Leah McCabe (Panellist)

Leah McCabe is Lecturer in British politics at the University of Edinburgh. Her research lies at the intersection of British politics, public policy, gender politics, and social movements. In particular, she has expertise in contentious policymaking in the UK, exploring policy framings, debates and conflicts over time. To date, her case studies include gender-based violence and abortion. Her work draws upon a multi-level governance lens to understand how processes of devolution and constitutional change shape opportunities for policy change, social movement strategies, and policy contestations (including within movements). She is currently the primary investigator on a project titled, 'Framing Abortion Politics in the UK: Tensions, Contestations, and Resistance'. The project, previously funded by the Leverhulme Trust (Oct 2023-Dec 2024), explores abortion policy and legislative debates across the UK, placing these within their respective institutional contexts and wider party, territorial and constitutional politics. It also explores pro-choice and pro-life strategies for change. Leah McCabe was previously a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow and ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow in PIR at the University of Edinburgh. She graduated with a PhD in Social Policy at the University of Edinburgh in 2021.