I joined the Department as Lecturer in Politics in 1996 and am now a Reader in Politics. I was previously a Politics Lecturer at what was then 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, climate and movement politics. My recent research includes ESRC-funded work on the surge in party membership amongst pro-independence parties following the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence, with a focus on its short and long term consequesnces.  Co-investigators were Professor James Mitchell (Edinburgh) and Dr Rob Johns (Essex).  The book 'Surges in Party Membership: The SNP and Scottish Greens After the 2014 Referendendum' was published by Routledge in 2024.  An ongoing project is 'Defenders of Local Democracy', funded by the Royal Society of Edinburgh. With my colleague Malcolm Harvey, the project examines the roles and experiences of local councillors.  

I contribure lectures on representation and democraccy to our first year course PI1018 Introduction to Politics and International Relations: Democracy and Governance, and I regulalry coordinate the course.  I contribute to the inter-disciplinary Sixth Centrury course SX1011 Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunity.  I am convenor of the honours course PI3562 Political Parties in Britain.  I am co-convenor with my colleague Professor Joanne McEvoy of a new MSc in Politics and Public Policy.

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