Do Protests Affect What Politicians Say?

Protest is a fundamental part of democracy. From thousands attending pro-Palestine marches in London, to farmers driving their tractors into Paris, Berlin, and Cardiff, to Just Stop Oil spraying UCL’s famous portico orange – protests are rarely out of the spotlight.But what do protests actually achieve? Do they affect political debate and policy outcomes?A new study sheds light on that, focusing on the impact of climate protests here in the UK on what MPs talk about – both in parliament itself and online.One of the co-authors of that article is Tom Fleming, Lecturer in British and Comparative Politics, who joins us for this episode.Mentioned in this episode:Barrie, C., Fleming, T. G., and Rowan, S. S. (2023) ‘Does Protest Influence Political Speech? Evidence from UK Climate Protest, 2017-2019’, British Journal of Political Science.