PIR staff have been busy contributing to events and discussions on the UK General Election, as well as marking the anniversaries of some big milestones in the history of UK politics, namely 25 years of devolution and ten years since the Scottish independence referendum. Highlights include:
Roundtable discussion on UK politics, University of Aberdeen, 2nd October:
Dr Lynn Bennie discussed UK politics and Labour following the UK general election, Dr Malcolm Harvey addressed devolution in the UK over 25 years, Professor Joanne McEvoy spoke about the political picture in Northern Ireland, and Dr Judith Sijstermans examined the performance of the SNP. The event was chaired by Dr Digdem Soyaltin Colella.
Presentations:
Dr Lynn Bennie was invited to give a presentation at a University of Edinburgh conference on ‘Scotland’s Independence Referendum 10 Years On’ which took place on 26 September. She spoke about the highs and lows of civic engagement and party membership during the referendum campaign and in the years since.
Blogs:
Dr Lynn Bennie contributed an analysis of the SNP’s UK general election result to a highly-regarded academic collection on political parties, electoral politics and the media. See Lynn Bennie ‘Have voters fallen out of love with the SNP’, in Jackson, D., Parry, K., Harmer, E., Lilleker, D., Wright, S., Firmstone, J. and Thorsen, T. (eds) UK General Election Analysis 2024: Media, Voters and the Campaign: Early Reflections from Leading Academics (Centre for Comparative Politics and Media Research, Bournemouth University).
A longer version was reproduced for the University of Aberdeen’s School of Social Science Blog.
Dr Malcolm Harvey provided an overview of the 2024 UK election results for the School of Social Science Blog. His piece is entitled ‘2014 UK election results: Below the top line, a complex picture emerges’.
International media interviews:
Dr Lynn Bennie interview with the political editor of Basque Country daily newspaper Berria ‘Ten years after the referendum, public opinion remains static’:
Dr Judith Sijstermans interview with French newspaper L’Opinion ‘British general election: Scotland, a land of reconquest for Labour’.