Matt Goodwin
May 6, 2024
Topic: Brexit, Trump, Le Pen and the Rise of National Populism
Matt Goodwin is an academic, bestselling author, pollster, and speaker known for his research on: politics, populism, elections, voting, public opinion, Brexit, Europe, academic freedom and more. He is Professor of Politics at Rutherford College, University of Kent, recently served as Senior Visiting Fellow at the Royal Institute of International Affairs, at Chatham House, Senior Fellow with the UK In a Changing Europe, Senior Fellow at the Legatum Institute, and Senior Advisor to the UK Education Committee. In 2022, Matt was appointed Social Mobility Commissioner.
The author of six books, he wrote the No.2 Sunday Times bestseller Values, Voice, and Virtue: The New British Politics, and the Sunday Times bestseller, National Populism: The Revolt Against Liberal Democracy, which was translated into multiple languages and listed among the Financial Times and Times Literary Supplement as one of the books of the year. He is also co-author of the 2015 Political Book of the Year, Revolt on the Right, which was long-listed for the Orwell Prize and listed among the Financial Times and Guardian books of the year.
Goodwin has published dozens of academic studies and research reports on European politics and populism. He regularly writes for and appears in international media, including the BBC News, Financial Times, New York Times, and Politico. He also shares his views on his Substack, writing fortnightly newsletters and discussions with leading experts, thinkers, and writers.
Goodwin has consulted and given talks to more than 400 organizations, from the UK Prime Minister’s Office to the President of Germany, US State Department, European Commission, Google, Deutsche Bank, UBS, JP Morgan, Rothschild and Cie, Trilateral Commission, Goldman Sachs, Clifford Chance. Between 2011-2015, he sat on the UK government’s working group on tackling prejudice.
Goodwin holds a BA in Politics and Contemporary History, MA in Political Science, and PhD in Political Science. After finishing his doctorate, Matt joined the Institute for Political and Economic Governance at the University of Manchester where he was later awarded an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Postdoctoral Fellowship. In 2015, he was appointed Professor of Politics at the University of Kent and was awarded an ESRC Senior Fellowship to examine Britain’s 2016 EU referendum. In 2018, he was named a European Young Leader. In 2019 he was seconded to the Royal Institute of International Affairs at Chatham House and in 2021 was appointed Director of the Centre for UK Prosperity at the Legatum Institute where he remains a Fellow, working on issues relating to academic freedom, levelling-up, and politics.