The Exit Interviews: Chloe Smith
Politics Unpacked
Anna Covell
4.1 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2024
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Matt sits down with MPs leaving Parliament at the next election to talk about their highs and lows, their best and worst bosses, and the lessons they've learned from their time in politics.
Chloe Smith was just 27 when she was elected at a by-election triggered at the height of the expenses scandal. She looks back on a dramatic decade in politics as one of the longest-serving ministers in government, and explains why she's leaving the Commons to do something completely different.
Plus: Columnists Rachel Sylvester and Libby Purves discuss the political power of drama including Mr Bates vs the Post Office and Cathy Come Home, whether the government or Labour know how to cut school absences, and does online activism work?
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You match with Maya on Tinder. You agree you don't fancy each other, but she makes you laugh till it hurts. |
| 0:05.4 | She drives you to a mate's house in the Northern Quarter, and you actually have a great time. |
| 0:09.9 | You connect with some new people, like Isaac, and decide to go to the gallery on Mosley Street, |
| 0:15.8 | where you bond over your shared appreciation of silence. |
| 0:19.2 | And bit by bit, the world starts to feel so full of possibilities and you think what if I hadn't |
| 0:25.6 | met Maya on tinder it starts with a swipe download the app now Hello, I'm Matt Surely, and this is Politics Without the Boring Bits. |
| 0:40.7 | To be clear, it's called Politics without the boring bits it |
| 0:43.4 | used to be the Red Box podcast before that about a million years ago it was the |
| 0:47.4 | Times opinion podcast but now it's called Politics out the boring bits the same |
| 0:50.4 | as my Times radio show it seems to have confused a couple of you. |
| 0:55.0 | Some reviews posted on the Apple Podcast app are from an avid listener. |
| 1:01.0 | I've never seen your face, love podcast but you changed the podcast artwork and it |
| 1:05.4 | scared the living daylights out of me I thought it's some fake podcast invading |
| 1:09.7 | my library after several weeks I thought let me try it and it's you. Well I'm glad |
| 1:14.2 | Dick you found me slightly less welcome but you know always good to hear from Pete |
| 1:18.1 | Matt love the show but get rid of the bug-eyed picture it's what Jimmy Savall used to do. Thanks for that, Pete. |
| 1:24.8 | All comments about my face and the artwork and the name or indeed even the content of the |
| 1:30.4 | podcast. You can email me Matt at at Times Square or post a review on Apple |
| 1:34.4 | podcast right coming up on today's episode it's the return of the exit |
| 1:39.8 | interviews where I sit down with one of the dozens of MPs who are standing down at the next election to ask why are you leaving us? |
| 1:47.0 | Today, former cabinet minister Chloe Smith on arriving into the Commons as the baby of the house, all of her many leaders from Boris Johnson and David Cameron right the way through to Liz Truss and Ritchie Sunac and what she's going to do next. |
| 2:00.0 | Plus Libby Rachel, Libby Poist and Rachel Sylvester on whether or not drama ever |
... |
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