Jon Kirkup
@jonkirkup.bsky.social
Head of Department Politics and International Relations Cardiff University.
Politics and Public Policy. #LAWPL #QUB #AberIntetpol
Politics and Public Policy. #LAWPL #QUB #AberIntetpol
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Plaid Cymru and the Greens are surging in Wales, according to this latest poll.
Where’s the media narrative around this? Where are the stories saying Farage is failing? When will Labour try to regain ground by appealing to Plaid & Green voters, not just copy Reform?
www.itv.com/news/wales/2...
Where’s the media narrative around this? Where are the stories saying Farage is failing? When will Labour try to regain ground by appealing to Plaid & Green voters, not just copy Reform?
www.itv.com/news/wales/2...
January 13, 2026 at 7:57 PM
Plaid Cymru and the Greens are surging in Wales, according to this latest poll.
Where’s the media narrative around this? Where are the stories saying Farage is failing? When will Labour try to regain ground by appealing to Plaid & Green voters, not just copy Reform?
www.itv.com/news/wales/2...
Where’s the media narrative around this? Where are the stories saying Farage is failing? When will Labour try to regain ground by appealing to Plaid & Green voters, not just copy Reform?
www.itv.com/news/wales/2...
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Has there ever been any poll showing the public this united? yougov.co.uk/technology/a...
January 13, 2026 at 12:41 PM
Has there ever been any poll showing the public this united? yougov.co.uk/technology/a...
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
If anyone sees the mari lwyd this week, please can you share photographs? I am unable to go this year 🐎
It's that time of the year 🐴
The Mari Lwyd is perhaps one of Wales's most well-known folk customs 🏴
The tradition includes a 'battle of wits' in which the Mari Lwyd and her part sing to gain entry into houses 🏠
hellohistoria.substack.com/p/a-horse-sk...
#Wales #History
The Mari Lwyd is perhaps one of Wales's most well-known folk customs 🏴
The tradition includes a 'battle of wits' in which the Mari Lwyd and her part sing to gain entry into houses 🏠
hellohistoria.substack.com/p/a-horse-sk...
#Wales #History
January 13, 2026 at 2:53 PM
If anyone sees the mari lwyd this week, please can you share photographs? I am unable to go this year 🐎
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
One like and I'll get my archives number tattooed on me
January 13, 2026 at 6:41 PM
One like and I'll get my archives number tattooed on me
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Senedd Voting Intention:
PLC: 37% (+4)
RFM: 23% (-7)
GRN: 13% (+4)
LAB: 10% (=)
CON: 10% (=)
LDM: 5% (-1)
Via @yougov.co.uk, 5-12 Jan.
Changes w/ 28 Nov - 10 Dec.
PLC: 37% (+4)
RFM: 23% (-7)
GRN: 13% (+4)
LAB: 10% (=)
CON: 10% (=)
LDM: 5% (-1)
Via @yougov.co.uk, 5-12 Jan.
Changes w/ 28 Nov - 10 Dec.
January 13, 2026 at 10:25 PM
Senedd Voting Intention:
PLC: 37% (+4)
RFM: 23% (-7)
GRN: 13% (+4)
LAB: 10% (=)
CON: 10% (=)
LDM: 5% (-1)
Via @yougov.co.uk, 5-12 Jan.
Changes w/ 28 Nov - 10 Dec.
PLC: 37% (+4)
RFM: 23% (-7)
GRN: 13% (+4)
LAB: 10% (=)
CON: 10% (=)
LDM: 5% (-1)
Via @yougov.co.uk, 5-12 Jan.
Changes w/ 28 Nov - 10 Dec.
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
This feels like a sign of what I think might be another trend of this year - people giving up on saving the Conservatives and believing they can shape and/or politically profit from the Tories being subsumed into Reform.
Nadhim Zahawi being unveiled as Reform’s newest defector
January 12, 2026 at 12:00 PM
This feels like a sign of what I think might be another trend of this year - people giving up on saving the Conservatives and believing they can shape and/or politically profit from the Tories being subsumed into Reform.
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
‘Durham’s other cathedral’: mining union hall reopens after £14m restoration
‘Durham’s other cathedral’: mining union hall reopens after £14m restoration
Considered one of world’s finest trade union buildings and famous for its ‘pitmen’s parliament’, Redhills was built on a grand scale
www.theguardian.com
January 4, 2026 at 7:22 PM
‘Durham’s other cathedral’: mining union hall reopens after £14m restoration
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Hello, lovelies 👋🏻
If you enjoy my content and research, I'd be very grateful if you'd consider supporting my work ☕
• ko-fi.com/louvainrees
• paypal.me/louvainrees
#freelancer #wales #selfemployed
If you enjoy my content and research, I'd be very grateful if you'd consider supporting my work ☕
• ko-fi.com/louvainrees
• paypal.me/louvainrees
#freelancer #wales #selfemployed
December 25, 2025 at 8:08 PM
Hello, lovelies 👋🏻
If you enjoy my content and research, I'd be very grateful if you'd consider supporting my work ☕
• ko-fi.com/louvainrees
• paypal.me/louvainrees
#freelancer #wales #selfemployed
If you enjoy my content and research, I'd be very grateful if you'd consider supporting my work ☕
• ko-fi.com/louvainrees
• paypal.me/louvainrees
#freelancer #wales #selfemployed
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Think you can understand a lot about British politics from the ONS survey reporting that 56% of people said they voted in the last local elections, when turnout in those elections was about 36%.
December 21, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Think you can understand a lot about British politics from the ONS survey reporting that 56% of people said they voted in the last local elections, when turnout in those elections was about 36%.
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
👇👇Upcoming Senedd elections look set to break the mould of Welsh party politics and rock UK Labour. To understand the ‘made in Wales’ and UK influences on this ‘within bloc’ realignment read @jaclarner.bsky.social & @jamesdgriffiths.bsky.social 👇👇
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...
Consolidation, Not Conversion: Understanding Wales’s Ongoing Realignment
Showcasing current research, comments and analysis on the law, politics, history, culture, government and political economy of Wales from the Wales Governance Centre.
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk
December 17, 2025 at 7:35 AM
👇👇Upcoming Senedd elections look set to break the mould of Welsh party politics and rock UK Labour. To understand the ‘made in Wales’ and UK influences on this ‘within bloc’ realignment read @jaclarner.bsky.social & @jamesdgriffiths.bsky.social 👇👇
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...
blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/thinking-wal...
I refer the honourable gentleman to the reply I gave some decades ago.
October 22, 2025 at 2:29 AM
I refer the honourable gentleman to the reply I gave some decades ago.
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Our #AccidentalJourney will also show some of the potential of the Railway Work, Life & Death project database - now including over 115,000 cases.
We hope it'll encourage you to explore it for yourselves, in the #Railway200 year - & beyond!
www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk
/4
We hope it'll encourage you to explore it for yourselves, in the #Railway200 year - & beyond!
www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk
/4
Home - Railway Work, Life & Death
Find out more about work & accidents on Britain & Ireland's railways, c.1880s to 1939: including a free database of cases & weekly blog.
www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk
June 23, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Our #AccidentalJourney will also show some of the potential of the Railway Work, Life & Death project database - now including over 115,000 cases.
We hope it'll encourage you to explore it for yourselves, in the #Railway200 year - & beyond!
www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk
/4
We hope it'll encourage you to explore it for yourselves, in the #Railway200 year - & beyond!
www.railwayaccidents.port.ac.uk
/4
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Why Did Ulster Patients Travel to Scottish Asylums for Mental Health Care? 🧠
Scotland’s nineteenth-century chartered asylums had philanthropic roots and developed very differently from the Irish district asylum system.
epidemic-belfast.com/ulster-patie...
#histmed #Scotland
Scotland’s nineteenth-century chartered asylums had philanthropic roots and developed very differently from the Irish district asylum system.
epidemic-belfast.com/ulster-patie...
#histmed #Scotland
June 22, 2025 at 3:21 PM
Why Did Ulster Patients Travel to Scottish Asylums for Mental Health Care? 🧠
Scotland’s nineteenth-century chartered asylums had philanthropic roots and developed very differently from the Irish district asylum system.
epidemic-belfast.com/ulster-patie...
#histmed #Scotland
Scotland’s nineteenth-century chartered asylums had philanthropic roots and developed very differently from the Irish district asylum system.
epidemic-belfast.com/ulster-patie...
#histmed #Scotland
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
I've never met an ex-miner who wanted their children to go underground.
The ones I have spoken to wanted better opportunities for them.
The ones I have spoken to wanted better opportunities for them.
Nigel Farage wants to reopen the coal mines in Wales.
While it may be nice to look back at our mining history with rose tinted glasses, the price for extracting the coal that built the modern world is still being paid by the people of Wales.
While it may be nice to look back at our mining history with rose tinted glasses, the price for extracting the coal that built the modern world is still being paid by the people of Wales.
June 9, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I've never met an ex-miner who wanted their children to go underground.
The ones I have spoken to wanted better opportunities for them.
The ones I have spoken to wanted better opportunities for them.
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
“It’s very important history, but above all, it’s very readable and enjoyable history.” bit.ly/43yzlS9
Histories of news in the news: surviving editions of the 'Belfast News Letter', the world’s oldest, continuously published English-language daily, can now be accessed free #Skystorians
Histories of news in the news: surviving editions of the 'Belfast News Letter', the world’s oldest, continuously published English-language daily, can now be accessed free #Skystorians
‘It’s thrilling’: almost three centuries of the Belfast News Letter go online
The surviving editions of the world’s oldest, continuously published English-language daily can now be accessed free
bit.ly
June 1, 2025 at 11:41 AM
“It’s very important history, but above all, it’s very readable and enjoyable history.” bit.ly/43yzlS9
Histories of news in the news: surviving editions of the 'Belfast News Letter', the world’s oldest, continuously published English-language daily, can now be accessed free #Skystorians
Histories of news in the news: surviving editions of the 'Belfast News Letter', the world’s oldest, continuously published English-language daily, can now be accessed free #Skystorians
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
#OTD 1791 • Rev Dr Richard Price died aged 68.
He was an influential Welsh moral philosopher and theologian, well-known for his influence on both the French and American Revolutions 🇫🇷 🇺🇸
hellohistoria.substack.com/p/a-friend-o...
#Wales #History
He was an influential Welsh moral philosopher and theologian, well-known for his influence on both the French and American Revolutions 🇫🇷 🇺🇸
hellohistoria.substack.com/p/a-friend-o...
#Wales #History
April 19, 2025 at 5:10 PM
#OTD 1791 • Rev Dr Richard Price died aged 68.
He was an influential Welsh moral philosopher and theologian, well-known for his influence on both the French and American Revolutions 🇫🇷 🇺🇸
hellohistoria.substack.com/p/a-friend-o...
#Wales #History
He was an influential Welsh moral philosopher and theologian, well-known for his influence on both the French and American Revolutions 🇫🇷 🇺🇸
hellohistoria.substack.com/p/a-friend-o...
#Wales #History
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
A list of current public inquires.
Why are public inquiries now so commonly created and what does this say about the changing nature of British politics? And how might a ‘new’ politics of public inquiries be emerging?
By Matthew Flinders
Why are public inquiries now so commonly created and what does this say about the changing nature of British politics? And how might a ‘new’ politics of public inquiries be emerging?
By Matthew Flinders
The New Politics of Public Inquiries
An 'inquiry on inquiries’ at a time when more public inquiries are running concurrently than in any other time in British history.
politicalquarterly.org.uk
March 17, 2025 at 4:28 PM
A list of current public inquires.
Why are public inquiries now so commonly created and what does this say about the changing nature of British politics? And how might a ‘new’ politics of public inquiries be emerging?
By Matthew Flinders
Why are public inquiries now so commonly created and what does this say about the changing nature of British politics? And how might a ‘new’ politics of public inquiries be emerging?
By Matthew Flinders
Fascinating that framing a question in a certain way results in an answer you want??
'Bernard, do you agree we should bring back national service?'
#yesminister
'Bernard, do you agree we should bring back national service?'
#yesminister
January 27, 2025 at 7:15 PM
Fascinating that framing a question in a certain way results in an answer you want??
'Bernard, do you agree we should bring back national service?'
#yesminister
'Bernard, do you agree we should bring back national service?'
#yesminister
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
The German defence ministry, army and foreign ministry are no longer using Twitter. The Foreign Ministry will use BlueSky. Defence Ministry on WhatsApp. Might occasionally post on X to challenge specific misinformation, but not using it for public communication
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
January 17, 2025 at 11:54 PM
The German defence ministry, army and foreign ministry are no longer using Twitter. The Foreign Ministry will use BlueSky. Defence Ministry on WhatsApp. Might occasionally post on X to challenge specific misinformation, but not using it for public communication
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2...
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
Inflation is running at 2.6%. It was 16% in 1974.
Friday's DAILY MAIL: UK faces crisis like the 1970s, Reeves warned
#TomorrowsPapersToday
#TomorrowsPapersToday
January 9, 2025 at 10:57 PM
Inflation is running at 2.6%. It was 16% in 1974.
I keep reminding myself when it comes to Trump/Musk announcements: keep one eye on the weather but focus on the changing climate.
January 7, 2025 at 10:34 PM
I keep reminding myself when it comes to Trump/Musk announcements: keep one eye on the weather but focus on the changing climate.
Latest X/Twitter update: Eastenders end credits drumroll.
January 5, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Latest X/Twitter update: Eastenders end credits drumroll.
Reposted by Jon Kirkup
BlueSky 26.2 million users, globally, up from 6 million in last 4 months 2024
Rough estimate 5% UK.
Could roughly mean 250k UK users to 1.25 million since Sept.
Would like a UK total and daily UK stat
Twitter had 23m UK accounts. Daily UK users from 8 million 2023 down to 5 million in Sept24
Rough estimate 5% UK.
Could roughly mean 250k UK users to 1.25 million since Sept.
Would like a UK total and daily UK stat
Twitter had 23m UK accounts. Daily UK users from 8 million 2023 down to 5 million in Sept24
January 3, 2025 at 8:02 PM
BlueSky 26.2 million users, globally, up from 6 million in last 4 months 2024
Rough estimate 5% UK.
Could roughly mean 250k UK users to 1.25 million since Sept.
Would like a UK total and daily UK stat
Twitter had 23m UK accounts. Daily UK users from 8 million 2023 down to 5 million in Sept24
Rough estimate 5% UK.
Could roughly mean 250k UK users to 1.25 million since Sept.
Would like a UK total and daily UK stat
Twitter had 23m UK accounts. Daily UK users from 8 million 2023 down to 5 million in Sept24