EPO NEWS, UPDATES AND MEDIA COVERAGE
2024
In the run-up to the 2024 US Presidential Election, EPO Director Michael Bruter and Deputy Director Sarah Harrison wrote on TIME magazine about What Polls Won’t Tell You About Voting Patterns and the implications of rising levels of electoral hostility.
Our research was also featured in a piece on the Financial Times on Election Anxiety and the Problem with Polarization, where EPO director Michael Bruter shared insights on how emotionality and rationality impact political attitudes and behaviours.
Podcasts
Dr Sandra Obradović joins BBC podcast Unexpected Elements to share some of EPO’s latest work on the psychology of voting. Listen to the podcast below:
Prof Michael Bruter spoke to Think, a podcast produced by KERA in Dallas/Fort Worth about the psychology of voting, why it helps us feel connected to a larger purpose in life, and how voters make their choices. Listen to the podcast below:
Prof Michael Bruter spoke to Times Higher Education about how universities can support Generation Z to engage with the democratic process, how to foster safe and open political discussion and why voting is like bungee jumping. Listen to the podcast below:
Dr Sandra Obradović spoke to The Bunker about rationality and voting, drawing on EPO’s research to discuss whether voter psychology has changed in recent years and what can be learned from it. Listen to the podcast below:
2023
Dr Sarah Harrison publishes new book Pathologies of Democratic Frustration: Voters and Elections Between Desire and Dissatisfaction.
Drawing from research in the US, UK, Australia, and South Africa, the book reveals insights on contemporary political crises. Read more about it here.
2022
EPO director (Professor Michael Bruter) and deputy-director (Dr Sarah Harrison) are finalists for the ESRC’s Impact Prize Award!
Project title: Optimising citizens’ electoral experience. Read more about it here.
2021
Inside the Mind of a Voter receives honorable mention in the ECPR’s 2021 Stein Rokkan Prize for Comparative Social Science Research.
The 2021 prize jury made the following comments about the research:
“Shifting the focus of electoral research from explaining electoral outcomes to the question what elections mean to citizens, Inside the Mind of a Voter by Michael Bruter and Sarah Harrison study the psychological bases of voter’ behavior, their experience and emotions in the election process, and the sense of democratic resolution electoral participation might entail, and how these three components are interrelated and act dynamically over time in six very different countries that are seldom studied together.
We award the honorary mention not only for the unique and innovative set of research approaches (ranging from panel study surveys, election diaries, and in-depth interviews to polling station observations) and the introduction of a psychological perspective and psychological elements such as personality, cognition, emotion, and identity in models of political behaviour pushing the boundaries of the discipline, but also for asking the big question what the process of voting means to citizens in times where political disputes over policy issues often grow bitter.”
2020
LATEST!
Psychology Today, 7th August, 2020: Do Elections Divide or Reconcile people?
NEWS:
CNBC, 29th June, 2020: French election results will create a headache for Macron and his main opponents, professor says
Honolulu Civil Beat, 18th June, 2020: Neal Milner: Hawaii Has Lost Its Emotional Connection To Voting
The Express, 24th April, 2020: Remainer Richard Dawkins joins calls to lower voting age: ‘Now’s the time!’
Spiegel (in German), 29th January, 2020: Großbritannien vor dem Brexit“Fast die Hälfte empfindet Abscheu oder Ekel”
BLOGPOSTS:
LSE Brexit, 15th June, 2020: Inside the Mind of a Voter: do people still respect democracy?
PRESS RELEASES:
LSE, 12th May, 2020: Two in five feel US election atmosphere is aggressive, hostile or poisonous
LSE, 6th February, 2020: Electoral Psychology Observatory launched at LSE
RADIO, PODCASTS AND VIDEOS
Radio Perth, 19th June, 2020: Inside the mind of a voter: Who will win the US election? Saturday Breakfast with Christine Layton
2019
NEWS:
Independent, 3rd July, 2019: Hostility between voters over Brexit feels hopeless, but our research may show a way to bridge the divide
The Independent, 29th May, 2019: How Brexit ‘betrayal’ left us angry, bitter and (almost) ready for a revolution
The Scotsman, 11th April, 2019: Brexit: Why it’s wrong to blame the older generation – Alastair Stewart
BLOGPOSTS:
LSE Brexit, 31st October, 2019: Hope and hopelessness: Is a reconciliatory Brexit possible?
LSE EUROPP: European Politics and Policy, 28th May, 2019: Seven key stories about the most ‘European’ EP election ever
LSE British Politics and Policy, 27th May, 2019: Who really won the UK European elections? A tale of two stories, and what happens next
LSE British Politics and Policy, 23rd May, 2019: Why reading polls is actually a lot more complicated than it looks
PRESS RELEASES:
LSE, 11th December, 2019: Labour and Tory voters ‘disgusted’ by one another
2018
NEWS:
Buzzfeed, 23rd December, 2018: “I Feel Like My Future Has Been Taken Away From Me”: Meet The Young People Hoping To Vote Against Brexit
NewStateman, 12th March, 2018: How a Swiss canton voted to deny a vegan citizenship – because she was “annoying”
The Guardian, 29th January, 2018: Ignore the naysayers: the 2017 election youthquake wasn’t a myth
2017
NEWS:
The Guardian, 3rd July, 2017: Most British citizens say EU nationals should be able to vote in UK
Politico, 2nd July, 2017: Britons want to retain EU citizenship rights after Brexit
The Independent, 2nd July, 2017: Brexit: Nearly 60% of Leave voters would now pay to retain EU citizenship
The Guardian, 1st July, 2017: Poll finds that 60% of Britons want to keep their EU citizenship
Le Monde (in French), 9th June, 2017: Législatives au Royaume-Uni : « Le vote pour Jeremy Corbyn est d’abord anticonservateur avant d’être pro-Labour »
The Guardian, 28th May, 2017: ‘We want a better future’: young first-time voters reveal who’s firing them up
The Guardian, 18th May, 2017: How do you solve Britain’s youth voting crisis?
The Economist, 4th February, 2017: Not turning out: Millennials across the rich world are failing to vote
Hindustan Times, 22nd January, 2017: Brexit, Trump lead to intense voter hostility: LSE study
The Independent, 19th January, 2017: Nearly half of British electorate feel ‘disgust’ towards Brexit voters on other side, study finds
Le Monde (in French), 19th January, 2017: Droit de vote à 16 ans : 62 % des lycéens se prononcent pour le « oui »
2016
NEWS:
Global Citizen, 17th November, 2016: The Age Gap: How the Old Defied the Young on Brexit & Trump
Attn:, 3rd November, 2016: Hilarious Tweet Perfectly Captures the Latest Fight About Brexit
CBC, 27th July, 2016: It wasn’t racism: Young Brexiteers say economy, EU control more important than immigration
The Times, 11th July, 2016: Two thirds of under-25s voted in the EU referendum
Vice, 11th July, 2016: Why Reports That Young People Didn’t Vote in the EU Referendum Are Bullshit
OpenDemocracy, 11th July, 2016: My 350 on BREXIT: European identity beginning
Aol., 10th July, 2016: Lots of young people did vote in the EU referendum despite claims that they couldn’t be bothered
The Spectator, 10th July, 2016: New poll finds twice as many young people voted in the EU referendum as previously thought
The Times, 10th July, 2016: EU vote youth turnout was 64%
The Independent, 10th July, 2016: EU referendum: Turnout among young voters ‘almost double’ initial reports
The Guardian, 10th July, 2016: EU referendum: youth turnout almost twice as high as first thought
The Huffington Post, 9th July, 2016: EU Referendum Turnout Among Young People ‘Twice As High As First Thought’, Claims Research
The BBC, 8th July, 2016: EU Referendum: Were young people less likely to vote?
Jewish News, 5th July, 2016: EU Referendum: Turnout of young people
The Canary, 4th July, 2016: Looks like youth turnout for the EU referendum was much, much higher than first thought
The Guardian, 2nd July, 2016: Poll reveals young remain voters reduced to tears by Brexit result
The Guardian, 21st June, 2016: Should you trust the pollsters or the bookies on the EU referendum?
Wall Street Journal, 20th June, 2016: Who to Trust on Brexit Predictions: The Pollsters or the Bettors?
The Independent, 16th June, 2016: EU referendum quiz: Should I vote for Brexit or Remain?
The Mirror, 12th June, 2016: Third of EU referendum voters won’t pick side until week before polling day
The Guardian, 11th June, 2016: Third of EU referendum voters won’t make up their minds until week before poll
The Mirror, 10th June, 2016: After Brexit, Boris Johnson the PM would axe public services and ramp up taxes
Daily Mail, 9th June 2016: You’ve got to be kidding! Now report says Brexit would stop couples having BABIES amid claims poorer families could lose up to £5,500 if we leave.
Evening Standard, 9th June 2016: Couples ‘delaying having babies because of fear over a Brexit’
Newsweek, 9th June 2016: U.K. Couples ‘Delaying Parenthood’ because of Brexit
The Sun, 9th June 2016: Mood Killer: Fear of Brexit ‘is stopping couples having children’ until after EU referendum
Het Financieele Dagblad (in Dutch), 3rd June, 2019: To Brexit or not to Brexit.
2015 and Earlier
NEWS:
Nature, 8th May, 2015: Why the polls got the UK election wrong
RADIO, PODCASTS and VIDEOS:
Falling Walls Conference, 2012: Breaking the wall of the polling booth