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Professor Will Jennings FBA

Will Jennings' research interests are public opinion and public policy in relation to the study of British and comparative politics, notably with regard to electoral behaviour, trust, polling, political geography, and agenda-setting.
Fellow type
UK Fellow
Year elected
2026
Sections
Political Studies: Political Theory, Government and International Relations
Website
University of Southampton

Summary

Will Jennings is Professor of Political Science and Public Policy at the University of Southampton. His research explores questions relating to public policy and political behaviour, specifically in relation to public opinion, polling, political trust, elections, electoral geography, agenda-setting, and public administration.

He studied Philosophy, Politics and Economic at the University of York (1996-1999) and received his DPhil from the University of Oxford (2004). He has held positions at the London School of Economics and Political Science (2004-2008), the University of Manchester (2008-2012) and the University of Southampton (2012-present), including a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship (2005-2008). He has been Elections Analyst for Sky News since 2017. He has served as a Trustee of the UK Political Studies Association (2014-2019) and co-directed the Centre for Towns think tank with Lisa Nandy MP and Ian Warren (2017-2022). He is a Fellow of the British Academy and the Academy of Social Sciences.

He has authored numerous books relating to political behaviour, including 'Policy Agendas in British Politics' (with Peter John, Anthony Bertelli and Shaun Bevan, 2013), 'The Politics of Competence' (with Jane Green, 2017), 'The Good Politician' (with Nick Clarke, Jonathan Moss and Gerry Stoker, 2018), and 'The Changing Electoral Map of England and Wales' (with Jamie Furlong, 2024), as well as the two latest Nuffield Election books, 'The British General Election of 2019 and The British General Election of 2024' (with Rob Ford, Tim Bale and Paula Surridge, 2021 and 2025). His book, 'Trust in Crisis? How Trust, Mistrust and Distrust Shape Democratic Governance' (with Daniel Devine, Viktor Valgarðsson, Jennifer Gaskell and Gerry Stoker) is due to be published in early 2027.

Current post

University of Southampton Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, School of Economic, Social and Political Sciences

University of Southampton Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Social Sciences

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