Dr Helen Lorna Blakely
Teams and roles for Helen Lorna Blakely
Research Associate, WISERD
Overview
I began working as a researcher with the Wales Institute of Social Economic Research Data and Methods (WISERD) in 2015. My reseach interests include empirical and theoretical work on work, welfare and citizenship, which I engage with through ethnographic and interview research methods.
Currently I am a Co-Investigator working on the WISERD ESRC Centre on Civil Society: Changing perspectives on Civic Stratification and Civil Repair. This involves undertaking case study research on precarious work within the foundational economy, alongside a focus on the role of grassroots trade union organising in this context. I am also working as part of a team conducting research in the urban factory districts in India, which is funded by the Global Challenges Reseach Fund. The research is examining the challenges facing garment workers in operationalising their labour rights at the workplace. Underpinning this work is an interest in qualitative research methods, particularly ethnographic and longitudinal approaches, and I am an editor of Qualitative Research.
Publication
2025
- Blakely, H. 2025. Women, work and the everyday politics of welfare. Civil Society and Social Change Bristol: Policy Press. (10.51952/9781447353652)
- Jenkins, J. , Blakely, H. and Davies, R. 2025. Devolution and power: employment rights, bargaining and risk. Industrial Relations Journal (10.1111/irj.70015)
2024
- Felstead, A. and Blakely, H. 2024. Changing places of work. In: McDonough, B. and Parry, J. eds. Sociology, Work and Organisations: A Global Context. Routledge. , pp.309-322. (10.4324/9781003314769-27)
- Jenkins, J. et al. 2024. The quest for cleaner clothes: using more systematic data collection to promote worker organising and advocacy in the international garment sector. In: Laroche, M. and Murray, G. eds. Experimenting for union renewal: challenges, illustrations and lessons. Brussels: etui.. , pp.119-126.
2023
- Rubery, J. et al., 2023. The future of flexible working: ReWage Evidence Paper. Project Report.[Online].Coventry: University of Warwick. Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/rewage/news-archive/the_future_of_flexible_working_-_evidence_paper_20230830.pdf.
- Rubery, J. et al., 2023. The future of flexible working: ReWAGE Policy Brief. Project Report.[Online].Coventry: University of Warwick. Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/rewage/news-archive/future_of_flexiblity_-_policy_brief_20230830.pdf.
2021
- Beynon, H. et al. 2021. The persistence of union membership within the coalfields of Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations 59 (4), pp.1131-1152. (10.1111/bjir.12588)
- Pearce, S. et al. 2021. Evaluation in reinforcing and resisting hierarchical relations between state and civil society. Social Policy and Administration 55 (5), pp.891-905. (10.1111/spol.12668)
2020
- Blakely, H. and Davies, S. 2020. Austerity, resistance and the labour movement. In: Baines, D. and Cunningham, I. eds. Working in the Context of Austerity: Challenges and Struggles. Bristol University Press. , pp.301-320.
- Pearce, S. et al. 2020. Moments of alignment between devolved political ideology and policy design: the case of Wales. People, Place and Policy 14 (1), pp.6-23. 1. (10.3351/ppp.2020.6389998796)
2019
- Blakely, H. and Moles, K. 2019. Everyday practices of memory: Authenticity, value and the gift. The Sociological Review 67 (3), pp.621-634. (10.1177/0038026119831571)
- Moles, K. and Blakely, H. 2019. Everyday practices of memory: authenticity, value and the gift. The Sociological Review 67 (3), pp.621-634. (10.1177/0038026119831571)
2018
- Chivers, W. , Blakely, H. and Davies, S. 2018. Young people are leading a growing movement against low pay and precarious work. The Conversation
2017
- Blakely, H. and Moles, K. 2017. Interviewing in the 'interview society': making visible the biographical work of producing accounts for interviews. Qualitative Research 17 (2), pp.159-172. (10.1177/1468794116686825)
- Chivers, W. , Blakely, H. and Davies, S. 2017. Investigating the patterns and prevalence of UK Trade Unionism on Twitter. Presented at: 2017 International Conference on Social Media & Society Toronto, ON, Canada 28-30 July 2017. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Social Media & Society. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series New York, NY: Association of Computing Machinery(10.1145/3097286.3097315)
Articles
- Beynon, H. et al. 2021. The persistence of union membership within the coalfields of Britain. British Journal of Industrial Relations 59 (4), pp.1131-1152. (10.1111/bjir.12588)
- Blakely, H. and Moles, K. 2019. Everyday practices of memory: Authenticity, value and the gift. The Sociological Review 67 (3), pp.621-634. (10.1177/0038026119831571)
- Blakely, H. and Moles, K. 2017. Interviewing in the 'interview society': making visible the biographical work of producing accounts for interviews. Qualitative Research 17 (2), pp.159-172. (10.1177/1468794116686825)
- Chivers, W. , Blakely, H. and Davies, S. 2018. Young people are leading a growing movement against low pay and precarious work. The Conversation
- Jenkins, J. , Blakely, H. and Davies, R. 2025. Devolution and power: employment rights, bargaining and risk. Industrial Relations Journal (10.1111/irj.70015)
- Moles, K. and Blakely, H. 2019. Everyday practices of memory: authenticity, value and the gift. The Sociological Review 67 (3), pp.621-634. (10.1177/0038026119831571)
- Pearce, S. et al. 2021. Evaluation in reinforcing and resisting hierarchical relations between state and civil society. Social Policy and Administration 55 (5), pp.891-905. (10.1111/spol.12668)
- Pearce, S. et al. 2020. Moments of alignment between devolved political ideology and policy design: the case of Wales. People, Place and Policy 14 (1), pp.6-23. 1. (10.3351/ppp.2020.6389998796)
Book sections
- Blakely, H. and Davies, S. 2020. Austerity, resistance and the labour movement. In: Baines, D. and Cunningham, I. eds. Working in the Context of Austerity: Challenges and Struggles. Bristol University Press. , pp.301-320.
- Felstead, A. and Blakely, H. 2024. Changing places of work. In: McDonough, B. and Parry, J. eds. Sociology, Work and Organisations: A Global Context. Routledge. , pp.309-322. (10.4324/9781003314769-27)
- Jenkins, J. et al. 2024. The quest for cleaner clothes: using more systematic data collection to promote worker organising and advocacy in the international garment sector. In: Laroche, M. and Murray, G. eds. Experimenting for union renewal: challenges, illustrations and lessons. Brussels: etui.. , pp.119-126.
Books
- Blakely, H. 2025. Women, work and the everyday politics of welfare. Civil Society and Social Change Bristol: Policy Press. (10.51952/9781447353652)
Conferences
- Chivers, W. , Blakely, H. and Davies, S. 2017. Investigating the patterns and prevalence of UK Trade Unionism on Twitter. Presented at: 2017 International Conference on Social Media & Society Toronto, ON, Canada 28-30 July 2017. Proceedings of the 8th International Conference on Social Media & Society. ACM International Conference Proceeding Series New York, NY: Association of Computing Machinery(10.1145/3097286.3097315)
Monographs
- Rubery, J. et al., 2023. The future of flexible working: ReWage Evidence Paper. Project Report.[Online].Coventry: University of Warwick. Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/rewage/news-archive/the_future_of_flexible_working_-_evidence_paper_20230830.pdf.
- Rubery, J. et al., 2023. The future of flexible working: ReWAGE Policy Brief. Project Report.[Online].Coventry: University of Warwick. Available at: https://warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/ier/rewage/news-archive/future_of_flexiblity_-_policy_brief_20230830.pdf.
Research
- Civil Society
- Quality of work
- Welfare states
Biography
I completed my doctoral studies (A Second Chance at Life: Labour, Love and Welfare on a South Wales Estate) at Cardiff University's School of Social Science in 2011. The thesis examined the implications of welfare reform for mothers living in the upper reaches of the South Wales Valleys, charting the everyday interactions of the women with the labour market and pervasive mechanisms of street-level welfare governance. I began working as a researcher with the Wales Institute of Social Economic Research Data and Methods (WISERD) in 2015.
