I studied in the School of History at the University of Bristol, graduating with a BA in 1984 and a PhD in 1991. I held a research fellowship in politics at Bristol (1988-89); and temporary lectureships at Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, London in social policy and social science (1989-90); and at Warwick University in politics (1990-92). I joined Swansea University in 1992, and after promotions to senior lecturer and reader was appointed to a personal Chair in Politics in 2012.
As a researcher I have focused on the territorial politics of how the UK is governed, relating both to devolved and local government. I am interested in analysing the statecraft of governing, as well as political, policy and representation implications of territorial government. My recent work has focused on the analysis of devolution since the late 1990s and includes my forthcoming book, Constitutional Policy and Territorial Politics in the UK: Union and Devolution, 1997-2007 (BUP, in press 2021)