Dr Nick Dickinson
@nickdickinson.bsky.social
Political Scientist | British Politics and History | PhD on political salaries (Exeter) | Mst. Modern British and European History (Oxford) | DMs closed, so email me @ n.dickinson3@exeter.ac.uk
One reason for this is that Labour's vote was absurdly stable in raw terms (with a steadily declining trend). So who won an election was mainly a function of how the Conservatives were doing.
November 15, 2025 at 11:36 AM
One reason for this is that Labour's vote was absurdly stable in raw terms (with a steadily declining trend). So who won an election was mainly a function of how the Conservatives were doing.
I just asked Claude to turn one of my lectures into the script for an Adam Curtis documentary and I am not sorry
November 14, 2025 at 8:24 PM
I just asked Claude to turn one of my lectures into the script for an Adam Curtis documentary and I am not sorry
I increasingly think we messed up letting firms use the acronym 'AI' and thus avoiding having to use the word 'artificial' repeatedly
Message to all faculty: your expertise is no longer trusted or valued at this so-called “university.”
November 14, 2025 at 5:55 PM
I increasingly think we messed up letting firms use the acronym 'AI' and thus avoiding having to use the word 'artificial' repeatedly
It's not "matches". They did it on their second try with an actual science payload to orbit and beyond.
Blue Origin/New Glenn missions to Mars: 1
SpaceX/Starship missions to Mars: 0
Suck it Elon.
Blue Origin/New Glenn missions to Mars: 1
SpaceX/Starship missions to Mars: 0
Suck it Elon.
Breaking News: Blue Origin, the space company founded by Jeff Bezos, landed a booster from its New Glenn orbital rocket, matching a feat so far only achieved by SpaceX.
Blue Origin Lands Booster After Rocket Launch and Matches SpaceX’s Feat
The lower half of the New Glenn rocket set down on a platform in the Atlantic Ocean after lifting a small NASA Mars mission to space.
nyti.ms
November 13, 2025 at 10:23 PM
It's not "matches". They did it on their second try with an actual science payload to orbit and beyond.
Blue Origin/New Glenn missions to Mars: 1
SpaceX/Starship missions to Mars: 0
Suck it Elon.
Blue Origin/New Glenn missions to Mars: 1
SpaceX/Starship missions to Mars: 0
Suck it Elon.
Cravendale tastes so good…
November 13, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Cravendale tastes so good…
You don't even wanna know what Dan's ancestral voices tell him
November 13, 2025 at 6:29 PM
You don't even wanna know what Dan's ancestral voices tell him
A friend of mine once messed up his shoulder in a permanent visible way cycling, and when I asked if it could be fixed he said no it was really cool because Mark Cavendish has the exact same thing. Dudes rock I guess.
From @theathletic.com: A toothless smile is iconic to NHL players. It's not just for looks. Players and dentists explain why they don't get their teeth fixed. nyti.ms/47BT59n
November 12, 2025 at 5:07 PM
A friend of mine once messed up his shoulder in a permanent visible way cycling, and when I asked if it could be fixed he said no it was really cool because Mark Cavendish has the exact same thing. Dudes rock I guess.
And the story behind that story is majority size isn’t a stable indicator of power in the U.K. any more. It’s no longer a PM or party specific issue at this point. It’s structural.
The important story behind this story is that someone in Downing Street is having a breakdown:
Starmer allies issue warning to PM’s rivals as fears grow over leadership challenge
No 10 said to be in ‘full bunker mode’ over fears of attempt to oust him after budget or May local elections
www.theguardian.com
November 11, 2025 at 11:35 PM
And the story behind that story is majority size isn’t a stable indicator of power in the U.K. any more. It’s no longer a PM or party specific issue at this point. It’s structural.
A genuinely cheering thing here: there's a positive correlation between trust and consumption in the main cluster.
No single US news source is consumed by more than 25% of Americans, whereas 60% of Brits regularly watch/read/listen to the BBC.
A single shared source of truth makes it harder for partisan echo chambers to form, or for divisive narratives to dominate. It’s good for social cohesion and compromise.
A single shared source of truth makes it harder for partisan echo chambers to form, or for divisive narratives to dominate. It’s good for social cohesion and compromise.
November 10, 2025 at 8:37 PM
A genuinely cheering thing here: there's a positive correlation between trust and consumption in the main cluster.
Reposted by Dr Nick Dickinson
The Today Programme.
November 10, 2025 at 8:06 AM
The Today Programme.
If you think a Nordic welfare state is antithetical to the populist radical right you might want to ask who wins ~20% of the vote in all these countries, is in the governing coalition in two, and is the largest opposition party in a third.
The GOP is petrified of Zohran Mamdani because they know once democratic socialism works here, as it has in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, they will never be elected again.
November 8, 2025 at 5:51 PM
If you think a Nordic welfare state is antithetical to the populist radical right you might want to ask who wins ~20% of the vote in all these countries, is in the governing coalition in two, and is the largest opposition party in a third.
Reposted by Dr Nick Dickinson
Yep. This even has its own acronym - MUU (mixed, unclear, or unstable). It constitutes the majority of Prevent referrals as of the 2024 Independent Review.
Rudakubana is part of a trend that the annual threat lecture has been mentioning for several years now, of threats that can’t easily be categorised but whose perpetrators are not psychotic. Happening across the world:
The maddest people you meet in a focus group are becoming terrorists. First we have someone who reads too much Slate Star Codex, now we have this guy.
November 3, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Yep. This even has its own acronym - MUU (mixed, unclear, or unstable). It constitutes the majority of Prevent referrals as of the 2024 Independent Review.
Reposted by Dr Nick Dickinson
FUNDED PhDs! We are advertising for three ESRC-funded PhD scholarships! Any specialism permitted, depending on departmental supervision available. Spread the word! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPH631/e...
ESRC Funded Studentships in Politics at University of Liverpool
Apply for a ESRC Funded Studentships in Politics. Discover a wide range of PhD opportunities at jobs.ac.uk.
www.jobs.ac.uk
November 3, 2025 at 6:06 PM
FUNDED PhDs! We are advertising for three ESRC-funded PhD scholarships! Any specialism permitted, depending on departmental supervision available. Spread the word! www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DPH631/e...
Reposted by Dr Nick Dickinson
Tolkien would have despised Musk for several independent reasons
Elon Musk, "These lovely small towns in England, Scotland and Ireland, they've been living their lives quietly. They're like hobbits"
"And so one day, 1,000 people show up in your village of 500 and start raping the kids"
"This has now happened, God knows how many times in Britain"
"And so one day, 1,000 people show up in your village of 500 and start raping the kids"
"This has now happened, God knows how many times in Britain"
November 2, 2025 at 9:45 PM
Tolkien would have despised Musk for several independent reasons
Reposted by Dr Nick Dickinson
One more push: please help spread the word about my crowdfunding effort to support Arabic-language access to ancient Gazan literature & financial support for a Gazan translator!
🗣️ PLEASE SHARE 🗣️
I'm writing an intro & sourcebook on late ancient Gazan literature for Dar al-Kalima University Press. The press and I plan to produce an Arabic translation to make Gazan literature more accessible to Palestinians. Help me compensate the Gazan translator!
spot.fund/dn8t744sc
I'm writing an intro & sourcebook on late ancient Gazan literature for Dar al-Kalima University Press. The press and I plan to produce an Arabic translation to make Gazan literature more accessible to Palestinians. Help me compensate the Gazan translator!
spot.fund/dn8t744sc
Click here to support Chance Bonar's story *AncientGazanLitTranslation
*spotfund is the easiest place to create beautiful and free online fundraisers. It takes just minutes to start raising money today.
spot.fund
October 28, 2025 at 11:10 PM
One more push: please help spread the word about my crowdfunding effort to support Arabic-language access to ancient Gazan literature & financial support for a Gazan translator!
Reposted by Dr Nick Dickinson
When the AKP was wrecking various parts Turkey in the simultaneous pursuit of aesthetically terrible projects and democratic backsliding I thought it was a coincidence. Not so sure now.
October 31, 2025 at 9:08 PM
When the AKP was wrecking various parts Turkey in the simultaneous pursuit of aesthetically terrible projects and democratic backsliding I thought it was a coincidence. Not so sure now.
Good peice. But for some reason just thought of this.
October 31, 2025 at 5:29 PM
Good peice. But for some reason just thought of this.
Sad. He usually expects more respect from junior colleagues
My goodness Matt Goodwin comes across as an obnoxious hateful one-trick pony. Glad much of the #bbcqt audience saw through his schtick and agree.
October 31, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Sad. He usually expects more respect from junior colleagues
For reasons too complicated and embarrassing to explain I saw Expend4balls in the cinema. There were four people there, including me and my partner. One walked out and the other seemed to only still be there because he was eating an entire bag of oranges and wasn’t done yet.
The best walk out I have seen in a cinema is during my gardening leave when I would watch a lot of the 11am pensioner and new parent screenings, an old lady saying "I don't have enough years left to waste on this" and walking out of 'The Duke'.
I remember going to see The Gallows and a guy left shouting "fuck off!" and none of the few left in there disagreed really.
October 30, 2025 at 1:50 PM
For reasons too complicated and embarrassing to explain I saw Expend4balls in the cinema. There were four people there, including me and my partner. One walked out and the other seemed to only still be there because he was eating an entire bag of oranges and wasn’t done yet.