Hello and welcome to the political party today's guest is Carol Walker, who you will know for a 20 years as a BBC political correspondent now presenter on times radio to been on CNN sky news talk radio everywhere and her new book lobby life inside Westminster's secret society is an absolutely cracking read and mixes a history of the lobby as well as a whole new political party.

And mixes a history of the lobby as well as her personal experiences of it in the time that she covered basically from the major area to the johnson air and all the big moments and we talk about so many of that before that don't forget you can email the show political party podcast at gmail.com firstly.

Thank you for all your lovely messages following the episode we told you about kids I found it just cathartic to take part in and I'm glad that

that so many of you found it a great tonic as well obviously for supporters of Scotland and Wales also I guess the same feelings pride at being there in the way our teams played also sadness that

that Scotland and Wales didn't go further than obviously from England point of view sadness that we didn't win it so hopefully and even if you weren't a football fan I think the politics around England specifically and this tournament

is very limited, talking about things that I'm sure as a list of the show you would be interested in.

On a lighter note, don't forget to email the show with your stories of embarrassing encounters with politicians or just strange places you've seen a particularly if it's abroad political party podcast at gmail.com

and I was a soldier serving in Iraq in 2003. Wow, my word, well firstly Russ, amazing and you know on behalf of all of us.

Thank you for having served in the armed forces. He says the day in question we had a pretty bad patrol and for some reason I was told to man the consent of phone at headquarters that night at 11 p.m.

the secure tack rings. That means and he says the voice at the end of the line asks to speak to the brigadier I politely ask who it is as it would involve waking him up.

He very politely says he's only played the prime minister. I made anything he's want to play the joke and tell him to fuck off.

The phone rings again, it's the same person I proceed to tell him is impressionist shit could have been me Ross.

He said, and if he really was the prime minister, maybe you could answer the burning question of why we're still here even after the war is over and it was a fucking disgrace that our replacements were covering the fireman strike and I they didn't have anything to moan about I hung up again and giggle to myself apologies of course to any final listening.

The next morning I was someone to head quarters to explain why I told the prime minister to fuck off the brigadier wants to court marshal me but Tony Blair had insisted that no action be taken as he understood how much stress we were under adding telling not to worry strike is being sorted absolute legend wow Russ what a story well.

I feel like we need to do a special reunion episode what we get you both on perhaps you could recreate that call my word and keep the stories coming in political party podcast at gmail.com today's guest Carol Walker is an icon of political broadcasting in the UK one of the most talented political journalists this country's produced and I say her new book lobby life inside Westminster secret societies a cracking read.

i put the link to it so that you can buy it should you wish in the blurb but I began by asking carol what attracted her to political journalist.

Finally enough it I kind of fell into it actually Matt I'd worked as a news reporter and a news correspondent most of my life really and I traveled quite a lot I had two small children under the age of two and I was finding that dropping everything and rushing off to war zones was just not working tremendously well.

I was always kind of interested in politics but I had no political background at all and I thought I'd try and do it for a little while I managed to arrange through the BBC to get switched from my foreign affairs unit to the political unit on a trial basis with the boss at Westminster saying to me by the way I don't want to hear any crap about you having to get home to your babies so that was a very reassuring start.

I didn't want to see the political world but once I got there the politics just got under my skin I found the more that I learned about it the more that I experienced the more that I found out about the people that make our laws and run our lives the more fascinated I became and so yeah I ended up staying there another 20 plus years.

Obviously before you're in the lobby as a war correspondent you covered the full of the Soviet Union the Gulf War Somalia stuff going on in the Balkans do you think without that experience you wouldn't have then made the move to the lobby had you had you gone down a different initial path in journalism.

It is covering those wars ultimately you're covering ultimate politics aren't you these are the biggest decisions that leaders will take do you think in a way that was a crucial nudge towards the lobby.

Well I think I'm still absolutely fascinated in particular by global politics geo politics and the way that nations and political leaders position themselves on the international stage.

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