Tim Bale
@timbale.bsky.social
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
Reposted by Tim Bale
“When I was [at the BBC], at the height of Boris Johnson’s strength, that fear was ubiquitous. Scripts were sometimes written with a view not solely to their impartiality or truth, but the management of perception of impartiality from one side of the spectrum.“ @lewisgoodall.com
The truth about impartiality at the BBC
And the hysteria of the current "crisis"
goodallandgoodluck.substack.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:21 PM
“When I was [at the BBC], at the height of Boris Johnson’s strength, that fear was ubiquitous. Scripts were sometimes written with a view not solely to their impartiality or truth, but the management of perception of impartiality from one side of the spectrum.“ @lewisgoodall.com
Reposted by Tim Bale
I do appear to be delivering this episode from beyond the grave, but it was fun to chat about the long-term decline of the two-party system and the huge structural challenges facing British politics.
Ghostly pallor - but a great pod. @QMUL's finest, @robertsaunders.bsky.social talking Britain going berserk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8q...
Nick Cohen talks to academic & author Robert Saunders about the bizarre state of UK politics
YouTube video by LowdownNickCohen
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:01 PM
I do appear to be delivering this episode from beyond the grave, but it was fun to chat about the long-term decline of the two-party system and the huge structural challenges facing British politics.
Reposted by Tim Bale
A bit longer than my other digressions, and with a few more citations. In keeping with the focus on younger and student Tories, there are appearances from (relatively) young versions of Philip Norton, Maurice Cowling, Richard Rose and Patrick Seyd. www.benjaminjthomas.net/musings/cons...
Benjamin Thomas - Conservative Students
Students and the Modernisation of the Conservative Party
10 November 2025
In my last post, I discussed Conservative students involved with the European Democrat Students in the late 1970s and early 19...
sites.google.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:30 PM
A bit longer than my other digressions, and with a few more citations. In keeping with the focus on younger and student Tories, there are appearances from (relatively) young versions of Philip Norton, Maurice Cowling, Richard Rose and Patrick Seyd. www.benjaminjthomas.net/musings/cons...
Reposted by Tim Bale
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
November 10, 2025 at 6:40 PM
SUPERB and angrily unvarnished response, by former BBC chairman, Lord Patten.
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
"I don't think that we should allow ourselves to be bullied into thinking that the BBC is only any good, if it reflects the prejudice of the last person who shouted at it." ~AA
Reposted by Tim Bale
We know that we've let Donald Trump down, and in future, we shall try to do better.
thecritic.co.uk/cris...
thecritic.co.uk/cris...
November 10, 2025 at 5:01 PM
We know that we've let Donald Trump down, and in future, we shall try to do better.
thecritic.co.uk/cris...
thecritic.co.uk/cris...
Reposted by Tim Bale
Happy 56th anniversary to “Sesame Street,” which made its broadcast debut #OnThisDay in 1969.
November 10, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Happy 56th anniversary to “Sesame Street,” which made its broadcast debut #OnThisDay in 1969.
Ghostly pallor - but a great pod. @QMUL's finest, @robertsaunders.bsky.social talking Britain going berserk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8q...
Nick Cohen talks to academic & author Robert Saunders about the bizarre state of UK politics
YouTube video by LowdownNickCohen
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:58 PM
Ghostly pallor - but a great pod. @QMUL's finest, @robertsaunders.bsky.social talking Britain going berserk. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQ8q...
Saw this yesterday. Am I allowed to say liked it, it being made by the BBC an' all?
The Choral - Official Trailer - Only In Cinemas November 7
YouTube video by Sony Pictures Releasing UK
www.youtube.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Saw this yesterday. Am I allowed to say liked it, it being made by the BBC an' all?
Reposted by Tim Bale
A single shared source of truth is essential for a functioning democracy.
Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.
My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...
Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.
My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...
Why American-style polarisation is spreading across the west
New research shows how incentives in the modern media ecosystem help explain rising division and negativity
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 1:43 PM
A single shared source of truth is essential for a functioning democracy.
Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.
My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...
Without it you’re left with fragmentation, polarisation and a perpetual culture war where the discourse focuses on what divides us rather than what we have in common.
My column from last week: www.ft.com/content/5060...
Reposted by Tim Bale
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
November 10, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Maybe Keir should demand the heads of major US news networks any time they imply Britain is on the brink of civil war or that we live under sharia law. Or does it not work both ways?
But Trump, the BBC....
Altered courses - The Sutton Trust
An updated look at the impact of the COVID pandemic and cost-of-living crisis on young people.
www.suttontrust.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:54 PM
But Trump, the BBC....
Worth a read.
Inside the mind of a 16-year-old: From Andrew Tate to Bonnie Blue to Nigel Farage - what do first time voters think about social media, politics, the state of Britain and their futures?
Demos is Britain’s leading cross-party think-tank. We produce original research, publish innovative thinkers and host thought-provoking events.
demos.co.uk
November 10, 2025 at 2:51 PM
Worth a read.
"Quelle surprise", as we English say.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was released from prison pending an appeal, three weeks into a five-year sentence.
France’s Sarkozy Freed From Prison After Three Weeks
The former president was sentenced to five years for conspiring to seek campaign funds from Libya.
on.wsj.com
November 10, 2025 at 2:41 PM
"Quelle surprise", as we English say.
Reposted by Tim Bale
Somebody said to me recently "we didn't have all these mental health problems in the past". You only have to open a Dickens novel to see what nonsense that is.
November 10, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Somebody said to me recently "we didn't have all these mental health problems in the past". You only have to open a Dickens novel to see what nonsense that is.
Reposted by Tim Bale
Another one - and important to remember when people talk about mental health in the past vs today. The reality is back then, people just died.
November 10, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Another one - and important to remember when people talk about mental health in the past vs today. The reality is back then, people just died.
Reposted by Tim Bale
For all the talk of 'Broken Britain', so many things have got better.
Even a simple factoid like this gets overlooked, but it was not long ago that *everyone* directly knew multiple examples of people taken away by this at something preposterous like age 22
November 10, 2025 at 1:48 PM
For all the talk of 'Broken Britain', so many things have got better.
Reposted by Tim Bale
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
November 10, 2025 at 1:08 PM
The fact that the BBC has made serious culpable errors does not negate the point that there is a real and concerted right-wing media campaign to destroy it. Both points can be true at the same time and the campaign would not end even if the errors did.
Reposted by Tim Bale
Michael Prescott's report makes vital points about the importance of being accurate, and also how difficult that is. For instance, he describes himself as having been Political Editor of the Sunday Times for 10 years, which is not what the Guardian reported when he left the job.
November 10, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Michael Prescott's report makes vital points about the importance of being accurate, and also how difficult that is. For instance, he describes himself as having been Political Editor of the Sunday Times for 10 years, which is not what the Guardian reported when he left the job.
Reposted by Tim Bale
🔴The BBC’s Attempts to Appease the ‘Right-Wing Coup’ Against It Are Now Seeding Its Own Destruction
By attempting to appease the forces seeking to destroy them, the BBC has helped trigger a crisis that now threatens its very future, argues @adambienkov.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/10/t...
By attempting to appease the forces seeking to destroy them, the BBC has helped trigger a crisis that now threatens its very future, argues @adambienkov.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/10/t...
The BBC’s Attempts to Appease the 'Right-Wing Coup' Against It Are Now Seeding Its Own Destruction
By attempting to appease those forces seeking to destroy them, the BBC has helped trigger a crisis that now threatens its very future, argues Adam Bienkov
bylinetimes.com
November 10, 2025 at 12:38 PM
🔴The BBC’s Attempts to Appease the ‘Right-Wing Coup’ Against It Are Now Seeding Its Own Destruction
By attempting to appease the forces seeking to destroy them, the BBC has helped trigger a crisis that now threatens its very future, argues @adambienkov.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/10/t...
By attempting to appease the forces seeking to destroy them, the BBC has helped trigger a crisis that now threatens its very future, argues @adambienkov.bsky.social
bylinetimes.com/2025/11/10/t...
I'm so old I remember PEx starting out as a Cameroon, liberal Tory, modernising think tank. It's a funny old world, as Lady Thatcher once said.
November 10, 2025 at 12:40 PM
I'm so old I remember PEx starting out as a Cameroon, liberal Tory, modernising think tank. It's a funny old world, as Lady Thatcher once said.
Reposted by Tim Bale
The State of Political Leadership in Britain
Roundtable with Charles Clarke, Tim Bale, Emmanuelle Avril and Patrick Diamond
Tuesday 25th November 1pm-2.30pm
The registration link is: forms.office.com/e/dnX1qZ4pVR. We will send a join link 24 hours before the event
Roundtable with Charles Clarke, Tim Bale, Emmanuelle Avril and Patrick Diamond
Tuesday 25th November 1pm-2.30pm
The registration link is: forms.office.com/e/dnX1qZ4pVR. We will send a join link 24 hours before the event
November 10, 2025 at 10:40 AM
The State of Political Leadership in Britain
Roundtable with Charles Clarke, Tim Bale, Emmanuelle Avril and Patrick Diamond
Tuesday 25th November 1pm-2.30pm
The registration link is: forms.office.com/e/dnX1qZ4pVR. We will send a join link 24 hours before the event
Roundtable with Charles Clarke, Tim Bale, Emmanuelle Avril and Patrick Diamond
Tuesday 25th November 1pm-2.30pm
The registration link is: forms.office.com/e/dnX1qZ4pVR. We will send a join link 24 hours before the event
Should you or anyone else be interested in doing a PhD in London, here's details of the competition for funded places.
Open Competition - LISS DTP
liss-dtp.ac.uk
November 10, 2025 at 11:05 AM
Should you or anyone else be interested in doing a PhD in London, here's details of the competition for funded places.
Reposted by Tim Bale
This isn't a revolutionary government. But as a Labour government, it does need to be the people's representative to the system. So far it's acted as the system's representative to the people - "no, you can't have that, tough choices". And time is running out to deliver outcomes by the election
November 10, 2025 at 8:36 AM
This isn't a revolutionary government. But as a Labour government, it does need to be the people's representative to the system. So far it's acted as the system's representative to the people - "no, you can't have that, tough choices". And time is running out to deliver outcomes by the election
Reposted by Tim Bale
YIKES
November 10, 2025 at 9:47 AM
YIKES
"The problem isn’t that we have a deliberately biased BBC, it’s that we have a BBC that has been consciously reduced in its scope and bullied into dumbing down and retreating." @stephenkb.bsky.social
To fix the BBC, focus on competence and cash
Corporation fails to learn from criticism, while politicians have consciously reduced its scope for quality journalism
www.ft.com
November 10, 2025 at 9:53 AM
"The problem isn’t that we have a deliberately biased BBC, it’s that we have a BBC that has been consciously reduced in its scope and bullied into dumbing down and retreating." @stephenkb.bsky.social