Hello and welcome to rock and roll politics, the podcast with me, Steve Richards, where we delve deep,

contextualize, look ahead to the consequences of what is happening on a near daily basis as events erupt around us.

And we're having a special festive series on the theme of the defectors, defections. And as I reflected while introducing

the first just before Christmas, they have profound implications, but are also fascinating

psychological dramas. And this is certainly the case with the one that you're about to hear. It is Sean Woodward,

who, as I reflect, was not merely a Tory MP. He was at the heart of the Tory campaign in 1992,

and then became a Tory MP and then defected.

And ultimately ended up as a Labour cabinet minister, but amidst much drama as you were about to hear.

So here we are then with the second of our series over this festive period.

The defectors, Sean Woodward, from Tory to Labour.

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This is the second episode in our series of defectors, those who change sides.

It was triggered, as I mentioned before, by watching quite closely Tim Montgomery, with whom I do another podcast, the Not Another One podcast,

defect from the Tories to whom he had been utterly committed, founded

conservative home and switched to reform during the period when we were doing the podcast.

So I sort of saw it quite closely. And I've always been interested in defectors as a psychological study.

And as when there is a defection, an event of wider significance, it tells you quite a lot

about the state of British politics at any given time.

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