Letter of support: Proposed changes at the University of Lincoln

The PSA, BISA and UACES have written  to the University of Lincoln’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Neal Juster and the Head of the College of Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities Dr Mike Varney asking them to think again about proposed redundancies in Politics and International Relations teaching and research roles especially in light of Lincoln’s long track record and reputation of excellence. We offer our support to all those affected by this challenging situation at the university.

Read the letter below, or download a pdf at the end of this page.

Letter to the University of Lincoln - July 2026

Dear Professor Juster and Dr Varney, 

We write as the chairs of the British International Studies Association (BISA), the Political Studies Association (PSA), and the University Association for Contemporary European Studies (UACES) – the three main learned societies representing scholars in Politics and International Relations in the UK.  

As fellow senior leaders, we fully understand the financial pressures and other challenges facing universities in the UK such as the University of Lincoln. We also appreciate that, as a consequence, university leadership teams are having to contemplate difficult business decisions to ensure the future sustainability of their institutions. And that you have been managing this challenge now over a number of years.  

Nevertheless, we are deeply concerned about the proposed redundancies to those teaching and researching Politics and International Relations within the School of Social and Political Sciences and are writing to ask you to think again as to whether these proposals and strategy are in the best interest of the University of Lincoln.   

We are aware that the Politics and International Relations team has already lost a number of colleagues in recent years. We understand that this time the entire Politics and IR team of 12 has been put at risk of redundancy with four of the roles likely to be cut. Clearly, cutting staffing by a third has a significant knock on effect in terms of the delivery of programmes, staff workload and the student experience. This includes supporting a number of existing and prospective post-graduate students on taught and research programmes. 

The Politics and International Relations team at Lincoln is held in high esteem within our profession and within our associations. Politics at Lincoln was ranked an impressive 7th in The Guardian subject rankings for politics this year, 13th in terms of student satisfaction in the 2027 Good University Guide, in the Unifresher student rankings Lincoln were 6th for Politics and 5th for International Relations (Best Universities for International Relations in the UK 2027, Best Universities for Politics in the UK 2027).  

The ethos to ‘teaching what they research and researching how they teach’ has been a hallmark of the Politics and International Relations team at Lincoln for many years. It is recognised within the profession and been enshrined as best practice. For example, the annual PSA Prize for outstanding contributions in advancing teaching and learning in political studies is named in honour of your late colleague Prof. Jacqui Briggs.  Your colleagues also have been active in our learned societies, serving as working group conveners, trustees, and members of our executive boards.  

We urge you to reconsider the proposed redundancies and ask that you consider further utlising the strengths of Politics and IR at Lincoln, namely;   

• The Parliamentary Studies module and links to Parliament 

• The International Relations programme. 

The Lincoln Politics and IR team have run the prestigious Parliamentary Studies module with the House of Commons for 10 years and were successfully re-awarded for another 5 years from 2024  Parliamentary Studies module - UK Parliament 

Moreover, team members regularly engage with Parliament, share their expertise with select committees, and drive policy development through the Lincoln Policy Hub. It is clear that the Politics and International Relations team’s teaching has inspired alumni  to go on to make significant political impacts locally and nationally.  

Two of your politics graduates are currently sitting in the House of Commons – Martin Vickers, MP (Con – Cleethorpes) and Leigh Ingham (Lab – Stafford). Lord Wilson of Sedgefield is one of your PhD students and Baroness Merron of Lincoln is an Honorary Senior Fellow who has been a great supporter of Lincoln’s programmes over a number of years. 

Along with Parliamentary Studies, Lincoln offers an innovative, interactive and applied programme which your students love, including  a flagship Model United Nations module which is at the core of the IR programme. For the last three years students from the University of Lincoln have taken part in the BISA/FCDO Model NATO at the Foreign Office.  

Almost twice as many young people are now taking an A-level (and equivalent qualifications) in Politics compared to twenty years ago and are increasingly engaged in political and global issues. A recent British Academy report concluded that the skills gained by Politics and International Relations graduates are highly valued by many employers across all sectors of the economy. The University of Lincoln’s Politics and IR team are in a good position to take advantage of these favourable opportunities and we urge you to consider whether further recruitment drives and development might mitigate against the need for staff reductions. 

Given the brilliant work being undertaken by your colleagues, we urge you to take the time to work constructively with staff and students to find a way forward without compulsory redundancies – one which protects Lincoln’s reputation and future prospects and also provides opportunities for students and academics, especially in this region, to study and further Politics and International Relations in the future.  

 Professor Rose Gann  

Chair, Political Studies Association of the United Kingdom  

Professor Juanita Elias 

Chair, British International Studies Association  

Professor Toni Haastrup  

Chair, University Association for Contemporary European Studies