Maria Sobolewska
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profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska
@profsob.bsky.social
6.7K followers 1.3K following 510 posts

Professor of Political Science at Manchester University. British politics, race and ethnicity, representation.

Videos
Political science 70%
Sociology 23%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

sundersays.bsky.social
Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 1d
Labour needs to be much smarter, not noisier
- Must grip live issues of high salience (boats, hotels): act effectively, not shout ineffectively
- Show deals can work vs quit ECHR
- Don't amplify salience on settlement
- Can't win auction to end net migration
- Need boundaries vs remigration+racism

Reposted by Will Jennings, Patrick Dunleavy, Steve Peers , and 10 more

owenwntr.bsky.social
Owen Winter @owenwntr.bsky.social · 2d
The untold story that is told constantly and isn’t really true

Reposted by Mark J. Brandt, Markus Wagner, Maria Sobolewska

isoveikko.bsky.social
Veikko Isotalo @isoveikko.bsky.social · 6d
Did you know there is an open-source framework for building Voting Advice Applications? OpenVAA (openvaa.org) offers a way to develop a VAA for any election. It is fully localisable, accessible, modular and free to use. 1/3
OpenVAA v0.1 Shiba is out now!

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

politicalquarterly.bsky.social
Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 6d
"MPs’ preferred policy instrument is a sticking plaster. Any well worked-out policy will have losers as well as winners, but MPs are not up for the challenge of putting across the big picture when they face angry and noisy constituents" - Deborah Mabbett
The Listening Government
The idea that MPs are in touch with the real world through their constituency offices has been turned into an article of political faith, but it is ill-founded.
politicalquarterly.org.uk

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 6d
Really looking forward to this 😃
compasoxford.bsky.social COMPAS @compasoxford.bsky.social · 6d
How do attitudes towards race and ethnicity shape political views in Britain?

Join us on 05 Feb at 15.45 (GMT) as
@profsob.bsky.social explores this topic, with a focus on racial colour blindness in post-Brexit Britain.

Attendance is free and open to all
🔗 www.compas.ox.ac.uk/event/the-po...
Poster with text: The Politics of Immigration and Exclusion Seminar: Racism without racists: Colour-blind ideology in post-Brexit Britain

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

compasoxford.bsky.social
COMPAS @compasoxford.bsky.social · 6d
How do attitudes towards race and ethnicity shape political views in Britain?

Join us on 05 Feb at 15.45 (GMT) as
@profsob.bsky.social explores this topic, with a focus on racial colour blindness in post-Brexit Britain.

Attendance is free and open to all
🔗 www.compas.ox.ac.uk/event/the-po...
Poster with text: The Politics of Immigration and Exclusion Seminar: Racism without racists: Colour-blind ideology in post-Brexit Britain

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

mclem.org
Michael Clemens @mclem.org · 7d
Advocacy for political violence will poison our country.

The White House has seized and imprisoned college students recently for political speech without a hint of such direct advocacy of killing.

The opposite of "Conservative". The opposite of "Christian". We reject this recipe for horror.

Reposted by Elizabeth Stokoe, Maria Sobolewska

eicathomefinn.bsky.social
Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 7d
'In the Netherlands, the coalition has leaned heavily on the language of “choosing knowledge” – de coalitie kiest voor kennis – and positioned international students and researchers as contributors to the Dutch knowledge economy rather than as a cost to be managed.'
Investment in the sector is on the up in some countries. Why?
Right across the continent, things are looking bleak when it comes to university finances and investment in the sector.
wonkhe.com

Reposted by Steve Peers, Jonathan Hopkin, Tom Griffin , and 5 more

ottoenglish.bsky.social
Otto English @ottoenglish.bsky.social · 7d
Why isn't this a major news story?
Churchwarden linked to foreign-born billionaire is behind £200k Reform gift The man whose firm made the donations will not discuss where the money came from, nor his ties to wealthy Farage allies who may not hold citizenship Gabriel Pogrund, Whitehall Editor Saturday January 31 2026, 8.00pm, The Sunday Times Share A churchwarden from Potters Bar who works for the family of a highly secretive, Kazakhstan-born billionaire can be revealed as the man behind £200,000 of donations to Reform UK., John Richard Simpson is a 59-year-old

Reposted by Marc Lynch, Lisa W. Fazio, Ben H. Ansell , and 24 more

royalpratt.bsky.social
Gregory Pratt @royalpratt.bsky.social · 7d
University of Illinois college republicans advocate for executing protesters as “traitors” with art that takes a disturbing killing and makes it even more extreme.
dailyillini.com/news-stories...
‘Fell the enemies:’ Illini Republicans support ICE amid killings - The Daily Illini
In a post that included a graphic of a presumed officer holding a gun to someone's head, Illini Republicans stated that they “stand with ICE."
dailyillini.com

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

politicalquarterly.bsky.social
Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 11d
Is the idea that MPs are in touch with the real world through their constituency offices ill-founded?

The Labour government needs to be bolder and braver—and this probably means listening less to its MPs, argues Deborah Mabbett.
The Listening Government
The idea that MPs are in touch with the real world through their constituency offices has been turned into an article of political faith, but it is ill-founded.
politicalquarterly.org.uk

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 11d
An excellent piece. Especially on the evergreen topic of how our leaders turned into our followers with quite frankly terrible consequences
The abandonment of Labour’s moral crusade
The UK is taking a cynical but fruitless turn to the reactionary and insular on aid, immigration and trade
www.ft.com

Reposted by Will Jennings, Maria Sobolewska

powertochange.org.uk
Power to Change @powertochange.org.uk · 12d
🏬 Important coverage today on the state of Britain’s high streets. @drjennings.bsky.social's research finds people who feel their local area has declined are more pessimistic about the future + Reform supporters are most likely to report decline: buff.ly/UcFpKkQ @michaelgoodier.bsky.social
Labour risks election wipeout unless it improves Britain’s high streets, study finds
Decay of town centres a top issue among voters especially Reform UK supporters and is fuelling resentment against Westminster
www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

politicalquarterly.bsky.social
Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 12d
Current Labour policy potentially restricts public input into the building of new houses.

But the concept of public interest is ill-defined, contested, unevidenced and, too often, unchallenged.
How is the Public Interest Defined When Building New Houses?
The concept of public interest is ill-defined, contested, unevidenced and, too often, unchallenged.
politicalquarterly.org.uk

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 13d
Another good read, if you’re having a Substack morning like me
Should British Jews flee to America?
A reply to an invitation
open.substack.com

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 13d
“Yep, Mr Burns is now a Democrat!”

Honestly the best thing on the internet today- do yourself a favour and read it
How The Simpsons Explain America's Political Realignment
How the Democrats lost Homer Simpson but gained Mr Burns
open.substack.com

Reposted by Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings, Ruth Dassonneville , and 3 more

jamesbreckwoldt.bsky.social
James Breckwoldt @jamesbreckwoldt.bsky.social · 13d
I use @electionstudies.bsky.social data from 1972 to model how characters in The Simpsons would have voted in presidential elections

It turns out to be very revealing about how the demographic coalitions of the Democratic and Republican parties have completely rearranged themselves...
How The Simpsons Explain America's Political Realignment
How the Democrats lost Homer Simpson but gained Mr Burns
jamesbreckwoldt.substack.com

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 13d
We are hamstrung by human rights apparently… if only these terrible terrible things were abolished 😳 it is going so well in the US after all
implausibleblog.bsky.social Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 14d
Suella Braverman, "There is a very strong case to increase the powers of any immigration enforcement officers that we deploy"

"At the moment they're hamstrung by human rights laws, by health and safety laws, by all sorts of needless and obstructive bureaucracy"

Reposted by Lesley A. Hall, Juan Moreno‐Cruz, Mark Priestley , and 1 more

implausibleblog.bsky.social
Farrukh @implausibleblog.bsky.social · 14d
Suella Braverman, "There is a very strong case to increase the powers of any immigration enforcement officers that we deploy"

"At the moment they're hamstrung by human rights laws, by health and safety laws, by all sorts of needless and obstructive bureaucracy"

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 16d
When will they finally ban this criminal website?
jessasatomp.bsky.social Jess Asato MP @jessasatomp.bsky.social · 17d
This week, an X user created an AI video of me being chloroformed and prepared for rape.

Victims are told it's not real and they're getting offended for no reason.

But nudification tools are weapons of sexual assault, and the harm they cause is real 👇

jessasato.substack.com/p/ai-nudific...
AI nudification: the latest weapon of violence against women and girls
In Julie Burchill’s recent article in the Spectator, Does it really matter if Grok undresses us all?, she makes the argument that those who, like me, have repeatedly had their clothes removed by socia...
jessasato.substack.com

Reposted by Jack Stilgoe, Christina Pagel, Maria Sobolewska

benstanley.eu
Ben Stanley @benstanley.eu · 16d
“You guys just got to the last page?”

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, Ben H. Ansell, Will Jennings , and 12 more

jim.londoncentric.media
Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 16d
This is one of the strangest and most screwed-up stories I’ve worked on. www.londoncentric.media/p/tiktok-lon...
Who's secretly filming fake TikToks inside Londoners' homes?
We tracked down the viral video account invading people's houses to spread false claims about immigrants.
www.londoncentric.media

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 17d
A REALLY great piece!
politicalquarterly.bsky.social Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 19d
A striking feature of Rachel Reeves’s recent budget was the frequency with which she name-checked (or, more precisely, constituency-checked) backbench Labour MPs.

But listening to MPs is not a substitute for good policy advice, argues Deborah Mabbett.

politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/the-lis...
The Listening Government
The idea that MPs are in touch with the real world through their constituency offices has been turned into an article of political faith, but it is ill-founded.
politicalquarterly.org.uk

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

psaepop.bsky.social
EPOP @psaepop.bsky.social · 17d
EPOP maintains a dedicated mailing list which provides updates about activities, research, events, job opportunities and more.

If you'd like to receive our newsletters, you can do so by subscribing to the mailing list through the link below.

@polstudiesassoc.bsky.social
jiscmail.ac.uk

Reposted by Stephan Lewandowsky, Will Jennings, Steve Peers , and 6 more

jessasatomp.bsky.social
Jess Asato MP @jessasatomp.bsky.social · 17d
This week, an X user created an AI video of me being chloroformed and prepared for rape.

Victims are told it's not real and they're getting offended for no reason.

But nudification tools are weapons of sexual assault, and the harm they cause is real 👇

jessasato.substack.com/p/ai-nudific...
AI nudification: the latest weapon of violence against women and girls
In Julie Burchill’s recent article in the Spectator, Does it really matter if Grok undresses us all?, she makes the argument that those who, like me, have repeatedly had their clothes removed by socia...
jessasato.substack.com

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

politicalquarterly.bsky.social
Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 19d
A striking feature of Rachel Reeves’s recent budget was the frequency with which she name-checked (or, more precisely, constituency-checked) backbench Labour MPs.

But listening to MPs is not a substitute for good policy advice, argues Deborah Mabbett.

politicalquarterly.org.uk/blog/the-lis...
The Listening Government
The idea that MPs are in touch with the real world through their constituency offices has been turned into an article of political faith, but it is ill-founded.
politicalquarterly.org.uk

Reposted by Maria Sobolewska

politicalquarterly.bsky.social
Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 19d
Interested in democratic reform?

Don't miss this episode of 'Uncovering Politics' in partnership with @uclspp.bsky.social.

Experts examine two specific reform ideas: reforming party funding and giving smaller parties a stronger voice.
Who Pays and Who Speaks? Reforming Democracy in the UK | UCL Uncovering Politics
This week we’re looking at proposals for democratic reform in the UK. What are the problems that reformers want to address, and is there any chance they’ll be implemented?
uncoveringpolitics.com

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 19d
Slightly tempted to ask them for contact details so I can send them my lemsip bill when I inevitably get their lurgy

profsob.bsky.social
Maria Sobolewska @profsob.bsky.social · 19d
Hemmed in between two people coughing heavily on a two hour train to London/ with of course no opening windows. They are not wearing masks of course. I wish we would collectively start calling it what it is- antisocial behaviour. Stay the f^ck home if you have a cough, or 😷