“A KNIFE THROUGH MY SOUL"... pod special on Morgan McSweeney
The Two Matts
The New World
4.2 • 577 Ratings
🗓️ 28 April 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Hot from the two-and-a-half hours of select committee evidence, the Matts digest the evidence of Keir Starmer’s former chief of staff Morgan McSweeney and his role in the Peter Mandelson affair. It was engrossing testimony - giving a rare insight into how this Labour government operates (and which probably explains why they are in a state of permacrisis). In part two the Matts play out a few scenarios on the assumption that Labour lose big in the local elections next week… and there are reasons to be hopeful. Enjoy!
Produced by Matt Withers
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I can tell you what the headline will be across a number of national newspapers tomorrow morning, |
| 0:07.0 | and it'll be a quote, a knife through my soul. |
| 0:12.0 | I think on the other side of May the 7th, although all these inquiries will carry on, |
| 0:19.0 | it's likely that the terms of trade that the frame of the game |
| 0:24.1 | will change. |
| 0:26.4 | For all of his smarts and clear, you know, intelligence, political intelligence, actually Morgan |
| 0:33.6 | McSweeney is a total naive when it comes to the inner workings of government. |
| 0:40.3 | Hello and happy Tuesday folks. |
| 0:43.3 | Happy Tuesday, one and all and what a day it is. |
| 0:45.3 | It's beautiful weather, but the real reason we're here is two and a half hours of Morgan |
| 0:51.3 | McSweeney testimony in front of the select committee, which is just |
| 0:55.7 | finished as we're recording. And we had Sir Philip Barton as the amuse-bush. And of course, |
| 1:04.9 | we have pudding tonight with the vote at... That's right. I mean, it's just a feast. At about seven |
| 1:10.0 | a clock, really. Although I don't think it's much of a doubt, but... It was, it was. I mean, it's just a feast. At about seven o'clock. |
| 1:13.3 | Although I don't think it's much of a doubt, but... It was, it was, I mean, in some ways it was, I guess, a lot to be expected, but it was very revealing. |
| 1:20.6 | And I can tell you what the headline will be across a number of national newspapers |
| 1:26.2 | tomorrow morning, and it'll be a quote a knife through my soul |
| 1:30.9 | yes which was which was perhaps the most revealing moment when mczwiney articulated the sense of shock |
| 1:39.9 | and i think it was a shock because he's clearly one thing we should say is this is the first time I've heard McSweeney speak. |
| 1:45.8 | No, I mean, it was like Stalin's famous radio broadcast in summer of 1941 when it was the first time Russian's a third his voice. |
| 1:54.0 | Amazing. And we'll probably talk about, you know, why that is so amazing. |
| 1:58.6 | Yes. There's such a consequential figure. |
... |
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