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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

Dow Hits 50,000 as U.S. Stocks Stage Strong Rebound Amid AI Volatility

U.S. stocks surged on Friday, posting their strongest session since May 2025, as investors regained confidence following a turbulent week marked by sharp losses in technology shares and uncertainty around the artificial...

Gold and Silver Prices Rebound After Volatile Week Triggered by Fed Nomination

Gold and silver prices climbed on Friday, closing out an exceptionally volatile week in the precious metals market following a historic selloff. The turbulence was sparked by the nomination of former Federal Reserve...

RBI Holds Repo Rate at 5.25% as India’s Growth Outlook Strengthens After U.S. Trade Deal

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday kept its key repo rate unchanged at 5.25%, a widely expected decision that reflects confidence in Indias strong economic growth and easing external pressures following a major...

Japan Economy Poised for Q4 2025 Growth as Investment and Consumption Hold Firm

Japans economy is widely expected to have returned to growth in the final quarter of 2025, supported by strong corporate investment and resilient consumer spending, according to a recent Reuters poll of economists. The...

Asian Stocks Slip as Tech Rout Deepens, Japan Steadies Ahead of Election

Asian stock markets mostly declined on Friday, tracking sustained losses in global technology shares and a weak lead from Wall Street, while Japanese equities managed to stabilize ahead of a closely watched national...

Politics

Trump Signs “America First Arms Transfer Strategy” to Prioritize U.S. Weapons Sales

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a new executive order reshaping how the United States prioritizes foreign military sales, marking a major shift in long-standing U.S. arms export policy. The order establishes the...

TrumpRx.gov Highlights GLP-1 Drug Discounts but Offers Limited Savings for Most Americans

President Donald Trump has launched a new prescription drug pricing website, TrumpRx.gov, aiming to showcase his administrations efforts to reduce drug costs in the United States. The website focuses heavily on negotiated...

U.S. to Begin Paying UN Dues as Financial Crisis Spurs Push for Reforms

The United States will make an initial payment toward the billions of dollars it owes the United Nations within weeks, according to comments made by U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz in a recent interview with Reuters. The move...

Norway Opens Corruption Probe Into Former PM and Nobel Committee Chair Thorbjoern Jagland Over Epstein Links

Norways economic crime police unit, Økokrim, has opened an investigation into former prime minister and former Norwegian Nobel Committee chairman Thorbjoern Jagland on suspicion of aggravated corruption, authorities...

Iran–U.S. Nuclear Talks in Oman Face Major Hurdles Amid Rising Regional Tensions

Iran and the United States are preparing for high-stakes nuclear negotiations in Oman on Friday, but deep disagreements over the agenda and escalating regional tensions suggest that meaningful progress will be difficult....

Science

SpaceX Prioritizes Moon Mission Before Mars as Starship Development Accelerates

Elon Musks SpaceX is shifting its near-term space exploration strategy, choosing to prioritize a return to the Moon before pursuing missions to Mars, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report citing sources familiar...

NASA and SpaceX Target Crew-11 Undocking From ISS Amid Medical Concern

NASA has confirmed that the agency, in coordination with SpaceX, is targeting no earlier than 5 p.m. Eastern Time (2200 GMT) on Wednesday, January 14, for the undocking of the SpaceX Crew-11 mission from the International...

Neuralink Plans High-Volume Brain Implant Production and Fully Automated Surgery by 2026

Elon Musks brain-computer interface company Neuralink is preparing for a major expansion, announcing plans to begin high-volume production of its brain implant devices and transition to a fully automated surgical procedure...

Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator, Becomes 15th Leader of U.S. Space Agency

The U.S. Senate has officially confirmed billionaire private astronaut Jared Isaacman as the new NASA administrator, making him the 15th leader in the agencys history. The confirmation, which took place on Wednesday, marks...

Senate Sets December 8 Vote on Trump’s NASA Nominee Jared Isaacman

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee announced it will vote on December 8 on President Donald Trumps renewed nomination of private astronaut and tech entrepreneur Jared Isaacman to lead NASA. Isaacman, known for his...

Technology

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI Investment Boom Is Just Beginning as NVDA Shares Surge

Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang reaffirmed his bullish stance on artificial intelligence, calling the massive capital expenditure flowing into AI infrastructure both appropriate and necessary as the industry...

Amazon Stock Rebounds After Earnings as $200B Capex Plan Sparks AI Spending Debate

Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) delivered a mixed but closely watched earnings report, beating Wall Street expectations on revenue while unveiling a massive long-term investment plan that unsettled investors. The e-commerce and...

Global PC Makers Eye Chinese Memory Chip Suppliers Amid Ongoing Supply Crunch

Major PC manufacturers including HP, Dell, Acer, and Asus are reportedly exploring the option of sourcing memory chips from Chinese semiconductor companies for the first time, as a prolonged global supply crunch continues...

OpenAI Expands Enterprise AI Strategy With Major Hiring Push Ahead of New Business Offering

OpenAI is significantly accelerating its enterprise AI strategy by hiring hundreds of new employees for its technical consulting division, according to a report by The Information, citing a person familiar with the...

SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off

SoftBank Group Corp. (TYO:9984) shares tumbled sharply on Thursday, tracking a steep decline in Arm Holdings (NASDAQ:ARM) after the UK-based chip designer reported weaker-than-expected earnings for the December quarter....