I joined the Department as Lecturer in Politics in 1996 and am now a Reader in Politics. I was previously a Politics Lecturer at the University of Paisley, I have a BA and PhD in Politics from the University of Strathclyde.

My research interests span the areas of elections and political parties, political participation, and movement politics. With ESRC funding, and as Principal Investigator, I am currently researching the surge in party membership amongst pro-independence parties following the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence.  Co-investigators are Professor James Mitchell (Edinburgh) and Dr Rob Johns (Essex).

I am convenor of our first year course PI1018 Introduction to Politics and International Relations: Democracy and Governance.  I contribute to PI2009, Ideas and Ideologies in Politics and International Relations and the inter-disciplinary Sixth Centrury course SX1011 Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunity.  I am convenor of the honours course PI3562 Political Parties in Britain.  At postgraduate level, I coordinate the MRes in Political Research programme and convene the course on Research Design.    

I supervise dissertations on elections, political behaviour, political parties, green politics and movement politics.