The Matt Forde Focus Group
Comedy of the Week
BBC
3.8 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 30 March 2026
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We like to think we vote with our heads. But what if we've always voted with our tribe? Top political comedian Matt Forde convenes his Focus Group in front of a live theatre audience with a razor-sharp panel — former Conservative adviser Salma Shah, ex-SNP MP and broadcaster John Nicolson, and stand-up comedian Pierre Novellie — to ask whether tribal loyalty is the secret engine of political life. From parties haemorrhaging members to rivals, to the flag-wrapped contradictions of nationalist politics, to the question of whether multicultural Britain is importing conflicts it never signed up for, this is an episode about belonging, identity - and the ridiculous places both can lead
This featured episode is The Politics of The Tribe from Series 2 of The Matt Forde Focus Group on BBC Radio 4.
Written and performed by Matt Forde Additional writing from Karl Minns, Ruth Husko and Richard Garvin Producer: Richard Garvin Co Producer: Daisy Knight Broadcast Assistant: Ocean Holder Sound Design: David Thomas Editor Chris Maclean An Avalon production for BBC Radio 4
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:07.2 | Welcome to the Wayne Rooney show. |
| 0:09.3 | Wayne Rooney, Kay Curd and me, Kelly Somers, |
| 0:11.8 | break down the biggest stories in the Premier League and beyond. |
| 0:14.9 | He's gone in quite quick, but he hasn't caught him high. |
| 0:18.1 | I just don't think it's the red card. |
| 0:19.6 | Plus, we'll hear the funniest and most outrageous stories from Wayne's career. |
| 0:23.8 | I was going into positions and doing things I shouldn't have really been doing, |
| 0:26.9 | but you do it because you feel like you have to, |
| 0:28.9 | and I helped us drive on and win the FA Club. |
| 0:31.1 | The Wayne Rooney Show. |
| 0:32.3 | Watch an eye player, listen on Towns. |
| 0:44.4 | Yeah. Listen on Sounds. Hello and welcome to the Matt Ford Focus Group, |
| 0:47.2 | the weekly comedy show, |
| 0:48.6 | where we examine the political landscape |
| 0:50.3 | through one particular theme or concept |
| 0:52.4 | to help make sense of it. |
| 0:54.2 | This week, we're looking at the political world through the lens of the tribe. |
| 0:59.1 | Tribes can take many forms. |
| 1:01.2 | We see this in Lord of the Flies, where a group of public schoolboys fight for control of an island. |
| 1:06.7 | One tribe is democratic and idealistic. |
| 1:08.9 | The other rules through fear and cruelty, |
... |
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