Lecturer in Politics

BSc, MA, PhD

Contact Details

• Tel: +44 (0)116 252 2701
• Fax: +44 (0)116 252 5082
• Email: bc101@leicester.ac.uk  

Research Interests

My primary research focus is on British politics and specific areas of interest include: the European issue in British politics; public opinion and foreign policy issues; voting and political participation; the impact of religion on attitudes and behaviour in Britain.

Current Research

I am currently in the early stages of collaborative research on the sources of public attitudes towards EU-related issues, such as EMU and political integration, in other member states. I am working on a monograph on religious affiliation and political preferences in Britain, to be published by Palgrave Macmillan. 

I have previous experience of working on various research projects examining the views and socio-economic circumstances of visually impaired people in Britain and a longitudinal study of youth transitions. My PhD thesis was awarded the ‘Arthur McDougall Fund Prize for best dissertation in elections, electoral systems, or representation’ by the United Kingdom Political Studies Association in April 2009. In February 2008 I was given the ‘David Butler Prize’ for a paper presented at the EPOP Conference 2007.

Teaching and Supervision

Teaching experience includes courses on government and democracy in the UK, European Union politics, West European politics, British political parties, and undergraduate and postgraduate research methods.

Most Recent Publications

Journal Articles

• 'A micro-level analysis of support in Britain for the war in Afghanistan', British Journal of Politics and International Relations, forthcoming.

• 'Religion and ethnic minority attitudes in Britain towards the war in Afghanistan', Politics & Religion, forthcoming.

• (2012) 'Research Note: Exploring public opinion on the issue of climate change in Britain', British Politics, 7(2): 183-202.
• (2012) 'Public opinion in Britain towards military action in Libya: A micro-level analysis', POLITICS, 32(2): 109-119.
• With G. Douglas, S. Pavey and C. Corcoran, 'Evaluating the use of the ICF as a framework for interviewing people with a visual impairment about their mobility and travel', British Journal of Visual Impairment, forthcoming.
• "Explaining public attitudes towards the integration of Muslims in British society: The ‘solidarity of the religious’?", Journal of Contemporary Religion, forthcoming.
• With K. Nanou, 'What underlies public attitudes towards the ‘constitutionalisation’ of the EU? Evidence from Britain', Journal of Contemporary European Research, forthcoming.
• 'Research Note: The sources of public feelings towards religious groups in Britain: The role of social factors, religious characteristics and political attitudes', Journal of Contemporary Religion, forthcoming.
• (2011) 'Examining public attitudes towards recent foreign policy issues: Britain’s involvement in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts', POLITICS, 31(2): 63-71.
• (2011) B. Clements, G. Douglas and S. Pavey, 'Which factors affect the chances of paid employment for individuals with visual impairment in Britain?', WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment and Rehabilitation, 39(1): 21-30.
• (2010) 'Understanding "utilitarian" support for European integration in Scotland and Wales: The role of economic interests, national identity and party support', Regional and Federal Studies, 20 (4): 439–459.
• (2010) 'Exploring and explaining public attitudes towards the European integration process in Northern Ireland', Irish Political Studies, 25(3): 393-416.
• (2010) 'Understanding public attitudes in Britain towards faith schools', British Educational Research Journal, 36(6): 953-73.
• (2010) 'What contributes to change and stability in individual-level attitudes towards Britain’s membership of the EU? An analysis of the British Election Panel Studies', 1987-92 and 1992-97’, Journal of Contemporary European Research, 6(1): 43-68.
• ‘The sociological and psychological influences on public support for the European Union in Britain, 1983-2005’, British Politics, April 2009, 3(1): 47-82.
• With J. Bartle, ‘The European issue and party choice at British general elections, 1974-2005’, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties, November 2009, 19(4): 377-411.

Book chapters

Reports

• Clements, B. and G. Douglas (2009), Network 1000 Survey 1: Comparing the General and Registered Visually Impaired Populations. VICTAR, University of Birmingham, pp. 1-105.
• Douglas, G., S. Pavey, B. Clements and C. Corcoran (2009), Network 1000: Access to employment amongst visually impaired people. VICTAR, University of Birmingham, pp. 1-46.
• Douglas, G., J. Franks, A. Weston and B. Clements (2009), Braille in the 21st Century: opportunities, benefits, and challenges for adults with acquired sight loss. VICTAR, University of Birmingham, pp. 1-106.
• Pavey, S., A. Dodgson, G. Douglas and B. Clements (2009), Travel, Transport, and Mobility of people who are blind and partially sighted in the UK. VICTAR, University of Birmingham, pp.1-119.

Conferences and Presentations

• 'Examining the Impact of Religion on Political Participation in Britain', BSA Annual Conference 2012, University of Leeds, 11-13 April.
• With K. Nanou, 'Economic crisis and public attitudes towards domestic and EU institutions in Greece, Portugal and Spain’, 6th ECPR General Conference 25-27 August 2011, Standing Group on Southern European Politics.
• With K. Nanou, ‘Support for Turkish Membership of the EU in the UK: Party positions and citizens’ attitudes’, Paper presented at ‘Turkey and the EU: Opportunities and Challenges in the Accession Process’. The University Association for Contemporary European Studies and Turkish University Association for European Studies, 16-18 June 2010, Yeditepe University, Istanbul.
• ‘“Little Englanders”? Profiling Conservative Party supporters' views on immigration and Europe’, ‘Cameron's Conservatives conference’ at The Centre for British Politics, Department of Politics and International Relations, University of Nottingham, December 2008.
• ‘The salience of the European issue and vote choice in Britain, 1983-2005’, EPOP 2007 Annual Conference, University of the West of England, September 2007.
• ‘The foundations of opinion stability on the EU: Evidence from the British Election Panel Studies, 1987-92 and 1992-97’, EPOP 2006 Annual Conference, University of Nottingham, September 2006.
• ‘The Current State of the Parties: Prospects for the next General Election’, Westminster Politics Short Course for A-Level Teachers, University of Westminster, June 2009.