Fellowship Announcement: Dr Nigel Fletcher
The Mile End Institute at Queen Mary University of London is delighted to announce that Dr Nigel Fletcher, the political historian and commentator, has been appointed as our latest Honorary Research Fellow.
Photo Credit: Nick Brincat
Dr Fletcher is the country’s leading expert on the organisation and history of the UK's Official Opposition and co-founded the Centre for Opposition Studies in 2010. He regularly appears as an expert commentator on UK and worldwide outlets (including BBC News, CBS News and Times Radio) and has written three books, of which the most recent – Institutionalised Dissent: The Official Opposition in the UK since 1935 – was published by Routledge in 2024. Dr Fletcher has published numerous chapters and articles and continues to pursue research in British post-war political history, political opposition and the evolving UK constitution, including the modern monarchy.
He was awarded his PhD by King’s College London in 2018 – and taught there for seven years on its Politics and Contemporary History MA course. Dr Fletcher previously worked for the Conservative Party during its period in Opposition between 1997 and 2010, as a Special Adviser in the Conservative Research Department (first on Home Affairs, then on Education and Skills). During this time he advised and wrote speeches for senior politicians including David Cameron. He has also been involved in local politics in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, serving as Leader of the Opposition before leaving the Council in 2022.
Prior to this, Dr Fletcher completed his first degree in Politics at Queen Mary University of London, where he was inspired by the Institute’s patron, Lord Hennessy of Nympsfield, and the late Professor Ken Young, who was Head of the Department of Politics for many years. Professor Young’s extensive research achievements included scholarship on how institutions shape our response to the most pressing public policy problems, and the evolving role of local government. He was also supervisor of Dr Fletcher’s undergraduate dissertation and later PhD, and in his honour, Dr Fletcher will be known as the ‘Ken Young Memorial Research Fellow’.
The Mile End Institute and the School of Politics and International Relations are delighted to welcome Dr Fletcher back to his alma mater and look forward to supporting his research on Opposition and the evolving UK constitution.
Dr Nigel Fletcher said:
“I am delighted to be returning to Queen Mary to pursue my research interests, and proud to be doing so at the Mile End Institute, which does such brilliant work to bring political research to life. My interest in studying Opposition was first sparked by a lecture series organised by the great Peter Hennessy when I was an undergraduate here, so this feels like a fitting homecoming.
“I am particularly honoured that my fellowship is named in memory of Ken Young, who was my inspirational and much-missed supervisor at both Queen Mary and later for my PhD. As well as pursuing my own scholarship, I hope also to be able to use this position to highlight and advance some of the fields in which he made a contribution.
“Above all, I am very grateful to the team at the Mile End Institute, whose excellent work I have long admired, for the invitation to join them. I very much look forward to working with them all in the years ahead.”