Andrew Scott Crines

British Politics Lecturer, University of Liverpool

I joined the Department of Politics at Liverpool as a Lecturer in British Politics in September 2015. Prior to joining I was a Research Fellow at the University of Leeds in Rhetoric and Oratory. I completed my PhD at the University of Huddersfield in 2011.

Since 2012, I have been a Fellow of the HEA having completed a qualification in Professional Higher Education Practice. I am also the Publicity Officer for the PSA Conservatives and Conservatism Group, a member of the Social Democracy Philosophy Group, and an Editor for the APSA British Politics Group. I tweet at @AndrewCrines.

My research focuses on how leading political figures navigate the complex relationship between themselves and the electorate. I examine this relationship by deconstructing their use of rhetorical and oratorical techniques within a range of political and ideological arenas, such as conference, assemblies, and through the media. I have published extensively on the impact of political communication in journals such as British Politics, Politics and Religion, Global Discourse, Representation, Political Quarterly. My doctoral research examined Labour’s ideological composition(s), with a particular focus on Michael Foot’s election as leader in 1980. The thesis was externally examined by Andrew Thorpe (Exeter).

As part of my current research I am involved in three major projects. The first, with Timothy Heppell (Leeds) and Peter Dorey (Cardiff) examines the rhetorical persona of Margaret Thatcher through an examination of her style of oratory as a means of understanding her justifications for Thatcherism. The second explores the styles of oratory in Democratic Party politics with David S Moon (Bath) and Robert Lehrman (American University, Washington DC). Both these projects are under contract with Palgrave. With Kevin Hickson (Liverpool), the third is a collection of chapters which re-examines the impact of Harold Wilson's leadership within the context of the anniversary in 2016. This project is under contract with Biteback, and will have an associated event in Westminster.

I am also currently working on number of projects which explore the rhetorical style of political elites across the United Kingdom.