James Dennison
@jamesrdennison.bsky.social
Political and social scientist
Prof @mpc-eui.bsky.social @eui-eu.bsky.social & Pierre Keller Prof @harvardkennedy.bsky.social
Interests: attitudes, behaviour, comms, migration, quant, 🇬🇧 & 🇪🇺 politics
www.jamesdennison.eu
Prof @mpc-eui.bsky.social @eui-eu.bsky.social & Pierre Keller Prof @harvardkennedy.bsky.social
Interests: attitudes, behaviour, comms, migration, quant, 🇬🇧 & 🇪🇺 politics
www.jamesdennison.eu
Reposted by James Dennison
It's a shame that in these anti-political times, Jenrick doing extremely lucrative planning favours for mega-rich donors is not something anyone bothers to mention about him
January 15, 2026 at 2:58 PM
It's a shame that in these anti-political times, Jenrick doing extremely lucrative planning favours for mega-rich donors is not something anyone bothers to mention about him
Reposted by James Dennison
Reposted by James Dennison
Surely, surely, this will allow most Reform supporters finally to wake up to the fact that they are backing the very same self-serving, corrupt, venal right wing grifters they’ve been trying to reject since the last election?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cr...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cr...
Robert Jenrick sacked by Tories for 'plotting to defect' - live updates
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage says while no deal has been signed, he had conversations with Jenrick and plans to call him today.
www.bbc.co.uk
January 15, 2026 at 12:16 PM
Surely, surely, this will allow most Reform supporters finally to wake up to the fact that they are backing the very same self-serving, corrupt, venal right wing grifters they’ve been trying to reject since the last election?
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cr...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cr...
Reposted by James Dennison
On the Robert Jenrick defection psychodrama:
His team have been plotting for months, so it was going to blow up at some point!
Most of my Tory sources agree he decided to defect after months of losing momentum in his bid to topple Badenoch as leader, as she started to improve
His team have been plotting for months, so it was going to blow up at some point!
Most of my Tory sources agree he decided to defect after months of losing momentum in his bid to topple Badenoch as leader, as she started to improve
January 15, 2026 at 12:04 PM
On the Robert Jenrick defection psychodrama:
His team have been plotting for months, so it was going to blow up at some point!
Most of my Tory sources agree he decided to defect after months of losing momentum in his bid to topple Badenoch as leader, as she started to improve
His team have been plotting for months, so it was going to blow up at some point!
Most of my Tory sources agree he decided to defect after months of losing momentum in his bid to topple Badenoch as leader, as she started to improve
Reposted by James Dennison
Spoiled brats are running the world.
WH sources say Venezuela's opposition leader committed the "ultimate sin": She accepted the Nobel Peace prize.
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one said.
www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
January 5, 2026 at 8:21 AM
Spoiled brats are running the world.
Reposted by James Dennison
Margaret Thatcher was kept in dark over Reagan's attack on Grenada Daily Telegraph. It's an old tradition of the "special relationship."
January 5, 2026 at 8:26 AM
Margaret Thatcher was kept in dark over Reagan's attack on Grenada Daily Telegraph. It's an old tradition of the "special relationship."
Reposted by James Dennison
A message for you all to carry through the year
January 1, 2026 at 6:32 AM
A message for you all to carry through the year
Reposted by James Dennison
They gentrified the tinfoil hat
January 1, 2026 at 8:57 PM
They gentrified the tinfoil hat
Reposted by James Dennison
"social science has to answer questions that people beyond academia care about..academia can['t] just be self-referential as it grows infinitely. I think there are challenges to understand what’s going on in the United States and the world and to talk about it to broad audiences in plain language.."
December 24, 2025 at 1:48 PM
"social science has to answer questions that people beyond academia care about..academia can['t] just be self-referential as it grows infinitely. I think there are challenges to understand what’s going on in the United States and the world and to talk about it to broad audiences in plain language.."
Reposted by James Dennison
The worst, most dishonest prime minister we’ve ever had, rocks back and forth in his Daily Mail cubbyhole spewing out idiotic bilge to kid himself that he and his disastrous Brexit weren’t an almighty national fuck-up.
A deeply pathetic threat from an abject failure of a man.
A deeply pathetic threat from an abject failure of a man.
December 20, 2025 at 8:34 AM
The worst, most dishonest prime minister we’ve ever had, rocks back and forth in his Daily Mail cubbyhole spewing out idiotic bilge to kid himself that he and his disastrous Brexit weren’t an almighty national fuck-up.
A deeply pathetic threat from an abject failure of a man.
A deeply pathetic threat from an abject failure of a man.
Reposted by James Dennison
Jo Cox was murdered before the vote by a far-right terrorist & this is the language this complete disgrace chooses to use
December 20, 2025 at 8:37 AM
Jo Cox was murdered before the vote by a far-right terrorist & this is the language this complete disgrace chooses to use
Reposted by James Dennison
This is extremely important
December 16, 2025 at 12:48 PM
This is extremely important
Reposted by James Dennison
For the historical polling nerds out there, an article about our project with @ropercenter.bsky.social that digitised ~800 surveys by Gallup poll in Britain between 1955 and 1991 has been published in JEPOP. The merged dataset contains over three-quarters of a million respondents.
Revealing long-term trajectories of public opinion and polling in Britain: a new resource of historical data from the Gallup Poll in Britain, 1955–1991
From the 1930s to early 2000s, the British affiliate and later subsidiary of the Gallup Organization conducted around three thousand surveys of public opinion in Great Britain. While the records of...
www.tandfonline.com
December 15, 2025 at 3:29 PM
For the historical polling nerds out there, an article about our project with @ropercenter.bsky.social that digitised ~800 surveys by Gallup poll in Britain between 1955 and 1991 has been published in JEPOP. The merged dataset contains over three-quarters of a million respondents.
Reposted by James Dennison
The dropout rate for apprenticeships is 38%. The dropout rate for universities is 6%. We talk a lot about the variable quality of university courses and nowhere near enough about the variable quality of apprenticeships
With a report suggesting half of graduates would earn more if they had done an apprenticeship instead, our polling shows that 46% of Britons think apprenticeships better prepare young people for the future - only 6% say the same of degrees, while 43% say both equally
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
yougov.co.uk/society/arti...
December 15, 2025 at 11:42 AM
The dropout rate for apprenticeships is 38%. The dropout rate for universities is 6%. We talk a lot about the variable quality of university courses and nowhere near enough about the variable quality of apprenticeships
Reposted by James Dennison
Damning overview of the nudging literature.
"[We] provide the most comprehensive synthesis of the effectiveness of nudging."
"We find a small aggregated effect size."
"[Our results show] the urgent need for higher quality, preregistered meta-analyses to clarify the true impact [of nudging]."
"[We] provide the most comprehensive synthesis of the effectiveness of nudging."
"We find a small aggregated effect size."
"[Our results show] the urgent need for higher quality, preregistered meta-analyses to clarify the true impact [of nudging]."
December 11, 2025 at 6:58 PM
Damning overview of the nudging literature.
"[We] provide the most comprehensive synthesis of the effectiveness of nudging."
"We find a small aggregated effect size."
"[Our results show] the urgent need for higher quality, preregistered meta-analyses to clarify the true impact [of nudging]."
"[We] provide the most comprehensive synthesis of the effectiveness of nudging."
"We find a small aggregated effect size."
"[Our results show] the urgent need for higher quality, preregistered meta-analyses to clarify the true impact [of nudging]."
Reposted by James Dennison
How hard would it have been to say "of course not... that's not what it's for"? I get that you've got a product to sell, but have some self-respect, man.
Jimmy Fallon: "And do you use ChatGPT when raising your baby?"
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
Sam Altman: "I cannot imagine figuring out how to raise a newborn without ChatGPT."
December 9, 2025 at 5:02 PM
How hard would it have been to say "of course not... that's not what it's for"? I get that you've got a product to sell, but have some self-respect, man.
Reposted by James Dennison
This is v good
"The idea that something matters more to Donald Trump because it’s now in a policy document is, at best, quaint and possibly delusional, given the president’s well-known aversion to reading or following carefully worked-out strategies.” @snellarthur.bsky.social
America's Weakness, Europe's Strength
The 'new' national security strategy is the admission of defeat from a declining country
arthursnell.substack.com
December 7, 2025 at 10:10 PM
This is v good
Reposted by James Dennison
Breaking. Liz Truss wins this year's FIFA Prize for Economics.
December 6, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Breaking. Liz Truss wins this year's FIFA Prize for Economics.
Reposted by James Dennison
Experimental participants to us
November 12, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Experimental participants to us
Reposted by James Dennison
"Broad claims of generalized cognitive enhancement resulting from physical exercise appear premature"
December 1, 2025 at 9:58 PM
"Broad claims of generalized cognitive enhancement resulting from physical exercise appear premature"
Reposted by James Dennison
A critique of our (w/ @bertous.bsky.social) paper “Instrumentally inclusive” has just been published.
Our response is under review (see below on process) but we feel obliged to share our draft for balance since the comment has been released without the response.
osf.io/rn6h3/files/...
Our response is under review (see below on process) but we feel obliged to share our draft for balance since the comment has been released without the response.
osf.io/rn6h3/files/...
November 29, 2025 at 3:13 PM
A critique of our (w/ @bertous.bsky.social) paper “Instrumentally inclusive” has just been published.
Our response is under review (see below on process) but we feel obliged to share our draft for balance since the comment has been released without the response.
osf.io/rn6h3/files/...
Our response is under review (see below on process) but we feel obliged to share our draft for balance since the comment has been released without the response.
osf.io/rn6h3/files/...
Reposted by James Dennison
Is welfare spending ''out of control''?
It's estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u
It's estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u
November 28, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Is welfare spending ''out of control''?
It's estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u
It's estimated to be 10.8 per cent of GDP this financial year.
That's just 0.8 per cent of GDP higher than in 2007-08, and total welfare spending has actually fallen fallen by 1.2 per cent of GDP since 2012-13⤵️ buff.ly/s5mz97u
Reposted by James Dennison
The number of British citizens emigrating hasn’t increased, btw. Outward migration is up, but the increase is mostly non-EU migrants leaving the UK.
The methodology counting emigration of British citizens changed in 2021, which increased the number, and it’s been pretty much flat ever since…
The methodology counting emigration of British citizens changed in 2021, which increased the number, and it’s been pretty much flat ever since…
November 27, 2025 at 4:48 PM
The number of British citizens emigrating hasn’t increased, btw. Outward migration is up, but the increase is mostly non-EU migrants leaving the UK.
The methodology counting emigration of British citizens changed in 2021, which increased the number, and it’s been pretty much flat ever since…
The methodology counting emigration of British citizens changed in 2021, which increased the number, and it’s been pretty much flat ever since…
Reposted by James Dennison
Really great and interesting paper:
"Using British electoral panel data, it shows that greater open-mindedness, tolerance for uncertainty, and social distrust are associated with greater political attitudinal volatilty."
"Using British electoral panel data, it shows that greater open-mindedness, tolerance for uncertainty, and social distrust are associated with greater political attitudinal volatilty."
Thrilled to share my new article in Political Psychology: “The psychology of political attitudinal volatility.” In it, I attempt to answer why do some people change their political views more than others? Open access at: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10....
@ispp-pops.bsky.social
@ispp-pops.bsky.social
November 25, 2025 at 7:53 PM
Really great and interesting paper:
"Using British electoral panel data, it shows that greater open-mindedness, tolerance for uncertainty, and social distrust are associated with greater political attitudinal volatilty."
"Using British electoral panel data, it shows that greater open-mindedness, tolerance for uncertainty, and social distrust are associated with greater political attitudinal volatilty."