Tim Bale with a copy of his new book

A politics professor has won a major book prize for his study of the modern Conservative Party.

"Tim Bale has composed a thoughtful, perceptive and exhaustively researched study," say the judges for the W.J.M. Mackenzie Book Prize, awarded annually by the Political Studies Association (PSA) for the year's best book in political science.

"An enjoyable, well-written and substantial contribution to the study of political parties" is how they describe Professor Bale's book, The Conservative Party from Thatcher to Cameron.

"It covers all aspects of the Conservative party - organisation, policy, ideology, and political strategy - in a finely researched and meticulous way." 

This assessment of the book is shared by former Cabinet Minister, Baroness (Gillian) Shephard, one of many senior Tory politicians who have published glowing reviews.

She wrote: "Tim Bale has succeeded in combining an accurate overview of the Conservative Party's history from Thatcher to Cameron with a wealth of intimate detail. The combination makes the book a riveting read, and a must for all devotees of modern politics."

Another former Conservative Minister, Edwina Currie, was similarly glowing in her review in The Times, describing it as "a simply brilliant book" and declaring, "His judgments are spot-on."

This is an aspect of the book that is also picked up the PSA judges, who say: "Full of shrewd and astute judgments, it offers a mine of factual information and will for years be an indispensable source of understanding of the contemporary Conservative party."

Another thing that impresses them is Professor Bale's source material: "He has managed to secure a remarkable degree of access to key figures within the Conservative party and has obtained a formidable amount of primary material (often quite candid and on-the-record)."

Most importantly, perhaps, the book is "thoroughly readable", as former Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd put it. The PSA judges agree: "This book is written in a fluent, highly accessible and often witty style and demonstrates impressive narrative skills.

"It makes a major contribution to our understanding of the Conservative party and hence of modern British politics," they conclude.

Professor Bale's award will be presented at the PSA annual awards dinner at Church House, Westminster, on 29 November.

The event, which marks the achievements of politicians, academics and journalists, is to be televised and will be compered by Jon Snow from 'Channel 4 News'.