Skip to main contentSkip to navigation
Print subscriptions
Newsletters
Sign in

Robert Ford

Headshot of Robert Ford

Robert Ford is professor of political science at Manchester University and co-author of The British General Election of 2019  

April 2026

  • Nigel Farage gestures as he speaks

    Politics Weekly UK
    The Greens, Reform and the end of two-party politics? – podcast

    Podcast24:07
  • Keir Starmer smiles as Scottish Labour MPs applaud him outside No 10 in Downing Street

    Politics Weekly UK
    Labour’s mistakes: is it too late to turn things around? – podcast

    Podcast30:56

February 2026

  • Green Party candidate Hannah Spencer

    Today in Focus
    On the ground in the byelection that could end Starmer – podcast

    Reform and the Greens both insist they can win Gorton and Denton from Labour – and if they do, it could be another nail in the prime minister’s coffin. Helen Pidd reports on how the candidates and voters are feeling
    Podcast37:52

April 2025

  • Reform UK leader Nigel Farage in Runcorn, Cheshire on Thursday

    Two-party politics is dying in Britain. Voters want more than just Labour and Tories

    Badenoch is braced for heavy losses on 1 May, but as Labour stumbles and Greens and Lib Dems surge, the contest is wide open, says Robert Ford

February 2025

  • Nigel Farage makes a speech, his hand stretching towards the camera

    Nigel Farage has been a threat to every recent UK prime minister. But this is something new

    Reform has surged in the polls, panicking both Labour and the Conservatives. It’s a trap, and the risks are high

January 2025

  • Keir Starmer answering journalists' questions

    Labour’s poll lead is fading and the base is weak – it’s time for Starmer to roll the dice

    Robert Ford
    The PM can at least take comfort from the fact that the Tories are struggling just as much as he is

November 2024

  • Kamala Harris waving

    Kamala Harris is just the latest victim of global trend to oust incumbents

    Voters across the world have backed any alternative to the people in charge

July 2024

  • Keir and Victoria Starmer outside No 10 Downing Street on Friday:

    Labour put ‘safe’ seats at risk to target marginals. It paid off – but there’s a cost

  • From left: the Lib Dems’ Ed Davey, the Conservatives’ Rishi Sunak, Labour’s Keir Starmer, the Greens’ Carla Denyer and Reform leader Nigel Farage

    From exit poll to swing seats: 10 key moments to watch as election results roll in

June 2024

  • Ed Davey campaigns for Lib Dems in Yeovil last week.

    Small parties’ surge offers opportunity and risk for Labour as ‘big two’ vote share poised to fall

    The failings of the first past the post system are exposed amid an unprecedented fracturing of political support that signals dangers for the winning party
  • Keir Starmer standing beside the red Labour election battle bus

    A wobbly left and a wary right could cut the Labour vote with low turnout

    Labour may currently have a commanding lead, but a second lacklustre half to the campaign could lead some voters to stay at home, writes political scientist Robert Ford
  • Rishi Sunak being interviewed by Sky News about leaving D Day event early

    Rishi Sunak’s chances were always slim. And the numbers just get worse

    Polls show longstanding Tory advantages on issues such as immigration, crime and defence are gone, while Labour opens new leads in traditional areas

May 2024

  • Prime minister Rishi Sunak and Labour leader Keir Starmer.

    From first impressions to tactical voting: how the UK election will be won or lost

  • Keir Starmer and Claire Ward hug, clutching a microphone, in front of a crowd holding "Britain's Future" signs

    Local elections drubbing shows time is nearly up for the Conservatives

April 2024

  • A family walks along the Southbank in the rain with The Palace of Westminster, home to the Houses of Parliament, in the background, in London

    Red walls and green dreams: what are the key battlegrounds in England’s local elections?

    From Hartlepool to Bristol, successes in 2 May’s polls will set the tone for the impending Westminster race

March 2024

  • Ed Davey at the Lib Dem Spring Conference Arrivals and Rally in York

    Low-profile Lib Dems are flatlining in the polls – but don’t write them off

    Reform UK is making the headlines but tactical voting can power Ed Davey’s party in seats where they are the Tories’ main challengers

December 2023

  • A small boat crossing the Channel from the French coast towards Dover, Kent.

    Why the Tories’ hardline immigration policies won’t win over UK voters

    Visa changes may cut numbers of students and skilled workers who enjoy public support while Rwanda plan won’t address concerns over small boats, writes political scientist Robert Ford

October 2023

  • Starmer And Labour Celebrate Win In Rutherglen By-Election<br>RUTHERGLEN, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 06: Labour Party leader Keir Starmer joined MP-elect Michael Shanks to celebrate Shanks' victory in the Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election on October 6, 2023 in Rutherglen, Scotland. Labour won the parliamentary seat with nearly 60 percent of the vote. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

    Labour’s stunning Scottish byelection win means there may be little need to bargain with the SNP

    A decade of SNP dominance will be swept away in Scotland if Labour can repeat its Rutherglen success

September 2023

  • Street signs including an arrow and signs reading "Ultra low emission Ulez zone" and "Lez Ulez" with a camera motif

    Watering down the UK’s net zero strategy may backfire for Rishi Sunak

    Just as ‘stop the boats’ campaign didn’t win the Tories support, their new ‘red wall’-targeting policy on carbon emissions may backfire

July 2023

  • Keir Starmer grins and points at Keir Mather, who wears a Labour rosette on his suit, with Angela Rayner to his right as they all walk on the grass

    Yes, the Tories kept Uxbridge. But the general election will be a referendum on Sunak, not Ulez

    With a local dispute swaying voters, the result in Boris Johnson’s old seat did not accurately reflect the national mood
About 99 results for Robert Ford
1234...
Explore more on these topics