Robert Waller (born September 1955) is a British election expert, author, teacher, and former opinion pollster. His best known published work is '' The Almanac of British Politics'' (8 editions, 1983–2007), a guide to the voting patterns of all United Kingdom parliamentary constituencies.

Education and career

Waller was born in

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of . In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement ...

, and educated first at

Buxton College Founded in 1675, Buxton College was a boys' Public School and, from 1923, a grammar school in Buxton, Derbyshire whose site has been expanded since 1990 to be used as the fully co-educational comprehensive Buxton Community School. Dorothy Dewis, ...

in Derbyshire, and then at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. In 1977, he earned a BA in History from Balliol College, and in 1981, graduated from

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...

with an MA and

D.Phil A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

. in History. His doctoral thesis, a historical study of the Dukeries district of Nottinghamshire, was published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

in 1983 under the title ''The Dukeries Transformed''. He was a Fellow of

Magdalen College Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the st ...

from 1980 to 1984. From 1984 to 1986 Waller was a lecturer and tutor in Politics and History at the University of Oxford, as well as an assistant professor at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin founded the school in 1842. The main campu ...

. In 1986, he became the research director of the Harris Research Centre, responsible for national opinion polling. He remained in this position until 1998, when he took up secondary school teaching. He has since taught at Brighton College,

Dame Alice Harpur School Dame Alice Harpur School (also known as DAHS), known from 1882 until 1946 as Bedford Girls' Modern School, was an independent girls school in Bedford, England, for girls aged 7–18. In September 2010 the junior department of the school merged wit ...

in Bedford, and Haileybury in Hertford. In 2001 he was made head of History and Politics at the

Greenacre School for Girls Greenacre School for Girls was an independent girls' school, founded in 1933, in Banstead, Surrey, England, which closed in 2017. It was inspected by the Independent Schools Inspectorate and was a member of the Girls' Schools Association. The go ...

in Banstead, Surrey. In 2017 he moved to teach at

Dunottar School Dunottar School is an independent school in Reigate, Surrey, England, established in 1926. History The school was established in 1926 by Jessie Elliot-Pyle in Brownlow Road with three pupils, and was named after Dunnottar Castle in Scotland. She ...

, Reigate. From 2008 until the 2010 general election, Waller contributed a monthly column to '' Total Politics'' magazine.

Bibliography

*''The Dukeries Transformed''. 1983. Oxford University Press. . *'' The Almanac of British Politics''. **April 1983 (Croom Helm) **October 1983 (Croom Helm) **1987 (Croom Helm) **1991 (Routledge) **1995 (Routledge) **1999 (Routledge) **2002 (Routledge) **2007 (Routledge) * ''The Atlas of British Politics'' (1985). Croom Helm. . *''Moulding Political Opinion'' (with

Ken Livingstone Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office i ...

and Sir Geoffrey Finsberg 1988). Croom Helm. . *''What if the SDP-Liberal Alliance had finished second in the 1983 general election'' in Duncan Brack and

Iain Dale Iain Campbell Dale (born 15 July 1962) is a British broadcaster, author and political commentator, and a former publisher and book retailer. He has been a blogger since 2002. In 2005, he became the first openly gay Conservative candidate to c ...

(eds) ''Prime Minister Portillo and other things that never happened''. (2003, paperback 2004). Politico's Publishing. *''What if the 1903 Gladstone – MacDonald Pact had never happened'' in Duncan Brack (ed) ''President Gore ... and other things that never happened'' (2006). Politico's Publishing. *''What if proportional representation had been introduced in 1918'' in Duncan Brack and

eds. ''Prime Minister Boris .. and other things that never happened'' (2011).

Biteback Biteback Publishing is a British publisher based in London concentrating mainly on political titles. It was incorporated, as a private limited company with share capital, in 2009. It was jointly owned by its managing director Iain Dale and by Mi ...

Publishing. *''2015 General Election'' (with

, Greg Callus and Daniel Hamilton) (2014).

Publishing. . *''The Politico's Guide to the New House of Commons 2015'' (with Tim Carr and

2015).

Publishing. . *''What if Lyndon Johnson had been shot down in 1942'' in Duncan Brack and

eds. ''Prime Minister Corbyn ... and other things that never happened'' (2016).

Publishing. *''The Politico's Guide to the New House of Commons 2017'' (with Tim Carr and

2017).

Publishing. . *''Ramsay MacDonald'' in

ed. ''The Prime Ministers'' (2020).

Hodder & Stoughton Hodder & Stoughton is a British publishing house, now an imprint (trade name), imprint of Hachette (publisher), Hachette. History Early history The firm has its origins in the 1840s, with Matthew Hodder's employment, aged 14, with Messrs ...

. *''What if Franklin D.Roosevelt had died of polio in 1921'' in Duncan Brack and

eds. ''Prime Minister Priti ... and other things that never happened'' (2021).

Publishing. *''Rutherford Hayes'' in

ed. ''The Presidents'' (2021).

References

External links

Full text of doctoral thesis, "The social and political development of a new coalfield"
via Oxford Research Archive {{DEFAULTSORT:Waller, Robert Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford 1955 births Living people People educated at Buxton College Pollsters