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Role:
Department staff:
Collaborations:
- The Qualitative Election Study of Britain
- GESIS – Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences
- University of Dundee
- University of Bristol
- Bristol Civic Leadership Project
- Scottish Election Study 2026 (ESRC)
- Welsh Election Study 2026 (ESRC)
Research staff:
- Liberal Democrats
- Qualitative Methods
- Elections
- Public Governance
- Education Governance
- Digital Democracy
- Political Leadership
- Citizen-led Governance
- Quangos
- Local Government
- Democracy
- Councillors
Teaching staff:
- Qualifications:BA, MRes, PhD, AFHEA
- Position:Senior Lecturer in Politics
- Department:HAS - Health and Social Sciences
- Telephone:+441173286051
- Email:Thom.Oliver@uwe.ac.uk
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Social media:
About me
Dr Thom Oliver is a Senior Lecturer in Politics in the School of Social Sciences at UWE. He is part of the Politics and International Relations programme leadership team, serving as Year 2 Lead and Alumni Lead, with a focus on student belonging, employability and outward-facing civic engagement.
His research expertise spans elections and voter reasoning, local democracy and representation, governance reform, qualitative methods and research data infrastructure.
Thom’s work has a strong public-facing and policy dimension. He contributes regularly to TV, radio and online journalism, including BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, BBC regional and local radio, and ITV News, providing evidence-led analysis and commentary on politics, elections, political leadership and governance. He also undertakes invited policy and practitioner consultation and engagement with government and sector organisations, including the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Citizens for Culture, which delivered the West of England’s Regional Cultural Plan through the UK’s first regional Citizens’ Assembly for Culture
His Media Impact Portfolio, showcasing recent broadcast contributions and available recordings, is available to journalists on request.
Thom holds a BA (Hons) in Politics from the University of Exeter, an MRes in European Social Policy from the University of Bath, and a PhD from the University of Birmingham, where his research focused on public policy and local government.
Thom’s recent publications include co‑authored datasets within the Qualitative Election Study of Britain, published via the UK Data Service
Oliver, T., Carvalho, E., Winters, K. (2025). Qualitative Election Study of Britain 2024: Pre- and Post- Election Transcripts. [data collection]. UK Data Service. SN: 857874, DOI: 10.5255/UKDA-SN-857874
Winters, K., Carvalho, E., Oliver, T. (2025). Qualitative Election Study of Britain Party Leader Evaluations Database, 2005-2024. [data collection]. UK Data Service. SN: 857826, DOI: 10.5255/UKDA-SN-857826
External academic profiles are available via Google Scholar (Dr Thom Oliver) and Research Gate (Dr Thom Oliver).
Area of expertise
Thom’s research centres on elections and voter reasoning, local democracy and representation, and city leadership and governance reform. He has particular expertise in qualitative methods and research data infrastructure.
He is Principal Investigator of the Qualitative Election Study of Britain (QESB), a major longitudinal project examining voter attitudes and behaviours across UK elections and referendums. The study has collected data for over 16 years and been funded by the British Academy, Carnegie Foundation and UK Data Archive. In 2024 he led the QESB General Election wave, directing qualitative design, fieldwork and documentation. The study captures in-depth reflections from voters across England, Scotland, and Wales on the issues shaping the 2024 General Election and delivered substantial open datasets for the UK elections research community via the UK Data Service. In 2026, he will serve as Principal Investigator for qualitative components within the ESRC-funded Scottish and Welsh Election Studies, leading the design and delivery of in-depth voter research modules.
Alongside QESB, Thom is a Co-Investigator on the Bristol Civic Leadership Project, a collaboration between UWE and the University of Bristol evaluating governance innovation and accountability in Bristol and the West of England. The project has received ESRC Impact Acceleration funding and has produced academic outputs, policy briefings, and educational videos supporting public understanding during moments of constitutional and institutional change
He also contributes to comparative European research on councillors, mayors and local leadership through multi-country collaborations and shared datasets. This partnership has produced a several peer-reviewed outputs, including two forthcoming chapters in Municipal Councillors in Europe (Palgrave), with the next research cycle examining the roles of elected mayors, council leaders, and CEOs.
Publications
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