I am a political scientist based at the School of Government and International Affairs, Durham University. There I am a Professor of Politics, as well as a founding member of the Centre for Institutions and Political Behaviour. I have been based at Durham since graduating from the PhD Political Science programme at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 2010.

I research public opinion, representation and accountability, with a particular (though by no means exclusive) focus on British politics. I examine what voters want from their political representatives and why, as well as the extent to which elections allow voters to get what they want. I often use quantitative and experimental methods to study these topics, and some of my research focuses more specifically on improving the measurement and understanding of public opinion. My research has been published in leading peer-reviewed journals including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Political Analysis, British Journal of Political Science and the Journal of Politics. It has been funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, British Academy and the Leverhulme Trust. 

At Durham I teach undergraduate and postgraduate modules on a variety of topics, including electoral politics, legislative politics and quantitative methods.

On this site you'll find some further information on my research and teaching. If you want to contact me, my email is nick.vivyan@durham.ac.uk