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Tim Bale

Professor of Politics, Queen Mary University of London

Tim Bale graduated from Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. After teaching English in Spain, he did a Masters Degree at Northwestern University in the USA. Following a few years spent working for the NHS, he returned to do a PhD at the Department of Politics at Sheffield University, where he then lectured for a year. After Sheffield, he taught politics at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand until 2003 and then at Sussex University until 2012. For four years he was the co-editor of the European Journal of Political Research's annual Political Data Yearbook. In 2008 he won the Political Studies Association's Bernard Crick Prize for Outstanding Teaching. He was the co-founder of the PSA's specialist group on Conservatives and Conservatism. He also provides an Internet Guide to European Politics to accompany his book, European Politics: a Comparative Introduction, the third edition of which is now out. Tim's media work includes writing for the Financial Times and the Guardian, and he has appeared on various BBC radio and television programmes. In 2011 he received the Political Studies Association's W.J.M. Mackenzie prize for his book The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron. His latest book is The Conservatives since 1945: the Drivers of Party Change. He occasionally tweets @ProfTimBale.

Six books (and one play) to read to understand British politics today

Dec 26, 2023 23:14 pm UTC| Politics

With a general election on the horizon in 2024, this holiday season is a good time to curl up with a book that explains the state of British politics and society today. We asked politics experts for their...

Global Geopolitics Series

G7 summit: what to expect from Boris Johnson as Joe Biden visits the UK

Jun 07, 2021 23:42 pm UTC| Politics

Joe Bidens first trip to the UK as US President this week is bound to produce hundreds of hot takes on the state of the so-called special relationship, most looking for signs either of its continuing strength or its more...

Conservative conference: a party surprisingly united on Brexit, just divided from the rest of the world

Oct 04, 2018 16:00 pm UTC| Insights & Views Politics

In his big speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham on Monday, Brexit secretry Dominic Raab urged fellow Tories to come together. Im not sure he needed to bother. Here in Birmingham the issues already one...

Snap election a win-win for Teresa May: she'll crush Labour and make Brexit a little easier

Apr 19, 2017 02:55 am UTC| Insights & Views Economy Politics

So Theresa May, it turns out, is only human. After months of denying she was going to do it, the British prime minister decided to call an early general election first and foremost because she knows shes going to...

Economy

Beyond the spin, beyond the handouts, here’s how to get a handle on what’s really happening on budget night

Three weeks from now, some of us will be presented with a mountain of budget papers, and just about all of us will get to hear about them on radio, TV or news websites on budget night. The quickest way to find out what...

Johannesburg in a time of darkness: Ivan Vladislavić’s new memoir reminds us of the city’s fragility

Ivan Vladislavić is Johannesburgs literary linkman. He tells us, in the first pages of his new book, The Near North, that before cities were lit, first by gaslight and later electricity, people of means paid torchbearers...

What if the Reserve Bank itself has been feeding inflation? An economist explains

Heres something for the board of the Reserve Bank of Australia to ponder as it meets next month to set interest rates. It has pushed up rates on 13 occasions since it began its attempt to restrain inflation in May...

China’s new world order: looking for clues from Xi’s recent meetings with foreign leaders

There is broad consensus that Chinese foreign policy has become more assertive and more centralised in the decade since Xi Jinping has ascended to the top of Chinas leadership. This has also meant that Chinese foreign...

How India’s economy has fared under ten years of Narendra Modi

More than 960 million Indians will head to the polls in the worlds biggest election between April 19 and early June. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is seeking a third...

Politics

Labour can afford to be far more ambitious with its economic policies – voters are on board

To say that the Labour party is flying high in the polls is something of an understatement. But despite its consistent lead against the Tories, the opposition finds itself in a rather odd position: on the cusp of power but...

History for sale: what does South Africa’s struggle heritage mean after 30 years of democracy?

One of my favourite statues is the one of Nelson Mandela at the Sandton City shopping centre in Johannesburg. Larger than life, its oversized bronze shoes shimmer in the evening light, polished by the hands of many...

Sudan: civil war stretches into a second year with no end in sight

In the early hours of April 15 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a Sudanese paramilitary force attacked the military airstrip in the town of Merowe and deployed troops across strategic locations in Sudans capital,...

Turkey’s suppression of the Kurdish political movement continues to fuel a deadly armed conflict

The world has 91 democracies and 88 autocracies. Yet 71% of the worlds population (some 5.7 billion people) are living under autocratic rule, a big jump from 48% ten years ago. This trend towards authoritarianism can...

Georgia is sliding towards autocracy after government moves to force through bill on ‘foreign agents’

Georgias ruling party attempted to pass a controversial bill on foreign agents in March 2023. The law would have required civil society groups and the media to register as being under foreign influence if they receive...

Science

A Nasa rover has reached a promising place to search for fossilised life on Mars

While we go about our daily lives on Earth, a nuclear-powered robot the size of a small car is trundling around Mars looking for fossils. Unlike its predecessor Curiosity, Nasas Perseverance rover is explicitly intended to...

The rising flood of space junk is a risk to us on Earth – and governments are on the hook

A piece of space junk recently crashed through the roof and floor of a mans home in Florida. Nasa later confirmed that the object had come from unwanted hardware released from the international space station. The 700g,...

Peter Higgs was one of the greats of particle physics. He transformed what we know about the building blocks of the universe

Peter Higgs, who gave his name to the subatomic particle known as the Higgs boson, has died aged 94. He was always a modest man, especially when considering that he was one of the greats of particle physics the area of...

Could a telescope ever see the beginning of time? An astronomer explains

The James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST for short, is one of the most advanced telescopes ever built. Planning for JWST began over 25 years ago, and construction efforts spanned over a decade. It was launched into space on...

US media coverage of new science less likely to mention researchers with African and East Asian names

When one Chinese national recently petitioned the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to become a permanent resident, he thought his chances were pretty good. As an accomplished biologist, he figured that news...

Technology

Mainland China Investors Blocked from Accessing New Hong Kong Bitcoin ETFs

Despite launching new Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in Hong Kong, mainland Chinese investors remain sidelined due to longstanding cryptocurrency bans in their home country. Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Launch in Hong Kong, But...

SHIB Price Climbs as Shibarium Upgrade Sparks Optimism Among Investors

The Shiba Inu cryptocurrency surged over 4% on April 26, buoyed by executive enthusiasm for the forthcoming Shibarium upgrade to enhance the platforms functionality and security. Shibarium Upgrade Fuels Market Optimism,...

China Investigates Digital Yuan Architect Yao Qian Amid CBDC Concerns

Yao Qian, a pivotal figure behind Chinas digital yuan, is under investigation for alleged misconduct, casting uncertainty on the future of Chinas CBDC initiatives. Probe into Yao Qian Shakes Foundations of Chinas...

Shein Joins Facebook, Amazon in EU Digital Regulations Compliance

Under the EU Digital Regulations, Shein has joined tech giants like Facebook, Amazon, and Google in meeting the strict compliance standards set by the EUs Digital Services Act due to its user base surpassing 45 million in...

Metaplanet Inc. Buys $6.25M in Bitcoin, Pivots to Digital Assets

In a strategic financial maneuver, Metaplanet Inc., a prominent Japanese public company, has invested $6.25 million in Bitcoin, marking its entry into the burgeoning cryptocurrency market. Metaplanet Dives into Crypto,...