Hello, my name is David Ronson and this is Talking Politics and I am really excited to say that we're not in my office.

We're at Jeff Lloyd's house and I'm here with Jeff and Ed Miliband and we're going to be talking about politics and reasons to be cheerful because we have a podcast that isn't usually cheerful and this week we're going to be.

So you're usually reasons to be depressed?

Someone said you're the end of time's podcast, I mean we're reasons to be apocalyptic and you're reasons to be cheerful.

Yeah.

Talking Politics is brought to you in partnership with the London Review of Books, Europe's leading magazine of books and ideas.

We've already had some LRB writers on this podcast and we'll have some more soon.

There's a reading list of pieces to accompany the podcast at lrb.co.uk forward slash talking along with a special subscription offer for Talking Politics listeners.

12 issues of fearless, expansive, elegant writing for just 12 pounds.

Ed, we put out a lecture that I did and you were very kind to come to your and say a little bit about afterwards just before Christmas.

Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I think it was quality of the audio.

Yeah, that's a good one.

I've used that excuse something before now as well.

We read just the recording.

Yeah, of course we were.

Yeah, so this is an opportunity now to.

It was about something we talk about a lot which is why no one has the faintest idea what's going on in politics anymore.

And one of the themes what I was talking about is we used polls getting it wrong.

It happens all the time.

Journalists getting it wrong. It's kind of almost what they're in the business of doing.

But politicians not having a clue what's coming next is been a theme of the last two years.

Election after election.

...