Paula Surridge
@psurridge.bsky.social
Professor of Political Sociology, University of Bristol
British politics, elections, public opinion and (a lot of) political values.
SubStack: https://pollingsnippets.substack.com/?r=4a6d0z&utm_campaign=pub-shar
British politics, elections, public opinion and (a lot of) political values.
SubStack: https://pollingsnippets.substack.com/?r=4a6d0z&utm_campaign=pub-shar
Policy development by Facebook comments. Guess it'll be giving police the power to give kids a clip round the ear next.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Parents could face prison for child's crimes under justice reforms, minister says
The reforms to Parenting Orders could also see parents losing benefits, Jake Richards MP told the Times.
www.bbc.co.uk
September 19, 2026 at 11:21 AM
Policy development by Facebook comments. Guess it'll be giving police the power to give kids a clip round the ear next.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
Reposted by Paula Surridge
LibDems appear in strong position to consolidate +64 gains they made in 2024, eso if Labour/Green tempted voters see them as pref local alternative to Cons/Reform, & some disaffected moderate Tories not put off
Beyond consolidation [+marginal gains if right fragments more] difficult in this cycle
Beyond consolidation [+marginal gains if right fragments more] difficult in this cycle
Resharing this - a quick look at how the Lib Dem vote has changed since 2024. And why headline polls aren't the key story.
pollingsnippets.substack.com/p/libdems-re...
pollingsnippets.substack.com/p/libdems-re...
LibDems Revisited
Since the 2024 general election the Liberal Democrat vote share in national polls has remained relatively flat, with calls for Ed Davey to be more radical amid concerns about the visibility of the par...
pollingsnippets.substack.com
September 19, 2026 at 11:01 AM
LibDems appear in strong position to consolidate +64 gains they made in 2024, eso if Labour/Green tempted voters see them as pref local alternative to Cons/Reform, & some disaffected moderate Tories not put off
Beyond consolidation [+marginal gains if right fragments more] difficult in this cycle
Beyond consolidation [+marginal gains if right fragments more] difficult in this cycle
Resharing this - a quick look at how the Lib Dem vote has changed since 2024. And why headline polls aren't the key story.
pollingsnippets.substack.com/p/libdems-re...
pollingsnippets.substack.com/p/libdems-re...
LibDems Revisited
Since the 2024 general election the Liberal Democrat vote share in national polls has remained relatively flat, with calls for Ed Davey to be more radical amid concerns about the visibility of the par...
pollingsnippets.substack.com
September 19, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Resharing this - a quick look at how the Lib Dem vote has changed since 2024. And why headline polls aren't the key story.
pollingsnippets.substack.com/p/libdems-re...
pollingsnippets.substack.com/p/libdems-re...
September 18, 2026 at 4:11 PM
If other parties were able (willing even) to make this stick to Reform and Restore I think it would have a significant impact on support. RNLI is a very widely supported institution.
"RNLI crew members had been forced to take their permits off their cars after their tyres have been repeatedly slashed. Most of them have been pilloried at the school gates or turned away from local pubs. One man who worked in search and rescue had been beaten unconscious and hospitalised"
I have spent weeks shadowing the RNLI and I can tell you, they do it out of nothing more than compassion.
Wrote about the heroes I've met over the years in this free-to-read post.
nicolakelly.substack.com/p/the-rnli-a...
Wrote about the heroes I've met over the years in this free-to-read post.
nicolakelly.substack.com/p/the-rnli-a...
September 18, 2026 at 7:24 AM
If other parties were able (willing even) to make this stick to Reform and Restore I think it would have a significant impact on support. RNLI is a very widely supported institution.
Thanks to Stephen, I was reminded that people don't think about the Lib Dems enough and have revisited some analysis to see where 2024 Lib Dem voters are now.
Post coming tomorrow but key take away - Ed Davey could do with a by election in a place they were a close second sometime soon.
Post coming tomorrow but key take away - Ed Davey could do with a by election in a place they were a close second sometime soon.
If Ed Davey had made different choices from the summer of 2024 to September 2025, would it have been possible for the Liberal Democrats to have won Hackney, Walthamstow and Gorton and Denton in 2026?
And would this have been a desirable outcome?
And would this have been a desirable outcome?
September 17, 2026 at 12:57 PM
Thanks to Stephen, I was reminded that people don't think about the Lib Dems enough and have revisited some analysis to see where 2024 Lib Dem voters are now.
Post coming tomorrow but key take away - Ed Davey could do with a by election in a place they were a close second sometime soon.
Post coming tomorrow but key take away - Ed Davey could do with a by election in a place they were a close second sometime soon.
Unless she has had to deal with the NHS more than once a week in which case it is entirely understandable.
Well, yes, because that is also rarer. A posh woman over 50 committing assault genuinely is really noteworthy.
September 16, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Unless she has had to deal with the NHS more than once a week in which case it is entirely understandable.
It's the start of the academic year, and so of course I am browsing Christmas decorations in the hope of convincing myself it isn't far to the end of term. I have questions about this description though
September 15, 2026 at 4:04 PM
It's the start of the academic year, and so of course I am browsing Christmas decorations in the hope of convincing myself it isn't far to the end of term. I have questions about this description though
BBC News - UK to return to cooler wetter weather. My local weather forecast next week.
September 15, 2026 at 8:21 AM
BBC News - UK to return to cooler wetter weather. My local weather forecast next week.
First I misread this as involve more housework, and honestly I could get behind that. But more coursework when we can't work out what to do with the AI issue at degree level sounds quite problematic
With Lucy Powell saying she wants to see GCSEs involve more coursework, where do Britons stand on how much final grades should be based on exams versus coursework?
Based entirely coursework: 4%
Mostly on coursework: 19%
About even split: 47%
Mostly on exams: 12%
Entirely on exams: 3%
Based entirely coursework: 4%
Mostly on coursework: 19%
About even split: 47%
Mostly on exams: 12%
Entirely on exams: 3%
September 14, 2026 at 4:13 PM
First I misread this as involve more housework, and honestly I could get behind that. But more coursework when we can't work out what to do with the AI issue at degree level sounds quite problematic
According to this reply this form of protest would not work without the direct mailing envelopes provided by Reform UK
Haven't deleted the original, because the intention was to highlight the sentiment/action from facebook.
bsky.app/profile/ab-i...
Haven't deleted the original, because the intention was to highlight the sentiment/action from facebook.
bsky.app/profile/ab-i...
A very British form of resistance popping up on Facebook today. People buying RNLI Christmas cards to send to a Reform UK free post address.
September 14, 2026 at 11:31 AM
According to this reply this form of protest would not work without the direct mailing envelopes provided by Reform UK
Haven't deleted the original, because the intention was to highlight the sentiment/action from facebook.
bsky.app/profile/ab-i...
Haven't deleted the original, because the intention was to highlight the sentiment/action from facebook.
bsky.app/profile/ab-i...
Reposted by Paula Surridge
For political scientists headed to Liverpool for EPOP this week (and anyone else interested!), @bjpols.bsky.social has made a collection of articles available on elections, public opinion and parties free to read...
EPOP collection
EPOP collection
www.cambridge.org
September 14, 2026 at 10:47 AM
For political scientists headed to Liverpool for EPOP this week (and anyone else interested!), @bjpols.bsky.social has made a collection of articles available on elections, public opinion and parties free to read...
Worth remembering whenever we create/see breakdowns of anything by Brexit vote without a too young to vote category.
Generational change means there is no longer a pro-Brexit majority. A fifth of voters at the next General Election will have been too young to vote in 2016. But the research finds this is a challenge for both sides of the argument - not just one of them - with those under 30 often the least engaged.
September 14, 2026 at 10:38 AM
Worth remembering whenever we create/see breakdowns of anything by Brexit vote without a too young to vote category.
A very British form of resistance popping up on Facebook today. People buying RNLI Christmas cards to send to a Reform UK free post address.
September 13, 2026 at 9:39 PM
A very British form of resistance popping up on Facebook today. People buying RNLI Christmas cards to send to a Reform UK free post address.
Start of University visiting weeks with my Year 13 son. He seems to have stumbled on a new 'widening participation' index based on the heights of the other prospective students (for context he is 5'7 and has noticed that height and class correlate)
September 13, 2026 at 2:18 PM
Start of University visiting weeks with my Year 13 son. He seems to have stumbled on a new 'widening participation' index based on the heights of the other prospective students (for context he is 5'7 and has noticed that height and class correlate)
So about that incredible new bowling attack that was going to win the Ashes next year...
September 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM
So about that incredible new bowling attack that was going to win the Ashes next year...
Reposted by Paula Surridge
Thanks to everyone who's donated. Those of us lucky enough to have grown up and to live by the sea - and so see how rough and cold it gets in the autumn and winter - realise again and again just how brave these folk must be to go out and do what they do.
September 11, 2026 at 10:21 AM
Thanks to everyone who's donated. Those of us lucky enough to have grown up and to live by the sea - and so see how rough and cold it gets in the autumn and winter - realise again and again just how brave these folk must be to go out and do what they do.
Something very strange happened yesterday. I got a GP appointment within an hour of making the request - actually seen in person within an hour. The item prescribed was available at my pharmacy *and* it seems to have actually stopped the pain.
September 11, 2026 at 9:13 AM
Something very strange happened yesterday. I got a GP appointment within an hour of making the request - actually seen in person within an hour. The item prescribed was available at my pharmacy *and* it seems to have actually stopped the pain.
Response on facebook to a post about a poor road finish after pot holes had been fixed (and this is on the milder side)
September 9, 2026 at 9:30 AM
Response on facebook to a post about a poor road finish after pot holes had been fixed (and this is on the milder side)
Reposted by Paula Surridge
💥 NEW REPORT 💥
📖 The latest edition of our Policy Landscape 2026 with @resolutionfoundation.org is now available
It's is an invaluable one-stop shop explaining the major policy challenges the confronting the UK and the difficult choices that lie ahead
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/poli...
📖 The latest edition of our Policy Landscape 2026 with @resolutionfoundation.org is now available
It's is an invaluable one-stop shop explaining the major policy challenges the confronting the UK and the difficult choices that lie ahead
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/poli...
Policy landscape 2026 - UK in a changing Europe
As Parliament returns from recess, there is no shortage of policy challenges confronting Andy Burnham’s new government. To spell out the difficult choices that lie ahead, Resolution Foundation and UK ...
ukandeu.ac.uk
September 8, 2026 at 7:11 AM
💥 NEW REPORT 💥
📖 The latest edition of our Policy Landscape 2026 with @resolutionfoundation.org is now available
It's is an invaluable one-stop shop explaining the major policy challenges the confronting the UK and the difficult choices that lie ahead
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/poli...
📖 The latest edition of our Policy Landscape 2026 with @resolutionfoundation.org is now available
It's is an invaluable one-stop shop explaining the major policy challenges the confronting the UK and the difficult choices that lie ahead
🔗 ukandeu.ac.uk/reports/poli...
Must be tired, spent quite some time wondering about Living Populism Vs the undead variety.
"Cost of living populism" is having a moment. This is a really illuminating conversation in @ippr.org Progressive Review, with @steveakehurst.bsky.social, @anooshc.bsky.social and @samalvis.bsky.social. Few of the more interesting points:
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...
Cost of Living Populism: A Discussion
Could ‘cost of living populism’ offer a way forward for the left? Chris Bick of IPPR sat down with Persuasion UK's Steve Akehurst, the New Statesman's Anoosh Chakelian, and IPPR's Sam Alvis to talk t...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
September 7, 2026 at 5:29 PM
Must be tired, spent quite some time wondering about Living Populism Vs the undead variety.
The news isn't improving, and it is the wrong time of year to retreat into cricket.
Can't decide whether the footage from Dover or of the audience and protestor at the Reform conference is the most chilling.
September 6, 2026 at 5:09 PM
The news isn't improving, and it is the wrong time of year to retreat into cricket.
Can't decide whether the footage from Dover or of the audience and protestor at the Reform conference is the most chilling.
September 5, 2026 at 8:09 PM
Can't decide whether the footage from Dover or of the audience and protestor at the Reform conference is the most chilling.
Getting on for 9 hours now. The supposedly pre by GP urgent Gynae assessment has become 'wait your turn for the ED doctor'. 🤬
This place is so bad. Third visit in 5 days for an elderly person recovering from major surgery, with a hospital acquired infection. This time sent by GP supposedly direct for assessment. Three hours later and we haven't even seen a nurse.
Start of the academic year so of course it is time for more adventures in NHS land. Utterly grim in A and E again. Despite assurances we were going direct to a ward from the ambulance 🤬
September 5, 2026 at 12:30 AM
Getting on for 9 hours now. The supposedly pre by GP urgent Gynae assessment has become 'wait your turn for the ED doctor'. 🤬
This place is so bad. Third visit in 5 days for an elderly person recovering from major surgery, with a hospital acquired infection. This time sent by GP supposedly direct for assessment. Three hours later and we haven't even seen a nurse.
Start of the academic year so of course it is time for more adventures in NHS land. Utterly grim in A and E again. Despite assurances we were going direct to a ward from the ambulance 🤬
September 4, 2026 at 7:55 PM
This place is so bad. Third visit in 5 days for an elderly person recovering from major surgery, with a hospital acquired infection. This time sent by GP supposedly direct for assessment. Three hours later and we haven't even seen a nurse.