Tim Bale’s Blog- “End of the Brexit era? Burnham’s pivot back to Europe”, Anadolu Ajansı, 7 October 2026.
- “Burnham’s proposed electoral reform could have unpredictable effects”, LSE Blog, 6 October 2026.
- “The Keminaissance is a myth. The Tories are still like a weird uncle”, Bright Blue, 2 October.
- “Members of right‑leaning parties prefer leaders with ‘dark triad’ personality traits” (with Paul Webb and Stavroula Chrona), The Conversation, 18 September, 2026.
- “A fractured Union? Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland first ministers meeting”, Anadolu Ajansı, 17 September 2026.
- “Can’t you do it?”, Review of “Sunak at 10” by Anthony Seldon and Tom Egerton, Literary Review, 2 September 2026.
- “Hands off the constitution, Andy”, Unherd, 18 August 2026
- ‘Why Nigel Farage is resigning as an MP, only to stand again – expert analysis: Self-pity and self-obsession’, The Conversation, 7 July 2026.
- ‘There’s one thing that could revive Farage’s fortunes’, Independent, 29 June 2026.
- ‘Migration, Brexit, and Starmer’s exit: Inside Britain’s political meltdown’, Anadolu Agency, 23 June 2026
Author Archives: tpbale
‘Gloves are off in Brexit battle’, Mirror, 20 March 2016.
VOTERS might never have been able to take Iain Duncan Smith too seriously, especially when he was Tory leader from 2001 to 2003. But to many MPs and ordinary grassroots members he matters. IDS represents the “faith, flag and family” … Continue reading
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‘Why Iain Duncan Smith resignation registers a six on the political Richter Scale’, The Conversation, 20 March 2016.
If there were a Richter Scale of Political Resignations, then prime ministers such as Margaret Thatcher, Harold Wilson and Harold Macmillan would register at the very top – on nine. Big beasts such as Conservative Chancellor Geoffrey Howe and Defence … Continue reading
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Tagged Brexit, Budget, Conservative Party, David Cameron, EU referendum, George Osborne, Iain Duncan Smith, IDS, Welfare
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‘Is George Osborne really the Political Chancellor, or just a very Tory boy?, The Conversation, 16 March 2016
Is it actually possible for anyone to pen a portrait of George Osborne without using the phrase “political Chancellor” at least once? Even those of us who start out determined not to fall into that trap end up doing so … Continue reading
‘Minority views? Labour members had been longing for someone like Corbyn before he was even on the ballot paper’ (with Paul Webb and Monica Poletti), LSE Blog, 14 March 2016
A recently published blow-by-blow account of one of the biggest upsets we’ve ever seen in a Labour Party leadership contest reminds us that Jeremy Corbyn only made it onto the ballot paper due to the nominations of 35 MPs – ‘morons‘, according … Continue reading
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Tagged Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, Labour Party, Leadership contest, party members
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‘What Tory activists think about Cameron’s deal…and staying in the EU’ (with Monica Poletti and Paul Webb), Times Red Box, 6 March 2016
Among the majority of membership which is over (in some cases a long way over) 35, the split between those who want to leave and those who want to stay resembles the split overall. That is, six out of ten … Continue reading
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‘The bloody history of civil war in the Tory party’, Financial Times, 27 February 2016
That the Conservative party believes as much in the strong state as it does in the free economy has long been both its triumph and its tragedy. Triumph because the combination of the two has often proved electorally unbeatable. Think … Continue reading
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Tagged Conservative Party, Conservatives, David Cameron, EU referendum, Europe, Euroscepticism
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‘Speaking for Britain? MPs broadly reflect the views of their supporters on Europe – but one side should worry a little more than the other’ (with Philip Cowley, Anand Menon and Sofia Vasilopoulou LSE Brexit Blog, 12 February, 2016.
To hear some people talk about ‘the political class’, you’d think that those who do the electing and those that get elected have little in common, creating a damaging disconnect which is supposedly fuelling populist politics on both left and … Continue reading
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Tagged Conservative Party, EU, EU referendum, Labour Party, MPs, Public Opinion, voters, Westminster
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‘Cameron and Tebbit are both wrong: Tory activists are not as set on leaving the EU as many imagine’ (with Monica Poletti and Paul Webb), 5 February 2016.
David Cameron has run into trouble for warning Tory backbenchers not to make up their minds on whether to campaign for Leave or Remain “because of what your constituency association might say”. The reaction to his remarks was swift and … Continue reading
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Tagged activists, Conservative Party, Conservatives, David Cameron, EU, EU referendum, Euroscepticism, party members
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‘What Conservative MPs really think about Britain’s EU membership’ (with Philip Cowley), 2 February 2016.
There is a delicious irony in the fact that David Cameron, who ended up promising his party a referendum so as to avoid Europe tearing apart his government just as it tore apart John Major’s back in the 1990s, has … Continue reading
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Tagged Conservative Party, Conservatives, David Cameron, EU, EU referendum, Euroscepticism
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’12 step programme to rehabilitate Fianna Fáil’, Irish Times, 2 February 2016
When Fianna Fáil asked me back in 2012 what defeated parties needed to do to put things right, I came up with a 12-step programme. So, has the party followed it – or has it fallen off the wagon? 1) … Continue reading
