The Thick of It, Series 1: Political Fictions podcast

A special treat for listening of this podcast: a new episode of my other podcast, Political Fictions: "Mark and Cory talk about political TV for the first time, and there’s nowhere better to start than The Thick of It. After rewatching the first series, they talk about which fictional policy proposals ended up becoming reality, why it’s important that focus groups thought Keir Starmer was an eagle, and given that Malcolm Tucker keeps screwing everything up perhaps the secret genius behind the British Government is actually Terri Coverley?" Show notes Subscribe to Political Fictions in all the usual places, or listen to it via www.politicalfictionspodcast.com. You can view the IMDB page for The Thick of It here. UK listeners can watch the show on BBC iPlayer. If you enjoyed our segment on focus groups, you may my post about them here (note the date). Cory’s email newsletter Paperback Rioter. Mark’s family of email newsletters. Our theme tune is “Monkeys Spinning Monkeys” by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) and licensed under the Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Exciting news! This month I’m launching Political Fictions, a new podcast with Cory Hazlehurst, from the Not Enough Champagne podcast. It’s all about TV, film and books featuring politics. Take a listen to our trailer to find out more. You can subscribe to Political Fictions in all the usual places, including on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music. You can also follow the podcast via our website, www.politicalfictionspodcast.com. I will be carrying on with my previous podcast, Never Mind The Bar Charts, but at a lower tempo of episodes.

For the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts I talked with Paul Webb about the report "Britain's Party Members" which has new data on who joins political parties in Britain and what they get up to. Are Lib Dems the keenest campaigners? Is the emerging two-bloc pattern of British politics reflected in party membership? We talk about these and many more such illuminating questions, revealing some of the basic bedrock on which British politics is built. Our discussion also includes the report's analysis of political psychology, based on both the big five traits and the dark triad models - showing differences between parties, and we explore how member preferences shape leadership selection, tactical voting, and party strategy. We start off though with where the data comes from and how much we can trust to it being right. Show notes Britain's Party Members by Tim Bale, Paul Webb and Stavroula Chrona. The excellent book that came from the project's earlier work. The ESRC Party Members Project website. How Cambridge Analytica's impact was hyped. Robert McKenzie and the election night swingometer. Only 2% of council by-elections turning out to be Conservative-Labour contests. Professor Paul Webb's other work. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes.  

Two of the authors of a new book, The British General Election of 2024, joined me for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Among the topics we discuss are whether Labour's post-election slump has made people too critical of their election campaign, whether the Conservatives could have saved themselves and lessons for the Lib Dems. Show notes The graph we discuss showing public opinion on tax and what people thought Labour and the Conservatives would do to tax. Myth busting Liz Truss and the lettuce. The British General Election of 2024 by Rob Ford, Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paula Surridge: Amazon, Waterstones or UK Bookshop.  Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes.

I've popped up on a movie podcast, War Movie Theatre with Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Here is what they have to say about the show: "A 1964 film about accidental nuclear war from a legendary director and featuring a German scientist with homicidal ideas? That's right, it's Dr Strangelove… hang on, no, it's Fail Safe. Overshadowed on release because of a lawsuit from a rival film (you can guess which), this parable from Sidney Lumet has come to be regarded as a classic, with fans including George Clooney. "The Ocean's 11 star couldn't be with us to make the case for it himself, so we're joined by a man known to many as the Clooney of British politics, Mark Pack: polling expert, Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords and Total Nerd." Show notes War Movie Theatre podcast with Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon: Apple, Spotify and YouTube. Never Mind the Bar Charts theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes.

This episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features podcast favourite Phil Cowley talking about his new book, The Smallest Room in the House. It is crammed full of fun yet useful insights from political science. Listen to us talk about Simon Cowell, fish and chip shops, riots, the rise of AI, potholes and more. Show notes All the fish and chip shops in the UK. Distribution of passport ownership. Causes and Consequences of Electoral Violence 1832-1914. Philip Cowley on Bluesky. Read a free chapter from the book. Get The Smallest Room in the House: 50 political oddities to read in more than one sitting from Waterstones, Amazon (including e-book version) and Bookshop.org (affiliate links). Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts sees a return to the show for Professor Rob Ford. We dive into my favourite political paradox to discuss with him: the long term liberalising trends in British politics and yet the run of wins for the Conservatives and populist right. Who is going to come out on top? Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes What caused Brexit? Previous podcast with Rob Ford. Sunder Katwala / British Future on 'balancers' on immigration. Depending on your definitions, this person was a century and more ahead of those we mentioned in the podcast in being someone from an ethnic minority who became both Chancellor and then Prime Minister. Glaciers. The British General Election of 2024 by Rob Ford, Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paula Surridge is now available to pre-order: Amazon, Waterstones. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts sees me discuss with polling expert Steve Akehurst what has happened to Labour's July 2024 vote. We dive into the characteristics of those who voted for Starmer but are now flirting with Farage, as well as ask whether those folk are really the whole story. Show notes Getting to know ‘Reform curious Labour voters’ by Steve Akehurst. What would make Labour defectors more positive about Labour? The problems with polling averages. Labour's problem is a Michael Barber not a Morgan McSweeney one. Pollsters split over what's happened to Labour's 2024 vote: I have now done the crosstabs analysis we talk about on the show. The County Durham by-election mentioned on the show. Steve Akehurst on Bluesky. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. Downing Street street name sign: photo by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay and used under the Pixabay license. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features an interview with Emeritus Professor Jonathan Parry, whose new book, Liberalism, explores the history of liberalism as a political idea in Britain.  Parry emphasises that liberalism is best understood through the actions of politicians rather than the abstract theories of political intellectuals. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Liberalism by Jonathan Parry: Amazon, Bookshop.org or Waterstones. Professor Jonathan Parry. Previous podcast with Duncan Brack about Jo Grimond. Photo of Big Ben CC0 Public Domain. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw me team up with John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team to discuss the local elections. How did they go for the Liberal Democrats and what lessons are there for the party? Show notes Some highlights from the local election results. Lib Dem Pod. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.