism: Gender and Sexuality in Northern Ireland’s History’ Dr Sophie Long Dr Long’s PhD from Queen’s University Belfast was entitled ‘An Investigation into Ulster Loyalism and the Politics of Misrecognition’. She uses recognition theory to assess the experiences of loyalists in post-ceasefire Northern Ireland. Dr Long has also worked on the Northern Ireland programme at the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust from 2018 and now leads the Sustainable Future programme. Panel: Conor Kelly MRes/PhD student at Birkbeck’s Department of Politics. His research focuses on Northern Irish political parties attitudes towards the EU. Conor also works as a Research Assistant at the Constitution Unit, UCL on their Unification Referendums on the Island of Ireland project. Sian Norris Writer and journalist. She was formerly the Ben Pimlott writer-in-residence at Birkbeck’s Politics Department (2018-2020). Sian is a regular contributor to the New Statesman, the Guardian, the Pool, Prospect UK, politics.co.uk, and 50.50 openDemocracy. Claire Sugden MLA Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for East Londonderry. Ms Sugden sits as an Independent Unionist in Stormont due to her socially liberal views. She has a master’s degree in Irish politics from Queen’s University Belfast. Chair: Dr Ben Worthy Deputy Director of the Birkbeck Centre for British Public Life and Senior Lecturer in Politics. His research interests include Government Transparency, particularly Freedom of Information, as well as Political Leadership and British Politics.

Beyond Westminster is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College look at politics outside the UK. It discusses events in other parts of the world and asks what if the UK had a political system closer to that of other countries. In Episode 1, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy offer their thoughts on Ireland’s extraordinary general election.

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. In episode 54, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy look at the Conservative Party’s comprehensive victory in the 2019 general election. They ask what went right for the Conservatives and wrong for progressive parties.

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. In Episode 53, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss two recent works on Northern Ireland: Spotlight on the Troubles: A Secret History and Burned: The Inside Story of the 'Cash-for-Ash' Scandal and Northern Ireland's Secretive New Elite.

Helen Thompson gave the The 2019/20 Academic Lecture for the Birkbeck Centre of British Political Life on Thursday 14 November 2019. Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at the University Cambridge, she is at present Deputy Head of the School of the Humanities and Social Sciences. She is a regular panelist on Talking Politics Podcast. Helen’s present work is focused on the historical origins of the post-2008 economic and political world and the crises it is generating for western countries. More particularly her recent work covers the political economy of oil, Brexit and the euro zone crisis. Her most recent book is Oil And The Western Economic Crisis, published by Palgrave. Her article ‘Inevitability and contingency: the political economy of Brexit,’ won the 2017 prize for best article in the British Journal of Politics and International Relations.

Description: Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. It is aimed at those with an interest in British politics in general and students on Birkbeck's BA Politics module, Contemporary British Politics, in particular. In episode 52, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy look beyond national coverage of the 2019 general election to explore key campaign issues in Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland and the North of England.

Westminster Watch is a podcast in which members of the Department of Politics at Birkbeck College discuss current issues in British politics. It is aimed at those with an interest in British politics in general and students on Birkbeck's BA Politics module, Contemporary British Politics, in particular. In episode 51, Professor Dermot Hodson and Dr Ben Worthy discuss Parliament’s response to Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal and new laws on abortion and same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland.