Find more staff
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
Research staff:
- local government
- councillors
- democracy
- Liberal Democrats
- Qualitative Methods
- quangos
- Elections
- Public Governance
- Education Governance
- Digital Democracy
- Political Leadership
- Citizen-led Governance
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 on the Politics and International Relations Programme at UWE. He is part of the programme leadership team as Year lead for these second year of the programme and Alumni lead.
Thom specialises in in local government, representation, city leadership, election studies, and qualitative methods.
He 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.
As the Principal Investigator for the Qualitative Election Study of Britain (QESB), Dr Oliver leads a longitudinal project that examines voter attitudes and behaviours across multiple UK elections and referendums. This study provides valuable insights into the evolving political landscape of Britain. In collaboration with Dr Kristi Winters (GESIS) and Dr Edzia Carvalho (Dundee) the study has collected data on UK elections for over 16 years and been funded by the British Academy, Carnegie Foundation and UK Data Archive.
In addition to his work with the QESB, Dr Oliver is a Co-Investigator for the Bristol Civic Leadership Project with Dr David Sweeting (Bristol) and Professor Robin Hambleton (UWE). This initiative evaluates governance reforms in Bristol, particularly focusing on the impact of the directly elected mayoral model introduced in 2012. His research in this area has contributed to a deeper understanding of urban leadership and governance innovation. The project has received funding from the ESRC Impact Acceleration Fund, and has produced academic outputs, policy briefings, and educational videos about governance in the West of England.
Dr Oliver is part of an ongoing cross European collaboration researching the role of councillors, which has produced a number of academic outputs. The 'Return of the Councillors' project is due to deliver two edited collections, before entering the next research cycle which will explore the role of elected mayors and council leaders, and CEOs.
Thom regularly engages with broadcast media , offering commentary on political matters. He has appeared on platforms such as BBC Radio 4's Today Programme, BBC Radio Bristol, ITV News, and BBC News discussing topics ranging from elections and political leadership, to local governance. In doing so he aims to present evidence clearly and informatively, making political developments accessible and easy to understand.
You can find out more about Thom via the following external links:
Dr Thom Oliver - Google Scholar Profile
Dr Thom Oliver - ResearchGate Profile
Area of expertise
City Leadership, Political Representation, British Politics, Local Government and Urban Governace, Elections and Political Behaviour, Qualitative Political Research, Civic Engagement and Democratic Innovation, Trust and Legitimacy in Politics.
Thom also has broad experience in Research Development
Research Bidding, Planning Research, Funding Searches, Collaborative Bidding, Data Management, Building your Research Profile, Social Media.
Publications
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