Tim Bale’s Blog- Electoral reform for the UK? Don’t bet on it, Financial Times, 3 June 2026.
- ‘Britain’s “ungovernable” decade’, Anadolu Ajansı, 21 May 2026.
- ‘Dumping Starmer won’t reverse Labour’s fortunes [unless….]’, New Statesman, 12 May 2026
- ‘Will Nigel Farage overtake the prime minister as the U-turn leader?’, Independent, 2 April 2026
- ‘Polarised and Powerful: Party Members in British Politics’, Political Insight, 18 March 2026.
- ‘Political treachery is a dangerous art. Streeting must perfect it if he wants to wear the crown’, Daily Telegraph, 16 February 2026.
- ‘The two bloc polarisation of Britain’s voters and Party members’, LSE British Politics Blog, 2 February 2026.
- ‘Ahead of seismic local elections, what we know about Reform’s ability to put boots on the ground for the campaign’, The Conversation, 20 January 2026
- ‘Churchill’s defection didn’t kill the Tories. Robert Jenrick’s certainly won’t’, Daily Telegraph, 19 January 2026.
- ‘The ten most surprising facts from the 2024 election revealed’, The Conversation, 15 December 2025.
Author Archives: tpbale
‘Should Philip Hammond Remain Chancellor of the Exchequer: No’, CityAM, 23 November 2017
“And with one bound he was free!” Or perhaps not. Even if this year’s Budget doesn’t end up unravelling as swiftly as some of its recent predecessors – and even if actually ends up, unlike them, doing something measurably positive … Continue reading
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‘On Brexit, Labour is about to take a big gulp from a poisoned chalice’, New Statesman, 27 November 2017
What we always seem to talk about when we talk about Brexit is the Tories. Given that they’re in government, and given the mess they seem to be making of the whole thing, that’s wholly understandable. But it’s also dangerous, … Continue reading
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Tagged Brexit, EU, European Union, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party
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‘My secret plan to turn students against Brexit’, Politico, 26 October 2017.
My name is Tim Bale and I’m an academic. I’ve been abusing Brexit for nearly a year and a half now, and I just can’t seem to stop. Not a day goes by without me thinking about it, even if … Continue reading
‘Ten lessons for Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil from Tory election disaster’, Irish Times, 20 October 2017.
The dust might not have settled but the data is in. Thanks to research conducted by various pollsters, we have a pretty good idea of what happened and why in last June’s UK general election. And there are some relevant … Continue reading
‘Tim Bale: Inside Labour’s massive membership base’, LabourList, 6 October 2017,
People who join political parties are abnormal. Even if we take into account the phenomenal growth of Labour’s grassroots support since 2015, fewer than five per cent of British adults are party members. That doesn’t mean, of course, that people … Continue reading
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Tagged Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party, Labour Party members, party members
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‘OMG Britain’s Tories are SO OLD. Conservatives are right to be worried about their lack of popularity with young Brits’, Politico, 5 October 2017.
The Tories have an age problem. In June’s general election, some two-thirds of British voters aged 18-25 voted Labour. Only one in five voted Conservative. That’s got the party worried — and rightly so. Once upon a time, statistics like these were … Continue reading
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Tagged Andrea Leadsom, Conservative Party, Conservative Party members
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‘How the Tory party can solve its membership crisis, in three easy steps’, Guardian, 3 October 2017.
The Conservative party no longer seems capable of winning elections by a convincing margin. Nor does it attract as many members as its main rivals. Arguably, the two things are related. A successful campaign requires cash, as well as an attractive offer … Continue reading
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Tagged Conservative Party, Conservative Party members, Tories
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‘Is capitalism at a crossroads?’, Observer, 1 October 2017.
Seen from space, capitalism seems to be ticking along quite nicely. Globally, at least, the markets and growth they promote have pulled millions out of absolute poverty. Zoom in, though, and the picture is more worrying – and not only … Continue reading
‘Labour in Brighton: it’s not a cult, it’s too big for that now’, The Conversation, 27 September 2017.
If you’ve ever been to a party conference – maybe any conference actually – you’ll have experienced that disconcerting feeling you get when you walk out of the building it’s being held in and re-enter the real world. Sometimes the … Continue reading
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Tagged Brighton, Jeremy Corbyn, Labour Party, Labour Party Conference, Labour Party members, Momentum
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‘The Tory temperament means a U-turn on Europe is always possible’, Financial Times, 27 September 2017.
The prime minister’s speech in Florence may well help, in the short term, to clear some of the obstacles that currently stand in the way of the UK’s departure from the EU in 2019. But here is a heretical thought: … Continue reading
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Tagged Brexit, Conservative Party, EU, Europe, Euroscepticism
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