At 10pm on 12 December 2019, millions across the UK were glued to TV screens as exit polls predicted a Conservative majority government. By UK law, an exit poll cannot be revealed until the polls have closed, but Michael, along with other academic colleagues, had been analysing the data all day.
2019 was the fourth exit poll that Michael has been part of, and it’s all come from a journey that started during his time at the University. Michael started his studies in 1971, studying for a BA in Political Theory and Institutions before embarking on a PhD at the University on The Political Theory of English Local Government 1834-1972.
In 1977 he moved to Plymouth after being offered a post at what is now the University of Plymouth. “I figured I’d stay in Plymouth for a couple of years before moving, but things didn’t work out that way.” Shortly after moving to the South West he began his 40 year collaboration with colleague Colin Rallings, with whom he would go on to found the Elections Centre.
Michael was nominated for this award by Dr Stuart Wilks-Heeg from the Department of Politics, who says that “the Elections Centre has revolutionised the study of local elections, making results far more widely available and identifying their significance for the academic study of voting behaviour more generally.”
In 1986, Michael and Colin were asked by The Sunday Times’ Editor Andrew Neil to analyse that year’s local elections, a role they have held ever since. Since 1989, Michael has also been a regular face on Sky News analysing local, national and European election results for broadcast news.