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Robin Pettitt

Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics, Kingston University

Dr Robin Pettitt is Senior Lecturer at Kingston University - London. He specialises in the internal life of political parties and is currently investigating how parties recruit and retain their activists.

Dr Pettitt's main area of expertise is political parties, especially membership influence on policy making. A particular area of interest has been left wing parties with a formal commitment to intra-party democracy and how this has worked out in practice.

His research focuses on political organisations that serve as conduits between civil society and the state, particularly political parties. His interests have been largely based on national politics, but he is moving into the politics of representation at the EU level. Dr Pettitt also has an interest in the uses and abuses of marketing techniques in politics and in research methodology.

Previous research has focused on the obstacles to membership influence on party policy and how these can be overcome. One main area of attention has been the role of the party conference as a platform for membership dissent. In this context he has carried out extensive work on the Labour Party conference and how it has been managed by the party leadership so as to present a united front to the media and thereby the wider electorate. He has investigated the way in which the agenda is controlled, speakers groomed and how both individuals and other groups within the party membership have tried to break leadership control of the conference. He also has an interest in how the Labour Party conference has changed its nature during the party's history.

Five reasons to vote in this election

Nov 27, 2019 12:40 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

If you live in a safe seat, dont feel inspired by the choices on offer, and/or would rather spend December 12 doing your Christmas shopping, you might be considering not voting in the 2019 general election then here are...

Why Brexit might be as big a problem for Jeremy Corbyn as it is for Theresa May

Oct 28, 2018 12:03 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Its clear that the Conservative Party leadership, like the wider party, is profoundly split on what its Brexit policy ought to be. When Number 10 is willing to admit that a Cabinet meeting was impassioned the chances are...

Theresa May lives to fight another day – but this conference speech may well be her last

Oct 04, 2018 14:29 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Last years car crash was always going to set the bar for Theresa Mays 2018 speech to the Conservative Party conference very low. It was, however, a bar May cleared with ease in her 2018 address. The terrible dancing and...

Meet Theresa May's Conservatives – they're not the nasty party, honest

May 21, 2017 13:36 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

Theresa Mays (not the Conservative Partys more on that later) 2017 general election manifesto is based on dealing with Five Great Challenges. The plan is to ensure a strong economy, manage Brexit, tackle enduring social...

Briferendum Aftermath Series

Heathrow, Brexit and a pointless political suicide – that Richmond by-election in full

Dec 04, 2016 06:00 am UTC| Insights & Views Politics

The 2016 Richmond Park by-election must surely be one of the most frivolous and pointless instances of political suicide in recent British political history. Conservative incumbent Zac Goldsmith should perhaps be...

Economy

Taiwan Stock Market Ends Higher as Semiconductor and Energy Shares Lead Gains

Taiwan stocks closed higher on Thursday, supported by broad-based gains across key sectors including semiconductors, oil, gas and electricity, as well as construction. The Taiwan Stock Exchange Weighted Index finished the...

BOJ Governor Signals Gradual Rate Hikes as Japan’s Inflation Nears 2% Target

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Japans underlying inflation is steadily accelerating and moving closer to the central banks long-standing 2% target, reinforcing expectations that interest rate hikes will continue if...

UBS Warns of Short-Term Risks as Precious Metals Rally to Record Highs

Gold, silver, and platinum have surged to fresh record highs heading into the year-end holiday period, drawing strong attention across global commodity markets. However, UBS is urging investors to exercise caution, warning...

Japan Revises Economic Growth Forecast as Stimulus Fuels Consumption and Investment

Japans government has revised upward its economic growth forecast for the fiscal year ending next March and projected faster expansion in the following year, citing the positive impact of a large-scale stimulus package...

U.S. Stocks Rally to Record Highs as AI Rebound Fuels Holiday-Shortened Session

U.S. stocks closed higher on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the SP 500 finishing at record closing highs during a broad-based rally in a holiday-shortened trading session. All three major indexes...

Politics

U.S. Prioritizes Economic Pressure With Venezuelan Oil Quarantine as Sanctions Intensify

The United States has shifted its near-term military focus toward enforcing a so-called quarantine on Venezuelan oil exports, signaling a strategy that prioritizes economic pressure over direct military confrontation....

Hanwha Signals Readiness to Build Nuclear-Powered Submarines at Philly Shipyard for U.S. Navy

Hanwha Group has announced that its Philadelphia-based shipyard has the technical capability to build nuclear-powered submarines for the U.S. Navy, highlighting the South Korean conglomerates growing ambitions in the...

China’s One-Child Policy Legacy Resurfaces After Death of Former Population Chief

The death of Peng Peiyun, a former senior Chinese official who oversaw the countrys one-child policy for a decade, has reignited fierce debate on Chinese social media about the long-term impact of the controversial...

Christmas Eve Jazz Concert Canceled After Kennedy Center Renaming to Include Trump

A planned Christmas Eve jazz concert at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., has been canceled following a controversial decision to rename the iconic performing arts institution to include the name of Republican U.S....

Palau Agrees to Accept Up to 75 U.S.-Transferred Migrants in Deal Tied to Increased American Aid

Palau has agreed to accept up to 75 migrants transferred from the United States after signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Washington, a move that has drawn international attention amid ongoing debate over U.S....

Science

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

NASA Cuts Boeing Starliner Missions as SpaceX Pulls Ahead

NASA has significantly scaled back Boeings Starliner program after years of technical issues and delays, announcing that the next Starliner mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without astronauts. The...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn Achieves Breakthrough Success With First NASA Mission

Blue Origins massive New Glenn rocket marked a major milestone as it completed its first mission for paying customers, sending two NASA satellites toward Mars and successfully landing its reusable booster at sea. The...

Cogent Biosciences Soars 120% on Breakthrough Phase 3 Results for Bezuclastinib in GIST Treatment

Cogent Biosciences (NASDAQ: COGT) shares skyrocketed over 120% after the biotech company announced groundbreaking results from its Phase 3 PEAK trial evaluating bezuclastinib in combination with sunitinib for patients with...

Technology

Nvidia to Acquire Groq in $20 Billion Deal to Boost AI Chip Dominance

NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) has reportedly agreed to acquire Groq, a fast-growing designer of high-performance artificial intelligence accelerator chips, in a $20 billion all-cash transaction, according to a CNBC report. The...

Texas App Store Age Verification Law Blocked by Federal Judge in First Amendment Ruling

A federal judge in Texas has blocked the enforcement of a new state law that would have required app stores and developers to verify users ages, marking a significant legal win for major technology companies and digital...

FTC Praises Instacart for Ending AI Pricing Tests After $60M Settlement

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has welcomed Instacarts decision to end its artificial intelligence-based price testing, a move that follows weeks of consumer backlash and regulatory scrutiny. FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson...

John Carreyrou Sues Major AI Firms Over Alleged Copyrighted Book Use in AI Training

Investigative journalist John Carreyrou, widely known for exposing fraud at Silicon Valley blood-testing startup Theranos and for authoring the bestselling book Bad Blood, has filed a new copyright infringement lawsuit...

Italy Fines Apple €98.6 Million Over App Store Dominance

Italys competition authority has imposed a 98.6 million ($115.53 million) fine on U.S. technology giant Apple and two of its subsidiaries, citing alleged abuse of a dominant market position related to the distribution of...