Tim Bale’s Blog- ‘Like it’s 1997? Major’s lot weren’t so pointless, poisonous or loathed’, Observer, 17 March 2024.
- ‘The fading promises of COP28’, QMUL, 26 February 2024.
- ‘Reform’s success is not the real story of the by-elections’, Financial Times, 16 February 2024
- ‘Tories’ worst nightmare is coming true as Reform threat proves real’, Daily Express, 16 February 2024
- ‘The plotters, the coup and Farage’s path to the Tory throne’, Daily Telegraph, 27 January 2024.
- ‘Europe is marching to the right. Can Keir Starmer carry the centre-left torch?’, Observer, 14 January 2024.
- ‘The Conservative Party’, UK in a Changing Europe, 5 December 2023.
- ‘The Tories have changed direction – but they may not be headed where you think’, Daily Telegraph, 18 November 2023.
- ‘Brexit and the “Merkel Myth”‘ (with Karl Pike), UK in a Changing Europe, 27 October 2023
- ‘Cricket fan Rishi should shun Right and hold out for a Geoff Boycott route to unlikely victory’, Evening Standard, 25 October 2023
Tag Archives: Tories
‘Like it’s 1997? Major’s lot weren’t so pointless, poisonous or loathed’, Observer, 17 March 2024.
We learned two things about the Conservatives last week. First, that they’re planning to spend so much money at the next election that they can’t afford to return Frank Hester’s tainted millions. Second, that the election won’t be held in May. … Continue reading
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Tagged Conservative Party, John Major, politics, rishi-sunak, Tories
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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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‘Blue on blue: the 10 greatest Tory feuds’, New Statesman, 14 August 2017.
The Conservatives have descended into infighting over Europe, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone – they have been at each other’s throats many times before. The Tory expert Tim Bale provides a guide to the most acrimonious feuds, starting in 1945… … Continue reading
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Tagged Anthony Eden, Conservative Party, David Cameron, Enoch Powell, George Osborne, Iain Duncan Smith, Iain Macleod, John Major, Lord Woolton, Margaret Thatcher, Michael Portillo, Notting Hill, Rab Butler, Ted Heath, Theresa May, Tories, William Hague, Winston Churchill
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‘After an enormous victory in local elections, should the Tories fear voter complacency in the General? No’, CityAM, 8 May 2017
If your team is 3-0 up at half-time, then you can be fairly confident that you’re going to pull off an easy win. But even so, you need to guard against complacency. Remember the 2005 Champions League final, when the … Continue reading
‘The Conservative Party and Business have fallen in and out of love for decades’, The Conversation, 11 October 2016.
Given the potential impact of a so-called “hard Brexit” on bottom lines, as well as the less-than-friendly tone of recent ministerial and prime ministerial interventions, it’s hardly surprising that relations between the British government and business have been pretty strained … Continue reading
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Tagged Business, Conservative Party, Conservatives, Liam Fox, Margaret Thatcher, Tories
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‘David Cameron: The moderniser whose bravery stopped fatally short’, New Statesman, 13 September 2016
Few if any British Prime Ministers have been able to rescue their reputations by publishing their memoirs. David Cameron had better hope he proves one of the exceptions to the rule because, right now, he’s in danger of being written … Continue reading
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Tagged Brexit, Conservative Party, Conservatives, David Cameron, Parliament, Prime Minister, Theresa May, Tories
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‘Can Theresa May even sell her new conservatism to her own cabinet?’, Observer, 17 May 2016.
Political parties can be frighteningly small worlds, with a cripplingly limited cast of characters. As a result, people whose careers are widely assumed to be over – either because they once messed up badly or because their face no longer … Continue reading
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Tagged Conservative Party, Conservative Party members, Nick Timothy, Theresa May, Tories
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‘What do the Tory grassroots want from Prime Minister Theresa May?’, Conversation, 11 July 2016 (with Paul Webb and Monica Poletti).
Theresa May has secured her place as Prime Minister and leader of the Conservatives without having to win the direct approval of her party’s membership. The original plan was for her to run against Andrea Leadsom in an election, but … Continue reading
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Tagged Conservative Party, Conservative Party members, party members, Theresa May, Tories, Tory Party
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‘EU referendum: A third of MPs could still back Brexit’ (with Philip Cowley and Anand Menon), Spectator, 1 February 2016
How many MPs will come out for Brexit? After hearing endless best guesses, we got rather fed up, and used Ipsos Mori’s Reputation Centre to conduct a proper survey of MPs. The total sample size is just under 100, with … Continue reading
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Tagged Brexit, Conservative Party, David Cameron, EU referendum, MPs, Tories
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‘What they really think on Planet Tory’ (with Philip Cowley), Daily Telegraph, 1 February 2016
When The Telegraph broke the parliamentary expenses scandal back in 2009, many wondered what planet MPs were living on. In fact, they live on two. When it comes to their views on the EU, Tories in Westminster really are from … Continue reading
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Tagged Brexit, Conservative Party, David Cameron, EU referendum, Euroscepticism, MPs, Tories
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