Dr Ben Worthy
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Overview
Overview
Biography
I joined Birkbeck College in 2012. My research interests include Government Transparency, particularly Freedom of Information, as well as Political Leadership and British Politics. I also present the Westminster Watch Podcast with Dermot Hodson. Follow me on Twitter @benworthy1
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Research
Research
Research interests
- Government Transparency, particularly Freedom of Information
- Political Leadership
- British Politics
Research projects
Who's Watching Parliament? Monitory Democracy at Westminster.
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Supervision and teaching
Supervision and teaching
Supervision
Current doctoral researchers
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ELLIS WIGGINS
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IANTHI STERGIOU
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NEUS VIDAL MARTI
Teaching
Teaching modules
- Contemporary British Politics (POSO003S5)
- Public Policy: Interests, Ideas, Institutions (POSO025S7)
- Parliamentary Studies (SSPO122S6)
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Publications
Publications
Article
- Worthy, Ben and Richards-Gray, Laura and Smith, J.C. (2023) Remind you of anyone? Comparing the gendered heroic leadership of Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. British Politics ISSN 1746-918X.
- Worthy, Ben (2023) Debate: can audit reduce information asymmetry? The case of English local government. Public Money & Management ISSN 0954-0962.
- Worthy, Ben and Crepaz, M. (2023) Cleaning up UK politics: what would better lobbying regulation look like?. Parliamentary Affairs ISSN 0031-2290.
- Worthy, Benjamin (2022) Will Truss's time end in failure? Assessing the prospects of the latest ‘Takeover’ Prime Minister. Political Quarterly ISSN 1467-923X.
- Worthy, Ben and Langehennig, Stefani (2022) Accountability, analysis and avoidance: how PMO data impacts on Westminster. The Journal of Legislative Studies ISSN 1357-2334.
- Worthy, Benjamin and Morgan, Cat and Langehennig, Stefani (2022) Is data-driven politics good for democracy?. Political Insight 13 (2), pp. 22-25. ISSN 2041-9058.
- Worthy, Ben and Cicatielloa, L. and De Simone, E. and Di Mascioc, F. and Gaeta, G.L. and Natalini, A. (2022) Exploring FOI publicity patterns: the case of Italian municipalities. Government Information Quarterly 39 (2), pp. 101678. ISSN 0740-624X.
- Worthy, Benjamin and Bennister, M. (2021) 'Dominance, defence and diminishing returns'? Theresa May’s leadership capital July 2016 to July 2018. British Politics 16, pp. 295-316. ISSN 1746-918X.
- Worthy, Ben (2021) Right to know? Freedom of information in Britain. Political Insight 12 (1), pp. 32-34. ISSN 2041-9058.
- Worthy, Benjamin and Heide, M. (2019) Secrecy and leadership: the case of Theresa May’s Brexit negotiations. Public Integrity 21 (6), pp. 582-594. ISSN 1099-9922.
- Grimmelikhuijsen,, S. and John,, P. and Meijer,, A. and Worthy, Benjamin (2018) Do Freedom of Information laws increase transparency of government? A replication of a field experiment. Journal of Behavioral Public Administration 1 (2), pp. 1-10. ISSN 2576-6465.
- Worthy, Benjamin and Bennister, M. and Stafford, M. (2018) Rebels leading London: the mayoralties of Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson compared. British Politics 14, pp. 23-43. ISSN 1746-918X.
- Worthy, Benjamin and John, P. and Vannoni, M. (2017) Transparency at the parish pump: a field experiment to measure the effectiveness of freedom of information requests in England. Journal of Public Administration Research And Theory 27 (3), pp. 485-500. ISSN 1477-9803.
- Worthy, Benjamin and Hazell, R. (2017) Disruptive, dynamic and democratic? Ten years of FOI in the UK. Parliamentary Affairs 70 (1), pp. 22-42. ISSN 0031-2290.
- Worthy, Benjamin (2016) Ending in failure? The performance of ‘Takeover’ Prime Ministers 1916–2016. Political Quarterly 87 (4), pp. 509-517. ISSN 1467-923X.
- Worthy, Benjamin (2015) The impact of open data in the UK: complex, unpredictable, and political. Public Administration 93 (3), pp. 788-805. ISSN 1467-9299.
- Meijer, A. and 't Hart, P. and Worthy, Benjamin (2015) Assessing government transparency: an interpretive framework. Administration & Society 50 (4), pp. 501-526. ISSN 0095-3997.
- Michener, G. and Worthy, Benjamin (2015) The information-gathering matrix: a framework for conceptualizing the use of freedom of information laws. Administration & Society 50 (4), pp. 476-500. ISSN 0095-3997.
- t'Hart, P. and Bennister, M. and Worthy, Benjamin (2015) Assessing the authority of political office-holders: the leadership capital index. West European Politics 38 (3), pp. 417-440. ISSN 0140-2382.
- Worthy, Benjamin (2014) A powerful weapon in the right hands? how members of parliament have used freedom of information in the UK. Parliamentary Affairs 67 (4), pp. 783-803. ISSN 1460-2482.
- Worthy, Benjamin (2013) “Some are More Open than Others”: Comparing the impact of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on local and central government in the UK. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis: Research and Practice 15 (5), pp. 395-414. ISSN 1387-6988.
- Hazell, R. and Bourke, G. and Worthy, Benjamin (2012) Open house: freedom of information and its impact on the UK parliament. Public Administration 90 (4), pp. 901-921. ISSN 1467-9299.
- Hazell, R. and Worthy, Benjamin (2010) Assessing the performance of freedom of information. Government Information Quarterly 27 (4), pp. 352-359. ISSN 0740-624X.
- Worthy, Benjamin (2010) More open but not more trusted? the effect of freedom of information on the UK central government. Governance 23 (4), pp. 561-582. ISSN 1468-0491.
- Worthy, Benjamin (2008) The future of freedom of information in the UK. Political Quarterly 79 (1), pp. 100-108. ISSN 1467-923X.
Book
- Worthy, Benjamin (2017) The politics of freedom of information: how and why governments pass laws that threaten their power. Manchester, UK: Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719097676.
- Worthy, Benjamin and Amos, J. and Hazell, R. and Bourke, B. (2011) Town hall transparency? the impact of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 on local government in England. London, UK: The Constitution Unit, Department of Political Science, University College, London. ISBN 9781903903629.
- Hazell, R. and Worthy, Benjamin and Glover, M. (2010) The impact of the Freedom of Information Act on central government in the UK: does freedom of information work?. Understanding Governance. London, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 9780230250345.
Book Section
- Worthy, Ben (2023) Freedom of Information in Europe: creation, context, and conflict. In: Mokrosinska, D. (ed.) Transparency and Secrecy in European Democracies. Routledge Research in Comparative Politics. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. pp. 39-56. ISBN 9780367620318.
- Worthy, Ben (2022) “Three Harmless Words": New Labour and Freedom of Information. In: Gordon, M and Tucker, A (eds.) The New Labour Constitution: Twenty Years On. Hart Studies in Constitutional Law. London, UK: Hart Publishing. pp. 153 -175. ISBN 9781509924653.
- Worthy, Benjamin (2016) Access to information in the UK and India. In: Bignami, F. and Zaring, D. (eds.) Comparative Law and Regulation: Understanding the Global Regulatory Process. Research Handbooks in Comparative Law. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar Publishing. pp. 190-214. ISBN 9781782545606.
- Hazell, R. and Worthy, Benjamin (2013) La Transparence administrative est-elle efficace?. In: Pasquier, M. (ed.) Le principe de transparence: En Suisse et dans la monde. Lausanne, Switzerland: PPUR. pp. 95-110. ISBN 9782880749835.
Conference Item
- Worthy, Benjamin (2016) Brexit and open government in the UK. Open Government Partnership, 2016, Paris, France
- Bennister, M. and Worthy, Benjamin (2012) 'One is, after all, finite': what is political capital? how do political leaders get it, use it and then lose it?. In Defence of Politics, 2012, Belfast
- Worthy, Benjamin and Grimmelikhuijsen, S. (2012) Transparency and trust in the UK and Netherlands. The Transatlantic Conference on Transparency Research, 2012, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
- Worthy, Benjamin and Bourke, G. (2011) Open house? the impact of freedom of information. Transforming Politics: New Synergies, 2011, London, UK
Monograph
- Worthy, Benjamin and Bourke, G. (2011) The sword and the shield: the use of FOI by parliamentarians and the impact of FOI on parliament. London, UK: Constitution Unit, UCL.