I work on why democracies struggle with the things that matter most to them – housing, inequality, education and the shape of democracy itself. My book Why Politics Fails argues that our political ideals keep colliding with one another, and I made the same case in the BBC’s 2023 Reith Lectures. I write about it regularly on Political Calculus.
About
I am Professor of Comparative Democratic Institutions at Nuffield College and the University of Oxford and Fellow of the British Academy. Here’s my CV.
I am the Director of the Centre for Advanced Social Science Methods.
I am Course Director of the MSc in Law, Governance and AI.
I am the host of BBC Radio 4’s Rethink, and I was the BBC’s 2023 Reith Lecturer, giving a series of lectures titled ‘Our Democratic Future’.
I was the host of ‘What’s Wrong with Democracy?’ produced by Tortoise Media.
I’m the author of Why Politics Fails (Viking / PublicAffairs).
I am UK Politics Columnist for Prospect.
I write the Substack Political Calculus.
I’m co-editor (with David Samuels and Dawn Teele) of Comparative Political Studies.
I was Principal Investigator of the ERC funded WEALTHPOL project on the politics of wealth inequality.
Latest Columns and Podcasts
Welcome back, 2016
Today’s political trends bear a stark resemblance to those of the pre-Brexit era a decade ago. We are through the mirror, backwards
Read the column → Latest on Political CalculusPardogatto Progressivism
The switch in radicalism from left to right is the key challenge of our age
27 May 2026Read the post → Latest on Rethink, BBC Radio 4Rethink: manufacturing or services?
Is the UK destined to be an economy that only provides services and no longer makes things? Whether you agree with that statement or not, it's a narrative that's stuck…
1 October 2026Listen →Latest from the Lab
Universities and Local Economies
How much each university in England, Wales and Scotland adds to its local authority's economy, with spillover estimates, maps and scatterplots against local demographics, deprivation and council politics.
Open map →
2026 US Midterms by County
Senate, Governor and House results for every US county, with swings from 2024 and earlier elections, a population-sized map and scatterplots against county demographics.
Open map →
NEET Atlas
Young people not in education, employment or training, mapped across British local authorities, European regions, US areas and Canadian metro areas — with correlations against income, education, industry and demographics.
Open atlas →Papers, books and data
Work on democracy, inequality, housing and education, with replication data from the WEALTHPOL project.
Papers · Books · Data · Policy The LabExplorers, maps and models
Interactive tools to play with: the 2026 local elections, a constituency hex map, a property-tax calculator and more.
Open the Lab → Writing & MediaColumns, radio and podcasts
My Prospect column, the Political Calculus newsletter, Rethink on Radio 4 and the Reith Lectures.
Media · Substack · Prospect