Hello and welcome to another weekly edition of the political party. I shouldn't sound so

surprised because the note was coming. But I think the decision to do this week already

has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. It's brilliant getting to prepare for

an interview every week. And there are different interviews to the monthly ones. Obviously

the monthly ones are the main thrust of the show. And next week I'll be interviewing

James Clevely, the new deputy chair of the Tory party, live on stage at the other palace.

But the weekly ones are their own little dynamic. I mean I'm only two in obviously so perhaps

I'm extrapolating too much from this. But when you do it in front of an audience there's

a different atmosphere to when you just do it effectively in a radio studio. But that

has pros and cons as well. So it's more intimate which means perhaps people can find more.

I always thought people could find more of an audience but that remains to be seen. We're

only two in. But it's already just brilliant getting to do this stuff every week because

not only are you having great political discussions with some of the best minds around you're

also finding out about an interesting individual and doing your research on them and understanding

what they bring to politics and what their perspectives are and their experiences crucially.

So it's just an absolute thrill. I almost feel like I'm in a box. I'm watching a box

that even I'm making myself is just a thrill. This week's guest is the fantastic Owen Bennett,

the deputy political editor of Huffington Post. Depending on how you take the media,

other than to post are either an established and reputable online outlet. Although they're

a very new thing that you might be slightly intimidated by. If you're only getting

news by print, they're superb, they're highly reputable and are effectively a global brand

and Owen is at the forefront of their political coverage here. One of the great things about

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