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Tim Bale

@timbale.bsky.social

27K followers 1K following 2.9K posts

Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London & author of The Conservative Party after Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation (now out in paperback). The bits and pieces I do for websites and newspapers turn up eventually at https://proftimbale.com .. more

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Timothy Paul Bale is an English political scientist who is professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London.

Source: Wikipedia

Political science 83%

Sociology 6%

Posts Media Videos Starter Packs

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 3h

Fungus, Jevington churchyard.

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Reposted by Tim Bale

Rick @flipchartrick.bsky.social · 3h

We have a society which still holds late 20th century assumptions about what the state should do, how living standards should improve, when people should retire, when they should buy a house and so on.

Alas, we don’t have late 20th century growth.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 4h

Starlings going for it this morning!

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Reposted by Pauline Stafford

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 5h

"In reality, ‘hard right’ is less an evolution than a euphemism, effectively sanitising and normalising what it purports to describe."

Why we need to halt ‘hard right’ in its tracks

Far-right parties are doing well – so it’s important that we see them for what they are. Yet, in the UK, the label ‘hard right’ is catching on. Why is debateable. But, argues Tim Bale, it’s a misdescr...

theloop.ecpr.eu

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Reposted by Simon Hix

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 5h

Et tu, Gordon (and @theguardian.com)! Enough with this euphemistic neologism. Call a spade a spade! Far right, not 'hard right'. 🤬

Don’t fall for the authoritarian hype – Reform and the hard right can be stopped in their tracks | Gordon Brown

From the US to Europe and Asia, grievances are being exploited to gain power. But moderate voices are still in tune with the majority, says former prime minister Gordon Brown

www.theguardian.com

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

Saw it today. Brilliant. Had me teary.

I Swear review – biopic of pioneering Tourette syndrome activist is funny, fierce and full of heart

Kirk Jones’s moving film about of John Davidson, the man who taught Britain about Tourette, offers compassion and catharsis

www.theguardian.com

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 15h

Paging @casmudde.bsky.social

Kicking Off

Podcast Episode · FOREVER. BETTER: WHO GIVES A SHIRT · 02/10/2025 · 19m

podcasts.apple.com

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Reposted by Tim Bale

Dan Snow @thehistoryguy.bsky.social · 18h

Today in 1216 dysentery-ridden King John facing the loss of his kingdom to rebels backed by French & Scottish invaders, really topped it off by losing the crown jewels in the Wash.

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 21h

See my second post....

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 21h

Although, she was, of course, wearing, shall we say, rose-tinted spectacles when it came to the extent to which the British government actually welcomed Jews trying to flee Hitler's Germany,

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Reposted by Gary Sheffield, Vaughan S. Roberts

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 21h

Margaret Thatcher recognised the need to provide asylum for refugees, as well as the need to distinguish them from immigrants. No hope of that from her successors, of course.

Ian Gow MP (Thatcher's PPS) to Tony Marlow MP 23 August 1979:

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Reposted by Dorothy Bishop, Tim Bale, Charles W. Stewart

Kristina Šekrst @epiphenomenal.bsky.social · 1d

Accurate.

#academia #academy #philsky #philosophysky #philosophy #science

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d

How a landlord was allowed to do that to a customer, I will never know.

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 1d

Morning.

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Reposted by Albert Weale, Tim Bale

Janine Gibson @janinegibson.ft.com · 1d

Good morning and welcome to your FT Weekend highlights in threaded gift link form. Each is free x300 and then it's gone but if you miss out you can pop out and buy a paper! It lasts all week! Enjoy!

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Reposted by Tim Bale

Roland Smith @rolandmcs.bsky.social · 1d

Morning.

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Reposted by Tim Bale

Jim Waterson @jim.londoncentric.media · 1d

You might have heard of 'dark kitchens' when a row of sheds in a car park churn out food for Deliveroo. They're unpopular and low margin. So the next big thing in London food is 'host kitchens' where local pubs, restaurants and kebab shops cook for big brands. www.londoncentric.media/p/host-kitch...

Why your next upmarket Deliveroo might be made by your local kebab shop

"On one hand, it’s a lifeline... But on the other hand, it’s a harbinger of doom.”

www.londoncentric.media

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Reposted by Ken Caldeira, Tim Bale, Jonathan Wolff , and 4 more Ken Caldeira, Tim Bale, Jonathan Wolff, David R. Miller, Stephen D. Murphy, Olivier Mannoni, David Darmofal

Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 1d

Trump got a Covid vaccine today.

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Reposted by Tim Bale, Leigh Sparks

Byline Times @bylinetimes.bsky.social · 1d

🔴UPDATE 🔴

'Stunned?' Farage's Admission He Knew Nathan Gill but Not His Pro-Russian Sympathies Does Not Stand Up to Scrutiny

Insiders have told @bylinetimes.bsky.social it is ‘inconceivable’ the Reform Leader did not know about Gill’s pro-Russian statements

bylinetimes.com/2025/10/11/s...

'Stunned?' Farage's Admission He Knew Nathan Gill but Not His Pro-Russian Sympathies Does Not Stand Up to Scrutiny

Insiders have told Byline Times, it is 'inconceivable' the Reform Leader did not know about Gill's pro Russian statements

bylinetimes.com

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Reposted by Patrick Dunleavy, Tim Bale, Leigh Sparks , and 1 more Patrick Dunleavy, Tim Bale, Leigh Sparks, Molly Scott Cato

Peter Jukes @peterjukes.bsky.social · 1d

Same day. Same plenary session. Same visit to Gill’s office. Same Farage, Same Gill, same wife of sanctioned pro Russian agent.

Six days after the first bribery charge

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks for reposting - would never have read it otherwise!

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d

It's not gone away.

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 1d

After a long pause, I've just done another England Covid & NHS update as we head into the autumn/winter season.

TLDR: we're in a significant Covid wave now, the NHS is stretched, get boosted if you're eligible.

christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is...

England is now experiencing a significant Covid wave, after 10 months of relative quiet

The latest Covid situation in England and a look at where NHS services are as we head into winter

christinapagel.substack.com

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Reposted by Tim Bale

Mark Elliott @profmarkelliott.bsky.social · 1d

Really enjoyed this piece.

"Lawyers and academics therefore find themselves in the difficult position of ... trying to reason people away from a view or belief they never reasoned themselves into to begin with. We are bringing facts to a vibes fight."

UK Constitutional Law Association @ukcla.bsky.social · 3d

Alan Greene: Bringing facts to a vibes fight: Kayfabe and debates on the UK and the ECHR ukconstitutionallaw.org/2025/10/09/a...

Alan Greene: Bringing facts to a vibes fight: Kayfabe and debates on the UK and the ECHR

It is now 25 years since the Human Rights Act 1998 (HRA) entered into force and far from this endurance cementing its legitimacy, the judicial protection of human rights in the UK finds itself in t…

ukconstitutionallaw.org

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d

Was it paracetamol? 🙄

J McLaren @jmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

I was in the supermarket earlier and overhead two teenagers talking as I looked for an item I wanted.

Teenager 1 (staring at phone) : They found out that vaccines cause autism. The first autism case happened after the baby was vaccinated.

Teenager 2 : That's not how it works.

Thank God. But wow.

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Reposted by Tim Bale

J McLaren @jmclaren.bsky.social · 1d

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d

CCHQ will 😍 this page layout! But reading the article got me wondering. Have we got any empirical evidence (survey-based?) to support the (intuitively sensible) theory that stamp duty puts older homeowners off downsizing. It's conventional wisdom. But it is true (as opposed to 'it must be true')?

Stamp duty hurts young people the most – it has to go

The more expensive the home you need to buy, the greater the bill

inews.co.uk

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Reposted by Tim Bale

UK in a Changing Europe @ukandeu.bsky.social · 1d

"The Conservatives have been in very deep holes before… But the big difference this time is that they face a threat on their right flank, which is something they have never had to face before."

@timbale.bsky.social on whether the Tories face an existential threat

👉 www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivRL...

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Reposted by John Heathershaw, Vaughan S. Roberts

Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d

"People who attend church or identify with a Christian tradition are not systematically more (or less) nativist, authoritarian or populist than their secular counterparts. Conversely, people who hold nativist and authoritarian views are often also Islamophobes, and vice versa." 👏 @kai-arzheimer.com

Islamophobia in Western Europe is not driven by religiosity

Are Christians more likely to be Islamophobic than other citizens in Europe? New research finds European Islamophobia has no link to a person’s religiosity.

blogs.lse.ac.uk

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Reposted by Nicola J. Cooper, Tim Bale, Tom Shakespeare , and 2 more Nicola J. Cooper, Tim Bale, Tom Shakespeare, Michael Morris, Mark Robinson

Prof Christina Pagel @chrischirp.bsky.social · 1d

England is now experiencing a significant Covid wave, after 10 months of relative quiet

The latest Covid situation in England and a look at where NHS services are as we head into winter

christinapagel.substack.com

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Reposted by Tim Bale, Karsten Mäuse, Bartosz Bartkowski

Yashar Ali 🐘 @yasharali.bsky.social · 1d

One of my favorite moments from Nobel Prize history:

The Nobel Committee couldn’t reach Stanford professor Paul Milgrom to let him know that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize for Economics, so his fellow winner, Robert Wilson, went over to his house in the middle of the night to wake him up!

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Tim Bale @timbale.bsky.social · 1d

Tables downloaded from here: www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/blogs/ec_est...

Establishment Poll 2025

www.electoralcalculus.co.uk

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