About
I joined the Department of Politics as Lecturer in British Politics in 2015, and later Senior Lecturer from 2018. Prior to joining Liverpool I was a Research and Teaching Fellow at the University of Leeds (POLIS) with particular focus on British Foreign Policy and British Political Ideologies. My PhD was supervised by Profs Brendan Evans and Jim McAuley, and was examined by Profs Andrew Thorpe and Keith Laybourn.
My research, which specialises in political communication, Parliamentary behaviour, and UK political institutions, has appeared in 30+ world leading international journals; 10+(co)-authored/edited books; and 12+ chapters for academic collections.
In June 2024, I completed a term as a Trustee on the Political Studies Association (PSA) Executive Committee. Alongside this, I am a co-convenor (with Σοφία Hatzisavvidou, Bath) of the PSA Specialist Group in 'Rhetoric, Discourse, and Politics'. In 2017 I won the prestigious PSA 'Richard Rose Prize' for my "doubly pioneering" methodologies into the study of British Politics. In the same year I also won a Learning and Teaching Team award, as well as a commendation for public engagement with the Europe and the World Centre.
I am also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a Fellow of the HEA Advance-HE having completed a qualification in Professional Higher Education Practice. In July 2023, I completed an MA in Academic Practice with a focus on technology and teaching methods. Prior to this, I completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Academic Practice (Merit) in 2021 with a particular focus on leadership and teaching innovations within political studies. Both qualifications updated my previous qualification in higher education practice and included updates on innovations and practices, embedding inclusivity, and authenticity in module and assessment design.
My teaching uses the latest research on communication/language as the basis for my two specialist modules (POLI252 Political Communication and Public Speaking, and POLI323 Theory and Practice of Rhetoric in British Politics). From September 2024, I will also be the new convenor of a redesigned POLI101 British Politics first year module, alongside the launch of a new second year module POLI263 British Foreign Policy.
From September 2023, I started acting as the Alumni Officer for Politics. This is the first Alumni Officer within the department, thereby setting the scene for its development as we begin reaching out to graduates.
Also in August 2022, I began a term as the Chair of the HLC Board of Examiners for the School. Thus far, I have established the 'Board of Examiners Working Group' which is comprised of education leaders across the School. The Group acts as a Forum to discuss proposals and make decisions for changes to practice across the School with the aim of enhancing student experience through the Liverpool Curriculum Framework, the integrity of all undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, and the overall degree quality achieved by our graduates. The Group has recently pioneered the introduction of a new auditing policy across the School for all students at any stage of their education (currently being rolled out in History and Politics, with a view to launching the scheme School-wide in September 2023). Also from September 2023 the Group began discussions on reforms to the MRB process across HLC to improve consistency and transparency.
Prior to this, my departmental responsibilities have included a four year term as Politics' Undergraduate Curriculum Lead (2016-2020) whereby I worked with colleagues to oversee the reform and expansion of the undergraduate politics curriculum through embedding authentic assessments, global citizenship, digital skills, student confidence, research connected teaching and digital skills across our existing and new module provision. I have also finished a three year term as the Departmental Lead for Postgraduate Teaching (2019-2023) which included developing and acting as the Director of Studies for the new Political Science and International Relations MA for one year (2022-23). Finally, I was also a member of the 'Politics Leadership Team' between 2019 and 2022 which acted as the forum for strategic decision making and planning.
I have also acted as the External Examiner for the Department of Politics at York St John (2018-2022), and the External Moderator for the Department of International Studies at XJTLU (2019-2024).
In terms of my media engagement, I have appeared on BBC television/radio to provide academically-informed expert analyses of political events/controversies within the UK. Please contact me directly or via the University media office if you would like to book me to appear on topics relating to British Politics, Conservatism, Labourism, Liberalism, or wider issues of party leadership across the UK.
Prizes or Honours
- Richard Rose Prize (Political Studies Association, 2017)
- Learning and Teaching Team Award (University of Liverpool, 2017)