John Smith Centre

Today we have a special #JSCGivingMonth message from our Chair @andersoniain.bsky.social 🌟

Please give to support our mission to open doors to politics & public life for young people 🤝 www.johnsmithcentre.com/support-us/

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

Our events at @glasgow.ac.uk and beyond provide a platform for free and open debate, inspiring young people to get involved in the public square 🎤

💪 Your donations allow us to deliver these events – please give at www.johnsmithcentre.com/support-us/

#JSCGivingMonth @uofgsocsci.bsky.social

We are working with schools in areas of multiple deprivation to encourage more young people to get involved in politics & public life 🏫

🤲 We need your help to expand our Schools Programme – please consider giving at www.johnsmithcentre.com/support-us/

#JSCGivingMonth @uofgsocsci.bsky.social

Our Parliamentary Internship Programme gives students from underrepresented backgrounds the #OpportunityToServe by providing paid placements with MSPs/MPs 🚀

🤝 The programme relies on your support – please donate at www.johnsmithcentre.com/support-us/

#JSCGivingMonth @uofgsocsci.bsky.social

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

We're excited to mark the beginning of #JSCGivingMonth today! ✨️

👀 Keep an eye on our social media channels this month, where we will be showcasing all of our brilliant programmes and activities opening doors to public life and politics for young people.

🔗 www.johnsmithcentre.com/support-us/

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social @uofgasbs.bsky.social

A designed graphic with text reading: "Impact avenue. Showcase your research and insights. Proximity to power; trust in politics; health of democracy. In-depth analysis; opinion; current state of the research." The graphic also shows the John Smith Centre logo and a photo of a laptop displaying the Research and Insights section of the John Smith Centre website.

📢 Calling researchers and thought leaders — want to bring your work to life for a broader audience?

Our Research & Insights Platform is open for submissions on:
🔹 Proximity to power & public life
🔹 Trust in politics
🔹 Health of democracy

Find out more: www.johnsmithcentre.com/our-work/res...

TACKLING THE BIG ISSUES: JOHN SMITH CENTRE'S UK YOUTH POLL THEMES CHOSEN BY YOUNG PEOPLE - John Smith Centre Young people taking the John Smith Centre’s groundbreaking Youth Poll Project course have chosen the themes for this year’s high-profile UK Youth Poll. The UK Youth Poll, generously funded by Nationwi...

💡Keen to learn which themes our young people have chosen for this year's Youth Poll?

Find out right here, fresh off the press: www.johnsmithcentre.com/news/researc...

The young people are interrogating some of the most pressing current issues and we're keen to see what the poll finds!

"IT WAS REALLY NICE TO SEE IT IN REAL LIFE": PUPILS FROM DEPRIVED AREAS VISIT THE SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT - John Smith Centre Over the past couple of weeks, we have been busy delivering the second element of our brand-new schools programme, a bespoke visit to the Scottish Parliament. One hundred pupils across the three…

✨️ Over the past couple of weeks, the John Smith Centre has been busy delivering the second element of our schools programme, a bespoke visit to @parliament.scot for 100 pupils in areas of high deprivation.

Find out what we got up to in our latest blog! 👇

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social

UofG students get to work on the UK Youth Poll 2026 – for young people, by young people 📊 The students on our #UKYouthPoll course at @UofGlasgow have been getting stuck in writing questions for the 2026 poll this week 📊 We can't wait to see what they come up with!…

The students on our #UKYouthPoll course at @glasgow.ac.uk have been getting stuck in writing questions for the 2026 poll this week 📊

We can't wait to see what they come up with! 🌟

#UKYouthPoll2026 @focaldata.bsky.social @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

HOW POLARISED ARE WE REALLY? - John Smith Centre Public discourse and political debate increasingly reference polarisation — not as a possibility, but as something that has very much arrived in UK society. Recent polling by Ipsos found that four in…

❗️ ICYMI: read Dr Elisabeth Loose's latest research blog exploring if the UK is in fact as polarised as it is perceived to be.

#Polarisation @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

We had a brilliant time at the Scottish Parliament on Monday for the second of our schools programme visits - thanks again to the @parliament.scot Education Service for working with us in partnership to make these visits happen 🙌

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

MANDELSON: WHAT DO YOUNG PEOPLE THINK? - John Smith Centre By Eddie Barnes THE John Smith Centre ran a focus group of young people on Wednesday evening, a few hours after the full details of Peter Mandelson’s dealings with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey E...

📰 The John Smith Centre ran a focus group of young people on Wednesday evening, a few hours after the full details of Peter Mandelson's dealings with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were revealed.

Read @eddiebarnes.bsky.social's blog to find out what they thought 👇

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social

Eddie Barnes on STV's Scotland Tonight reflecting on the impact of the Peter Mandelson scandal YouTube video by John Smith Centre

Centre Director Eddie Barnes on STV's Scotland Tonight last night reflecting on the impact of the Peter Mandelson scandal 📺

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

“AT THE END OF THE DAY, WE JUST NEED GOOD PEOPLE TO STEP FORWARD AND STAND" - KATE FORBES MSP AND FRASER NELSON IN CONVERSATION AT “SURVIVING POLITICS" EVENT - John Smith Centre by Eddie Barnes THE John Smith Centre held its second “Surviving Politics” event in a packed Bute Hall at the University of Glasgow on Monday night. Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes and Times…

Thank you to all who attended #SurvivingPolitics with Kate Forbes MSP & Fraser Nelson on Monday evening! 🙌

Our Director Eddie Barnes shares his takeaways from the event in our latest blog post 📰

📹️ You can also watch the recording here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzS1...

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social

📢 ICYMI: check out Dr Joe Greenwood-Hau's blog analysing #UKYouthPoll2025 data to show that young people are generally willing and able to give their views on politics.

🔗 www.johnsmithcentre.com/news/researc...

#UKYouthPoll #GenZ

Thank you for joining us! We're glad you had a great time!

We are delighted to welcome Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes MSP and Times columnist Fraser Nelson in Bute Hall @glasgow.ac.uk today to our annual Surviving Politics event.

If you can’t be here, it will be recorded and uploaded to our YouTube channel soon - keep your eyes peeled.

Surviving Politics: Kate Forbes MSP and Fraser Nelson in Conversation The John Smith Centre brings together two of our leading political figures to set out their contrasting thoughts on the road ahead.

We're so excited for Surviving Politics with Kate Forbes MSP and @frasernelson.bsky.social at @glasgow.ac.uk on Monday evening! 🤩

If you haven't registered yet, don't worry: free tickets are still available at the link below 👇

#SurvivingPolitics @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

📢 New research blog out now!

We hear a lot about how polarised UK society is today – but are we getting the full picture? 🤔

Read Dr Elli Loose's blog to discover the nuance: 🔗 www.johnsmithcentre.com/news/researc...

#Polarisation @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

Pupils sitting around a committee table in the Scottish Parliament.

Jackie Baillie MSP standing in front of an audience of pupils sitting in rows in the Scottish Parliament. She is pointing to a screen displaying photos of the MSPs for Dumbarton.

Colin McKay and Eddie Barnes standing in front of an audience of pupils sitting in rows in the Scottish Parliament. Behind them is a screen displaying photos of the MSPs for Dumbarton.

Pupils standing in a group in the Scottish Parliament Debating Chamber.

Yesterday we were delighted to bring S5/6 pupils from West Dunbartonshire to the Scottish Parliament as part of our new schools programme 🌟

Many thanks to Jackie Baillie MSP & Colin McKay for taking time to speak to the pupils, and to the @parliament.scot Education Service for hosting us!

Last week, our interns were warmly welcomed to the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh 🤩

Huge thanks to the team at @parliament.scot for making it happen – our interns had a great day! 🙏

#JohnSmithIntern @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

⌛ Just one week to go until #SurvivingPolitics, and places are going fast – register now to avoid disappointment! www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/surviving-...

@kateforbes.bsky.social @frasernelson.bsky.social @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

This #InternationalDayofEducation, we're calling for more #CivicEducation in schools - and for the strengthening of our civic spaces for #LifelongLearning 🧑‍🎓 📖 ✒️

#EducationDay

❗Today's your last chance to join the #UKYouthPoll course: www.johnsmithcentre.com/youth-poll/u...

YOUNG PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THEY THINK ABOUT POLITICS, AND THEY ARE HAPPY TO TELL US - John Smith Centre Joe Greenwood-Hau analyses our 2025 UK Youth Poll data to show that women, less educated people and those on lower incomes, as well as less politically active people, say ‘don’t know’ more when asked…

The #UKYouthPoll2025 tells us a lot about what young people think about politics – but what should we make of those who selected the 'don't know' answer options? 🤔

Dr Joe Greenwood-Hau investigates in our latest research blog 📰

#UKYouthPoll #GenZ @uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social

UK Youth Poll Course - John Smith Centre Course at The John Smith Centre’s Youth Poll Project course offers honours students in the College of Social Sciences at the University of Glasgow a unique opportunity to gain practical experience of…

⌛ There's still time left for @uofgsocsci.bsky.social honours students to join our #UKYouthPoll course this semester!

Don't miss your chance to shape the national conversation about young people's political opinions and priorities – head to our website to find out more & sign up 👇

@uofgsocsci.bsky.social @uofgsps.bsky.social