Dave Toulson

Dave Toulson, Posters in Parliament 2026 Judge

Senior Caseworker for John Slinger MP

Meet Dave Toulson, Posters in Parliament Research Communication Competition Judge

"Posters in Parliament reminds us the importance of being able to communicate research in a meaningful and accessible way. It reminds us that great research cannot only be comprehensive but can also play a role in changing minds and convincing audiences."

What is your current job?

I am a Senior Caseworker for John Slinger MP. I have worked for a number of MPs since 2017 and have covered a variety of roles and responsibility including research and working with key stake holders

In addition to this I am also a Labour Councillor on Coventry City Councillor where I am deputy Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care.

What did you study at the University of Warwick?

I first came to Warwick in 2007 when I began a BA in History and Sociology. At this time I developed an interest in Modern British Political History and popular culture. My undergraduate dissertation was on Popular Music and Identity during the Troubles in Northern Ireland

After a year out working in community development I came back to study an MA in Modern History which was funded in part by Santander. For my MA I developed on the themes of popular music and political campaigning I had explored as an undergraduate, moving my focus to Apartheid South Africa.

Following the MA I completed a PhD, where I built further on the theme of Popular Music and the campaign against Apartheid. In particular the campaign for a cultural boycott of South Africa and the way in which newer campaigning organisations navigated working with established campaigns dominated by established political parties and trade unions.

In addition to studying at Warwick, I also taught in the History Department from 2013 to 2020. In this time I taught the first year core modules Making of the Modern World and Making History/The Historian’s Toolkit.

Why do you think an event such as Posters in Parliament is important for student researchers, to be able to communicate a research project to MPs and policy makers?

Posters in Parliament reminds us the importance of being able to communicate research in a meaningful and accessible way. It reminds us that great research cannot only be comprehensive but can also play a role in changing minds and convincing audiences.

These are vital skills that are key to many jobs whether they have a formal research element or not. The ability to take diverse sources and craft a direct and well argued piece in any medium.

Working for an MP it has often been my job to read pages of policy documents and then be able to condense the key information down to a side or two of A4. To find key points and craft a convincing argument. In my case to help my MP be ahead of the curve in debates and discussions and to shape the developing discussion.

Often it comes back to a key question that was often asked during my PhD, “so what” or to put it another way “why is this important and what can we take from this research”.

Finally, in an age where we worry about “fake news” and the rise of disinformation, the skills needed for this competition arm us all with the means to speak truth to power, which to paraphrase someone else, can often be a revolutionary act in itself.