Tim Bale, Professor of Politics at Queen Mary University of London, said he did not think things would have moved as fast if Twitter access was limited - "but power would have slid away from Johnson pretty soon afterwards, whatever". "History shows us that it only takes the loss of two or three big beasts to confirm a prime minister's loss of authority, after which they're almost certainly done for - social media or no social media." Sky NewsProfessor Bale was also quoted in an article in the Independent on a Conservative by-election campaign.