Cristina Leston-Bandeira
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estrangeirada.bsky.social
Cristina Leston-Bandeira
@estrangeirada.bsky.social

Parliaments and Public Engagement, with an obsession for petitions. Professor of Politics @ POLISatLeeds and Chair of IPEN, the International Parliament Engagement Network: https://ipen-network.org/ .

Political science 67%
Communication & Media Studies 15%
Pinned
A thread on petitions - with the latest viral petition (GE), I hoped to do a blog about it, but tricky finding the time! So instead, I've listed below previous posts I've written on the occasion of previous viral petitions - here for @lsepoliticsblog.bsky.social 1/7: blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandp...
What is the point of petitions in British politics?
Just under 2 million people signed a petition opposing Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK – half the number of those who signed one asking for a second EU referendum. With the role of…
blogs.lse.ac.uk

Great news to start the week - our article in Climate Policy Journal was #5 in views in 2025 - free access below:👇
#5: Climate action or delay: the dynamics of competing narratives in the UK political sphere and the influence of climate protest. Nicole Nisbett, @viktoriaspaiser.bsky.social, @estrangeirada.bsky.social & @dvaldenegro.bsky.social
Climate action or delay: the dynamics of competing narratives in the UK political sphere and the influence of climate protest
www.tandfonline.com

annoyingly it has happens often! It's not the first SPG that I've had to miss due to the weather and the fact our public transport can't cope with snow. It wont be the last :( - fact I live middle of nowhere doesn't help.

Sadly storm Goretti has scuppered my travel plans (🦒🦒🦒aplenty), so I'll be following on Zoom. Sad for not being able to catch up with friends😔, but will follow programme online.
Tomorrow marks the start of our annual weekend and we are very much looking forward to welcoming members to Exeter College, Oxford.

For those members joining us remotely, the Zoom links are now in your inboxes.

The programme is available on our website: studyofparliamentgroup.org/programme/
Programme
Conference Menu SPG Annual Weekend HomepageHow to make the most of the conference virtually On this page you can find more information about our annual weekend, including a PDF version of the confe…
studyofparliamentgroup.org
Tomorrow marks the start of our annual weekend and we are very much looking forward to welcoming members to Exeter College, Oxford.

For those members joining us remotely, the Zoom links are now in your inboxes.

The programme is available on our website: studyofparliamentgroup.org/programme/
Programme
Conference Menu SPG Annual Weekend HomepageHow to make the most of the conference virtually On this page you can find more information about our annual weekend, including a PDF version of the confe…
studyofparliamentgroup.org

A great post by Jessica which gives an insight into each of the eight Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments that we launched last month:👇
✏️ Jessica Benton Cooney from Inter Pares writes about the fantastic Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments, developed by PSA Parliaments stalwart
@estrangeirada.bsky.social
& Juliet Ollard (International Parliament Engagement Network).

📖 Read it here: bit.ly/48mNlPW
The New Playbook – PSA Parliaments
bit.ly

Friendship is going all the way to New Zealand, getting me a mug from the Parliament, keeping it for three years until we finally met in person last Friday and @bymyong.bsky.social was able to give me the mug, to add to my collection of parliamentary cups and mugs 😊 . Thank you Ben 🙏 .
✏️ Jessica Benton Cooney from Inter Pares writes about the fantastic Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments, developed by PSA Parliaments stalwart
@estrangeirada.bsky.social
& Juliet Ollard (International Parliament Engagement Network).

📖 Read it here: bit.ly/48mNlPW
The New Playbook – PSA Parliaments
bit.ly

Indeed!:)

Indeed, super job @gracecooper1.bsky.social 😊🙏👏👏 (an all conferences should be in York or Hull - much easier for me to travel to😉).

Thank you for a fab conference! To you for organising it all and all speakers. Lovely to catch up with old and few friends, and to meet some people in person for first time. And for once it was a conference just down the road from me, no giraffes, a quick and easy trip for me😊.
🙏 Thank you so much from the PSA Parliaments committee to everyone who contributed and attended!

🎉 Introducing you to our soon-to-be Co-Convenor @rickwhitaker.bsky.social

🫡 That’s us all signing off for 2025!

🤠 See you in the New Year!

#PSAParl25

Congrats Dr Martin! A pleasure to have acted as external examiner of your PhD 😊 (love the photo, and yes, I'm tiny...;)).
🎉 We were delighted to announce at the conference that our very own
Lauren Martin passed her PhD viva!! A huge congratulations to Dr Martin!

📸 Here she is with her external examiner—the wonderful @estrangeirada.bsky.social!
🙏 Thank you so much from the PSA Parliaments committee to everyone who contributed and attended!

🎉 Introducing you to our soon-to-be Co-Convenor @rickwhitaker.bsky.social

🫡 That’s us all signing off for 2025!

🤠 See you in the New Year!

#PSAParl25
🎉 We were delighted to announce at the conference that our very own
Lauren Martin passed her PhD viva!! A huge congratulations to Dr Martin!

📸 Here she is with her external examiner—the wonderful @estrangeirada.bsky.social!

Hi @darcyxtip.bsky.social / @ruthfox.bsky.social, on Westminster Hall, @louisevthompson.bsky.social and I have been doing some research on it and have a blog post about it with interim findings: psaparliaments.org/2025/01/05/w...
Westminster Hall: Parliament’s Best Kept Secret? – PSA Parliaments
psaparliaments.org

Hi Mark/Ruth, on Westminster Hall, @louisevthompson.bsky.social and I have been doing some research on it and have a blog post about it with interim findings: psaparliaments.org/2025/01/05/w...
Westminster Hall: Parliament’s Best Kept Secret? – PSA Parliaments
psaparliaments.org
Professor Cristina Leston-Bandeira has been involved in the creation of a pioneering map of the services that parliaments offer across the world on public engagement.

Explore the International Parliament Engagement Network's map: shorturl.at/Brx9k

Find out more about the project: shorturl.at/lG6S7
Mapping public engagement in parliaments across the world – IPEN
ipen-network.org

And great to get a print copy of the CPA's magazine with our article on the Guides on Citizen Engagement - a good read on the train back, after a v long day

Busy day in parliament yesterday, with highlight of launch of our global map of public engagement services offered by parliaments across the world - which can be accessed now here: ipen-network.org/mapping-publ...
Mapping public engagement in parliaments across the world – IPEN
ipen-network.org
Happening now! Our colleague, Dr Laura Sudulich, presents 'Mapping Public Engagement in Parliaments Across the World' @ukparliament.parliament.uk, with POST.

🎙️ Chaired by @shane-martin.bsky.social, joined by @estrangeirada.bsky.social, Chair of IPEN

#EssexGov #EssexGovImpact #UKParliament #IPEN

my first 'baby' is 28 and getting married next year! Time flies, but it's such a privilege and joy to see them grown up😊. Look forward to seeing you back from maternity leave.

Our Guide on Youth Engagement for parliaments is now available to download - focuses on idea of 'meaningful engagement', avoiding tokenistic and/or elitist engagement, to nurture real opportunities for engagement: www.idea.int/publications...
Youth Engagement: Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments
Youth engagement is key for a healthy democracy. Young people are the future generations that will lead our democracies. They are also often amongst the most disengaged people of our societies. It is ...
www.idea.int

I know it's not the most exciting of topics, but Crickey, I really am invisible in BlueSky - no reactions other than from the lovely @adefty.bsky.social. It is a good article though, promise😊.
New publication with the fab @sofiaserrasilva.bsky.social - we develop a new typology about the roles of parliamentary staff within public engagement, showing their decisive role in the way parliaments present themselves to/relate with the public. Open access: www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandg...
The Invisible Architects of Public Engagement: Understanding the Different Types of Roles Played by Parliamentary Staff | Article | Politics and Governance
Sofia Serra-Silva, Cristina Leston-Bandeira
www.cogitatiopress.com

New publication with the fab @sofiaserrasilva.bsky.social - we develop a new typology about the roles of parliamentary staff within public engagement, showing their decisive role in the way parliaments present themselves to/relate with the public. Open access: www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandg...
The Invisible Architects of Public Engagement: Understanding the Different Types of Roles Played by Parliamentary Staff | Article | Politics and Governance
Sofia Serra-Silva, Cristina Leston-Bandeira
www.cogitatiopress.com
Did you know that there have been 83 government defeats in the House of Lords so far this parliament?

We have a record on our website of every defeat of this kind dating back to 2005!

Find out more and sign up to our mailing list to be alerted of new defeats 👉 www.ucl.ac.uk/constitution....

Any feedback, on the Guides and/or on how/if you use them, would be much appreciated, thank you.

Our first guide is on the core Principles of Parliamentary Public Engagement which should drive and shape parliaments' approach to citizen engagement: www.idea.int/publications...
Principles of Parliamentary Public Engagement
There is an increasing understanding among parliaments that their relationship with citizens needs to go beyond the ballot box. With trust in institutional politics declining around the world, public ...
www.idea.int

The project, funded by EU Commission, has been developed in partnership with Inter Pares and draws from research and practice from across the world.

We, at IPEN, have launched a series of 8 Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments, each on a specific topic. Further info here, from which you can also access each guide as they get published: www.inter-pares.eu/en/publicati...
Guides on Citizen Engagement for Parliaments
Parliaments in Partnership
www.inter-pares.eu