This privacy policy explains how Politics Sphere ("we", "us", "our") collects, uses, and protects your personal data when you visit politicsphere.co.uk. We are committed to being transparent about how we handle your information and complying with our obligations under the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), the Data Protection Act 2018, and the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
We take your privacy seriously. We do not sell your personal data. We do not share it with third parties for their marketing purposes. We collect only what is necessary to run this website and provide you with the best possible experience.
1. WHO WE ARE
Politics Sphere is an independent political analysis blog published at politicsphere.co.uk.
For the purposes of UK data protection law, Politics Sphere is the data controller — meaning we are responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is used.
If you have any questions about this policy or how we handle your data, please contact us at:
2. WHAT PERSONAL DATA WE COLLECT
We may collect the following types of personal data depending on how you interact with the site:
a) Data you provide directly
— Your name and email address if you subscribe to the Politics Sphere newsletter
— Your name, email address, and any comments if you leave a comment on an article
— Your name and email address if you contact us through the contact form
b) Data collected automatically
— Your IP address
— Browser type and version
— Operating system
— Referring website
— Pages visited on politicsphere.co.uk
— Date and time of visit
— Time spent on each page
This automatically collected data is gathered through cookies and similar technologies, and through our website analytics service. It does not identify you personally unless combined with other information.
c) Data collected through cookies
We use cookies on this website. Please see Section 6 (Cookies) for full details of what cookies we use and how to control them.
3. HOW WE USE YOUR PERSONAL DATA
We use your personal data for the following purposes:
a) To operate and improve the website
We use anonymised analytics data to understand how readers use Politics Sphere — which articles are most read, where visitors come from, how long they stay. This helps us improve the quality and relevance of our content.
Lawful basis: Legitimate interests (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)) — we have a legitimate interest in understanding how our website is used in order to improve it. This interest does not override your rights and freedoms.
b) To send you the newsletter
If you subscribe to the Politics Sphere newsletter, we use your name and email address to send you regular updates about new articles and political analysis.
Lawful basis: Consent (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(a)) — you have given us clear consent to contact you for this purpose by actively subscribing. You can withdraw your consent at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in any newsletter email.
c) To publish and respond to comments
If you leave a comment on an article, your name and comment are published publicly on the site. We store your email address to manage comments but do not publish it.
Lawful basis: Legitimate interests (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)) — we have a legitimate interest in enabling reader discussion on our articles.
d) To respond to your enquiries
If you contact us through the contact form or by email, we use your name and email address to respond to your message.
Lawful basis: Legitimate interests (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(f)) — we have a legitimate interest in responding to communications addressed to us.
e) To comply with legal obligations
We may process your personal data where necessary to comply with a legal obligation, such as responding to a lawful request from law enforcement or a court order.
Lawful basis: Legal obligation (UK GDPR Article 6(1)(c)).
4. WHO WE SHARE YOUR DATA WITH
We do not sell your personal data to third parties. We do not share your data for marketing purposes. We may share your data with the following categories of third parties only where necessary to operate the website:
a) Hosting and infrastructure
Our website is hosted by Bluehost. Bluehost processes technical data — including IP addresses and server logs — as part of providing hosting services. Bluehost acts as a data processor on our behalf. Their privacy policy is available at bluehost.com/privacy-policy.
b) Newsletter service
If you subscribe to our newsletter, your email address is processed by Substack (or the newsletter platform we use). Substack acts as a data processor on our behalf. Their privacy policy is available at substack.com/privacy.
c) Analytics
We use Google Analytics to collect anonymised data about how visitors use politicsphere.co.uk. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect this information. We have enabled IP anonymisation, which means your full IP address is never stored. Google acts as a data processor on our behalf. Their privacy policy is available at policies.google.com/privacy.
d) Comment management
We use WordPress's built-in comment system, which is powered by Automattic. Comments submitted on the site are stored on our hosting servers. If we use Akismet for spam filtering, your comment data may be sent to Akismet's servers for spam checking. Akismet's privacy policy is available at akismet.com/privacy.
e) Legal and regulatory requirements
We may disclose your personal data to law enforcement, regulatory authorities, or other third parties where required or permitted by law.
We do not transfer your personal data outside the United Kingdom except where standard contractual clauses or other appropriate safeguards are in place as required by UK GDPR.
5. HOW LONG WE KEEP YOUR DATA
We keep your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy.
Newsletter subscribers: We retain your name and email address for as long as you remain subscribed. If you unsubscribe, we will delete your data from our mailing list within 30 days.
Comments: Published comments are retained indefinitely as part of the editorial record of the site. If you request deletion of a comment, we will consider your request and delete it where we are not required to retain it for legal reasons.
Contact form enquiries: We retain email correspondence for up to 12 months, after which it is deleted unless we have an ongoing reason to retain it.
Analytics data: Anonymised analytics data is retained for 26 months, after which it is automatically deleted by Google Analytics.
Server logs: Technical server logs are retained for up to 90 days for security and troubleshooting purposes.
6. COOKIES
A cookie is a small text file that a website places on your device when you visit. Cookies help websites remember your preferences and understand how you use them.
We use the following types of cookies on politicsphere.co.uk:
a) Strictly necessary cookies
These cookies are essential for the website to function and cannot be switched off. They include cookies that manage your session and remember your preferences. No consent is required for these cookies.
b) Analytics cookies
We use Google Analytics cookies to collect anonymised information about how visitors use the site. These cookies collect information such as the number of visitors, where they came from, and which pages they visited. These cookies do not identify you personally.
Cookie name: _ga, _gid, _gat_gtag
Purpose: Google Analytics — website usage statistics
Duration: Up to 2 years
We use these cookies on the basis of your consent, in line with the ICO's updated guidance on storage and access technologies published on 29 April 2026 and the requirements of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR).
c) Functionality cookies
WordPress uses cookies to remember your login status if you are logged in as an administrator, and to remember comment preferences.
Cookie name: wordpress_logged_in, comment_author
Purpose: WordPress functionality
Duration: Session or up to 1 year
d) How to control cookies
You can control and delete cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to refuse new cookies, delete existing cookies, and set your preferences for specific websites.
Please note that if you disable cookies, some features of politicsphere.co.uk may not work as intended.
You can also opt out of Google Analytics tracking across all websites by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
The ICO provides further guidance on cookies at ico.org.uk/for-the-public/online/cookies.
7. YOUR RIGHTS UNDER UK GDPR
Under the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:
Right of access: You have the right to request a copy of the personal data we hold about you. We will respond to your request within one month.
Right to rectification: You have the right to ask us to correct personal data that is inaccurate or incomplete.
Right to erasure: You have the right to ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances — for example, if we no longer need it for the purpose it was collected, or if you withdraw consent.
Right to restriction of processing: You have the right to ask us to restrict how we use your personal data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: Where we process your data based on your consent or a contract with you, you have the right to receive your data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format.
Right to object: You have the right to object to us processing your personal data where we are relying on legitimate interests as the lawful basis. We will stop processing your data unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests.
Rights related to automated decision-making: We do not use automated decision-making or profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects on individuals.
Right to withdraw consent: Where we process your data on the basis of your consent — such as for the newsletter — you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal of consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal.
To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at [your contact email address]. We will respond within one calendar month. We will not charge a fee for handling your request unless it is manifestly unfounded or excessive.
We may need to verify your identity before processing your request.
8. THE RIGHT TO COMPLAIN
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the UK's supervisory authority:
Information Commissioner's Office (ICO)
Website: ico.org.uk
Telephone: 0303 123 1113
Post: Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF
We would, however, appreciate the opportunity to address your concerns before you contact the ICO, so please contact us in the first instance.
9. LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES
politicsphere.co.uk contains links to other websites, including news sources, government websites, polling organisations, and other publications. This privacy policy applies only to politicsphere.co.uk. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of external websites and encourage you to read their privacy policies.
10. CHILDREN
politicsphere.co.uk is not directed at children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13. If you believe a child under 13 has provided personal data to us, please contact us and we will delete it promptly.
11. CHANGES TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY
We may update this privacy policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make significant changes, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
This policy was last updated to reflect the requirements of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, which came into force on 5 February 2026, and the ICO's updated guidance on cookies and storage technologies published on 29 April 2026.
12. CONTACT US
If you have any questions about this privacy policy or how we handle your personal data, please contact us via politicsphere.co.uk/contact or email us at [email protected]
We aim to respond to all enquiries within five working days.
Politics Sphere is an independent publication. We are not affiliated with any political party, government department, or commercial organisation.
© 2026 Politics Sphere. All rights reserved.