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Hello, I'm Matt Shirley.

This is Politics Without the Boring Bits.

As 2024 gets underway, all attention will turn to the general election

and the historical parallels that we can learn from.

Well, every October, we head to the Times and Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival.

And in 2023, we assembled a brilliant cast to debate which election in history could 2024 most closely resemble.

Will it be a 1997-style landslide?

Could the Tories pull off a surprise win like Joel Major in 1992?

Could it be a hung parliament like 2010? So, live at the Cheltenham Militius Festival, I was joined by the polling guru, Professor John Curtis, Times Radio's Aisha Hazarika, Red Box editor, Lara Spirit, and Times Radio's senior political correspondent Patrick McGuire.

Welcome to the Times Radio debate here with a live audience at the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

I'm Matt Chorley, and because we're now probably only a year away from the next general election,

we've brought together some of the biggest electoral brains in the country to try to find out what we can learn from the politics of the past

and find out which election in history, 2024, could most closely resemble.

Will it be a 1997-style landslide?

Could the Tories pull off a surprise like John Major in 1992? Or could it be,

this is my favourite, at such a tight result that we have two elections like we did in 1974.

It probably won't exactly resemble any of those, but we're going to have fun finding out and learning from history.

So, joining me on stage here at the Forum at the Church of the Literatured Festival. Iesha Zawika, Times Radio presenter. She also used to be an advisor to Edelabilly. Hello, but I know you hate me reminding of that. Hello, Ayesha. We've also got Patrick McGuire, Times Radio, senior political correspondents. Also, it's an excellent column in The Times every Friday. Lara Spirit, the Times Red Box editor.

I know you're all time subscribers.

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