The Rundown by PoliticsHome

With much of England set to go to the polls next week we’re previewing a crucial set of local elections, with more than 1,600 council seats up for grabs, as well as six mayoral contests and a high-profile Parliamentary by-election in Runcorn and Helsby.On the panel is Jonathan Ashworth, chief executive of the think tank Labour Together and a former shadow cabinet minister, Max Wilkinson, Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham and his party’s culture spokesman, as well as Scarlett Maguire, pollster and founder of Merlin Strategies, and Jack Sellers, a former Conservative special adviser who worked for Rishi Sunak in Number 10.They talk to host Alain Tolhurst about the government’s potential electoral struggles, Reform’s high hopes, whether the Tories will take another pasting, and why nobody is talking up the Lib Dems. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2025

With the Commons in recess the pod heads down the pub for another episode looking at the UK’s hospitality industry and the struggles it continues to face - with a host of global headwinds and domestic policy contributing to a bleak outlook for the sector in 2025. Joining host Alain Tolhurst for a pint in The Westminster Arms, a stones throw from Parliament, is Conservative MP Richard Holden, vice chair of the all-party parliamentary group on Pubs and the Shadow Paymaster General, Morgan Schondelmeier, policy manager on tax and trade at the British Beer and Pub Association, Ellie Hudspith, campaigns manager for CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, Steve Alton, CEO of the British Institute of Innkeeping, and Jonny Garrett, chair of the British Guild of Beer Writers and co-host of the Craft Beer Channel. They discuss what the government can do to help this crucial part of the economy, that not only contributes £54 billion in tax receipts, £20 billion in exports, and is the third largest employer in the UK - but also plays a vital role in the country’s social fabric - after it was hit by the triple of whammy of rising business rates, a National Insurance hike, and increased staff costs, this month. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 18 April 2025

Senior Labour MP Liam Bryne, who chairs the Commons business and trade committee, joins host Alain Tolhurst to discuss how Keir Starmer navigates the post-tariff world, and whether the market turmoil could be an opportunity for Britain. Later in the episode a panel of experts discuss the small matter of what on earth is happening to the global economy - and what that will mean for the UK - after Donald Trump’s sudden volte face on Wednesday, abandoning almost all of the tariffs he had meted out on so-called ‘Liberation Day’ a week before, but leaving 10% levies on British goods and 25% on steel and the automotive sector. Jill Rutter, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and a former senior civil servant, Raoul Ruparel, a former adviser to Theresa May on Europe and a special adviser in the Brexit department, Allie Renison, associate director at SEC Newgate and a former policy adviser to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, and Clive Jones, Liberal Democrat MP and his party’s spokesperson on trade, try to make sense of what just happened, and explain what might happen next. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 11 April 2025

Former Conservative MP and minister Mark Field speaks to host Alain Tolhurst about his new memoir The End Of An Era, which as the title suggests charts both his own time in politics as well as the waning fortunes of his party over the past 25 years. They discuss his reflections five years on from stepping down from the Commons, what the Tories got right as well as wrong in their time in office, how they might recover once more from last year's disastrous election, why he's voted for the losing candidate in every leadership contest stretching back to Ken Clarke, and the response to writing about his much-publicised affair with Liz Truss, and the incident at the Mansion House dinner in 2019 that led to the premature end of his ministerial career. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 4 April 2025

To discuss the fallout from this week’s Spring Statement, after Rachel Reeves confirmed a host of cuts to benefit payments and a squeeze on public spending to offset a downgrade in the country’s growth forecast, John Glen, Tory MP and a former Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Helen Barnard, Director of Policy at the Trussell charity, Greg Thwaites, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation think tank, and Chris Curtis, Labour MP and Vice-Chair of the Labour Growth Group, join host Alain Tolhurst. As the question already turns to whether further tax rises will be needed as soon as this year, some Labour backbenchers fume about the optics of the government appearing to balance the books on the backs of some of the poorest in society due to self-imposed fiscal rules, while others have questioned the role of the OBR in guiding the Treasury’s hand every six months. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 28 March 2025

Last week Keir Starmer scrapped NHS England as he signalled the government's aim to fundamentally reshape and rewire how the state operates, so the panel is discussing what this means for civil service staff numbers, what impact this will have on the delivery of public services, and how briefings about a so-called ‘project chainsaw’ have gone down in Whitehall. Joining host Alain Tolhurst is Max Blain, who was the official spokesperson for three Prime Ministers, and is now a director at the global advisory firm Portland, as well as Hannah Keenan, associate director at the think tank the Institute for Government, and Suzannah Brecknell, co-editor at our sister publication and Whitehall bible, CivilServiceWorld. To sign up for our newsletters click hereTo view this year's Women in Westminster 100 list click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 21 March 2025

After winning five MPs last year and continuing to surge in the polls - are the wheels starting to come off for Reform UK after this week's damaging but wholly predictable internal row involving MP Rupert Lowe and party leader Nigel Farage? Gawain Towler, the party's former director of communications and a long-time spokesman for Nigel Farage, as well as Sophie Stowers, research associate at the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, and Harriet Symonds, commissioning editor at The House magazine, join host Alain Tolhurst to discuss if this is just the usual teething problems for an insurgent party, if it might damage their electoral chances this May, and whether this meme is coming true once again. To sign up for our newsletters click hereTo view this year's Women in Westminster 100 list click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 14 March 2025

As the future of Europe dominates the headlines, Lib Dem defence spokesperson Helen Maguire MP, former Tory ministers James Heappey and Greg Hands, and More in Common’s Luke Tryl join host Adam Payne to discuss a seismic week in world affairs as Prime Minister Keir Starmer tries to bring peace to Ukraine. With the tectonic plates of geopolitics shifting day by day, the Labour government faces major questions like how to deal with Donald Trump, and whether a ’coalition of the willing’ can really protect a peace deal from Russian aggression. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Adam Payne, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 7 March 2025

With the Prime Minister in Washington this week the Labour MPs Steve Yemm and Chris Evans, as well as Professor Sam Edwards from Loughborough University, and Lord John Alderdice, Liberal Democrat peer, join host Alain Tolhurst to look at the so-called ‘special relationship’. From its history, to why the close bilateral partnership between the UK and America is so enduring, but why it might now be under threat as Keir Starmer tries to deal with the Donald Trump White House. Elsewhere in the episode Katie Perrior, Downing Street director of communications under Theresa May, also talks about what is was like to deal with the first Trump administration. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 28 February 2025

This Parliament could finally see further modernisation of the way the Commons operates, with a new committee led by Cabinet minister Lucy Powell setting out plans for meaningful reform in a host of areas, after clamour from new MPs to finally bring how Westminster works into the 21st century. One of the 2024 intake, Labour’s Rachel Blake, joins Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney, her party’s spokesperson for the Cabinet Office, as well as Sophie Church, reporter at our sister publication The House magazine, alongside host Alain Tolhurst discuss if Westminster working will finally get dragged into the 21st century. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 21 February 2025

One of the most complex, and divisive, issues in modern politics is making a return under this government; ID cards. Advocates describe it as a potential way to improve public services, tackle illegal migration and modernise the state, but it remains intensely controversial, due to significant concerns over privacy, data security and equality. To discuss those issues host Alain Tolhurst is joined by Jake Richards, Labour MP for Rother Valley, Kirsty Innes, director of technology at the think tank Labour Together, Rebecca Vincent, interim director at the campaign group Big Brother Watch, and James Baker, campaigns manager at the Open Rights Group. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 14 February 2025

Instead of tapping into the mood at Westminster, this week The Rundown is looking at the political mood of the country as we move further into 2025, teaming up once again teamed up with the guys at Thinks, the global insight and strategy consultancy. Last week they polled more than 2,000 UK adults on how they feel about the first six months of the Labour government, their view of the different opposition parties, and if they regret their vote at last year’s general election. To discuss the findings as well as the results of focus groups conducted with voters in swing seats that backed Labour in 2024, Ben Shimshon, co-founder and CEO at Thinks, joined host Alain Tolhurst along with PolHome editor Adam Payne, and Sienna Rodgers, deputy editor of our sister publication The House magazine. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 7 February 2025

For the 150th episode this week former deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine comes on the show for a special interview ahead of the publication of his new memoir 'From Acorns to Oaks' about the second part of his career as an advisor to David Cameron and reflecting further on his time in Margaret Thatcher and John Major’s Cabinets. The Conservative peer, who at 91 is still one of the ‘big beasts’ of British politics, despite leaving parliament in 2001 and retiring to Thenford House in Northamptonshire and its 400 acre estate. The book contrasts his work to restore the woodland at his family’s arboretum with his time trying to pursue urban regeneration and increasing Britain’s regional growth, and he speaks to Alain Tolhurst about his long career championing devolution, what Labour need to do to get the economy moving again, and how his party rebuilds after last year’s devastating defeat. To sign up for our newsletters  Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 31 January 2025

Before the election Labour promised to restore confidence in government by cleaning up lobbying, improving transparency and tightening the rules for MPs, but is Keir Starmer's administration really sticking to its word? The Labour MP for Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Melanie Onn, a member of the Commons standards committee, Gabe Winn, chief executive of the Blakeney Group, a public affairs and communications agency, John Johnston, London Influence reporter at Politico, and Jon Gerlis, head of public relations and policy at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, join Alain Tolhurst to take a look inside the sometimes hidden world of lobbying in Westminster. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 24 January 2025

A difficult financial outlook has got even tougher for Rachel Reeves in recent days, so what is happening to the UK economy, and just how difficult will things get for the Chancellor with the next OBR forecast and the spending review looming? To take a deeper look at what is fuelling the current market turmoil, and ask whether things really are as bad as during the Liz Truss era, host Alain Tolhurst is joined by Dr Isabel Stockton, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, as well as the Labour MP and member of the Treasury select committee, Jeevun Sandher, and Cameron Brown, a former Treasury special adviser under the last Conservative government. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 17 January 2025

One of the most interesting and consequential politicians of the past few years, Steve Baker was the Conservative MP for Wycombe for 14 years, served as a minister in three departments for three different prime ministers, but is probably best known as the so-called ‘Brexit hardman’, who corralled the ERG group of eurosceptic Tories into numerous rebellions over how Britain left the EU. Now out of the Commons having lost his seat in the Labour landslide last summer, he speaks to Alain Tolhurst about politics in 2025, his anger over the rhetoric around the grooming gangs issue, how his party recovers under Kemi Badenoch and takes on Nigel Farage and Reform, and what life has been like post-Parliament. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 10 January 2025

To mark the new year LBC’s political editor Natasha Clark and PoliticsHome editor Adam Payne join host Alain Tolhurst to look ahead to the next 12 months in British politics with a preview of 2025; What will be the big flashpoints as Keir Starmer tries to boost his flagging premiership? Can Kemi Badenoch revive the Tories in the face of threats of Nigel Farage’s Reform UK? Will Westminster continue to have a fractured five-party politics? Or will President Trump 2.0 blow it all out of the water? To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 3 January 2025

In a special festive episode the PolHome team looks back at the biggest political moments of 2024 after a historical and tumultuous year, dominated by Labour’s landslide election victory this summer, and the fallout from the first change in government since 2010. Joining Alain Tolhurst to discuss everything from Liz Truss losing her seat to Sue Gray’s defenestration, farmer protests, Donald Trump’s return to power and Ed Davey falling off a paddleboard, returning guest and big-time friend of the pod James Heale from The Spectator, as well as PolHome reporters Zoe Crowther, Tom Scotson, and Matilda Martin. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 26 December 2024

Rough sleeping and homelessness are some of the most intractable problems successive governments have failed to solve; but does it need to be this hard, are the solutions already out there, and if so why has no administration managed to grasp the nettle? Lord John Bird, crossbench peer and co-founder of The Big Issue magazine, Andy Preston, former mayor of Middlesbrough and founder of the charity CEO Sleepout UK, and Matthew Torbitt, a campaigner on homelessness who used to advise a number of Labour MPs, join Alain Tolhurst to discuss if Keir Starmer's administration will fare better than those before him. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 20 December 2024

What does the continued fracturing of the UK’s political landscape means for our democracy going forward? After a preliminary vote on proportional representation surprised almost everyone in Westminster by passing last week, will this Parliament might finally see some movement on electoral reform? Lisa Smart, Liberal Democrat MP for Hazel Grove and vice chair of the new All Party Parliamentary Group for Fair Elections, Dr Jess Garland, Director of Research and Policy at the Electoral Reform Society, and Robert Ford, Politics Professor at the University of Manchester and author of the Swingometer newsletter, join Alain Tolhurst to discuss whether fragmentation is here to stay. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 13 December 2024

So, when is a reset, not a reset? As Sir Keir Starmer outlines various ‘milestones’ he wants to achieve before the next election, a panel of seasoned analysts look at why is there a squeamishness about resets, why parties still end up doing them so often, and whether they can be done effectively. Catherine Haddon, programme director at the Institute for Government, Jo Tanner, a political comms strategist who worked on Boris Johnson’s London mayoral campaigns among many others, and Sir Craig Oliver, former Downing Street director of communications under David Cameron join Alain Tolhurst to discuss what it says about an administration that you need to undertake one in the first place. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 6 December 2024

A panel of foreign policy experts joins host Alain Tolhurst to look at global affairs, the dangers the UK faces around the world, how the public feels about them, and what Keir Starmer's government can do to tackle the big security issues. Sophia Gaston, who works at the ASPI think tank, Tobias Ellwood, former defence committee chair, and Chris Hopkins, political research director at pollsters Savanta, discuss whether it’s Russia and Ukraine, Israel and Gaza or China and Taiwan, if foreign policy will end up distracting Labour from their core domestic agenda fixing the country’s public services and growing the economy. Later in the episode former Conservative defence secretary Grant Shapps, and the new chair of the foreign affairs committee, Emily Thornberry, both speak to Alain about those threats, and how the government can help the public feel safer in our increasingly dangerous world. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 29 November 2024

With the return of the bill on assisted dying next week we're unapologetically getting into the weeds of Parliamentary procedure for this episode, and looking at whether a Private Members Bill from a backbench MP is really the best way of passing such potentially important legislation. Two doyens of PMBs in UK policy circles; Dr Daniel Gover, Senior Lecturer in British Politics at Queen Mary University in London, and Dr Ruth Fox, director at the Hansard Society, help shine a light on a little understood, but sometimes hugely important, part of our legislative system, while Liberal Democrat MP Roz Savage, who has her own backbench bill, explains what it's like going through the process to host Alain Tolhurst. We also hear from two former Conservative MPs; Virginia Crosbie and Dean Russell, who together managed to get a long-awaited bill securing fairer tips for hospitality staff onto the statute book last year, about how they did it. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 22 November 2024

After a host of MPs were among the millions of people to quit X, formerly known as Twitter, in recent days over the role of its owner, the billionaire Elon Musk, and the amplification of misinformation and abuse, Josh Simons, Labour MP for Makerfield and member of the Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, joined Ben Guerin, co-founder of creative agency Topham Guerin, which has worked on several high-profile political communications campaigns, and Alain Tolhurst and Zoe Crowther to look at the role of algorithms in mass communication, the manipulation of social media, and whether politicos should finally wean themselves off Twitter despite Westminster being glued to the bird site for more than a decade. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 15 November 2024

After 14 years in power the Conservatives were unceremoniously booted out of office under a Labour landslide in July's general election, so this week Baroness Kate Fall, who was deputy chief of staff to David Cameron for more than a decade, Fred de Fossard, director of strategy at the Legatum Institute, and a former Conservative special adviser, as well as Henry Hill, deputy editor of the website ConservativeHome, join host Alain Tolhurst to discuss how the party tries to rebuild in opposition, which direction its takes, what can be achieved in opposition, and how it might plot a path back to power. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced and edited by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 8 November 2024

After the most consequential Budget in more than a decade, Labour MP Chris Curtis, vice-chair of the Labour Growth Group, Mel Stride, former Treasury minister and ex-chair of the Treasury Select Committee, join host Alain Tolhurst and two top think tank economists; Isabel Stockton, Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and James Smith, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, to discuss if it will help Rachel Reeves and Keir Starmer reach their goal of delivering economic growth back to the UK. There's also an with Lord Jon Moynihan, Conservative peer and author of the new book ‘Return to Growth’, about whether the Chancellor is on the right track or not. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton and edited by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 1 November 2024

What happens when MPs stop being MPs? With hundreds of Parliamentarians having left the Commons this summer following Labour’s landslide victory, what happens to all those turfed out of their seats? Three former Conservative MPs; Vicky Ford, ex-MP for Chelmsford, James Sunderland, who represented Bracknell, and Matt Warman, the former member for Boston and Skegness, join host Alain Tolhurst to discuss if there is enough support, both financial and pastoral, in helping them move on with their lives, how easy is it to find a new career outside Westminster, and do we have the wrong impression about what life is like for ex-MPs? To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 25 October 2024

After a new bill attempting to legalise assisted dying in the UK was introduced to the House of Commons, the Green Party MP Sian Berry, former Lord Chancellor and Labour Peer Lord Falconer, and Nathan Stillwell, assisted dying campaigner at Humanists UK, join host Alain Tolhurst to look at how likely Kim Leadbeater’s private member's bill is to eventually become law, the scope it might cover, how other countries like Canada have introduced and managed the process, and how to assuage the concerns of those worried about coercion, and that passing the law might start a slippery slope towards legalised euthanasia. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 17 October 2024

As Labour prepares to mark 100 days in office Lucy Rigby, the party's new MP for Northampton North, Tim Durrant, programme director at the Institute for Government, as well as Emma Dean, managing director at Portland communications, and a former government special adviser, join Alain Tolhurst to look at how these first few months have gone, what Labour have managed to achieve back in power, some of the missteps, the briefings and rows that led to this week’s ‘reset’ in Downing Street and the ousting of Sue Gray, and what the government will do to move things forward, with a Budget and a spending review at the end of this month. Ben Shimson, co-founder and CEO of Thinks Insight & Strategy, also discusses some exclusive polling for PolHome on how the public have viewed these first 100 days, with the full report available via our Saturday View newsletter To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 11 October 2024

In the final of our party conference specials, recorded in front of a live audience in Birmingham, two Conservative politicians - one at the start of their Commons career, and another who had reached the end - discuss with Alain Tolhurst why the atmosphere was so upbeat for a party having suffered such a massive defeat, what direction the new leader should follow to try and win back power, and whether the Tories can be united again. Lord Graham Brady, the former chair of the 1922 committee, and author of the new book Kingmaker on what really happened behind the scenes of the Conservative party over the last 14 years, was joined by the new MP for South West Devon, Rebecca Smith, as well as the pollster Scarlett Maguire, and editor at PolHome, Adam Payne. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 2 October 2024

In the second of our party conference specials, recorded live in front of an audience at Labour’s annual get together in Liverpool, the arts minister Chris Bryant discusses with Alain Tolhurst why there was a less festive atmosphere then might be expected after a monumental landslide victory, what he wants to do to fix the arts in this country, and whether the rows over donations and freebies which overshadowed their first conference in power since 2009 have holed the new Labour administration below the water line, or whether the new government can push through and get on with rebuilding the country. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 26 September 2024

In the first of our party conference specials we go inside the Liberal Democrat victory lap in Brighton. Munira Wilson, the party’s education spokesperson, as well as Danny Chambers, their new MP for Winchester, join Alain Tolhurst to discuss what the party can actually achieve after its best election result ever, and how they might hold on to all those extra seats next time round. Also on the panel is Patrick English, director of political analytics at the pollsters YouGov, and PolHome reporter Zoe Crowther, who was down in Brighton covering the conference. To sign up for our newsletters click here To submit your nomination for Women in Westminster: The 100 click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Ewan Cameron for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 20 September 2024

What makes a good maiden speech, how do you write and deliver one, and what do they say about the MP that makes it? To talk about getting through that tricky first innings in the Commons two more members of the 2024 intake who have already taken their maiden voyage; Jeevun Sandher, the Labour MP for Loughborough, and Julia Buckley, the Labour member for Shrewsbury, join Alain Tolhurst for this week's episode, and alongside them is Paul Richards, author of the new book, How to Write a Parliamentary Speech, as well as Rob Hutton, journalist and parliamentary sketchwriter. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 13 September 2024

Keir Starmer’s chief of staff Sue Gray identified before the election all of the most pressing issues for a new government's bulging in-tray in her infamous ‘s*** list’, so this week two more members of the 2024 intake of MPs; Lewis Cocking, the new Tory member for Broxbourne, and a former leader of the local council, and Tim Roca, Labour MP for Macclesfield, who has worked in the university sector, as well as local government, along with Ian Acheson, a former prison governor and government advisor, whose book Screwed lays out the collapse of the prison service, join Alain Tolhurst to look at just how bad things are in several of those areas. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 6 September 2024

Continuing our series introducing the political class of 2024 by profiling new MPs, this week we have Caroline Voaden, who last month was elected as the new Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon. A former journalist and MEP, she speaks to Alain Tolhurst about how she got involved in politics, winning her the seat for the Lib Dems as they swept the so-called ‘blue wall’, Ed Davey’s campaign antics, what’s it like in those first few weeks in Parliament, and what she hopes to achieve in her time on the green benches. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 30 August 2024

Continuing our series introducing the political class of 2024 by profiling new MPs to look out for, this week we have Joe Robertson, the Conservative MP for the new Isle of Wight East seat. In a historically bad night for his party Joe was one of 26 new Tories to enter the Commons, so he discusses with Alain Tolhurst what it was like winning his seat as so many others lost theirs, how the party is rebuilding in opposition, how he’s found the first few weeks as a parliamentarian and what he hopes to achieve from the green benches, and surprisingly a chat about miniature oil rigs and Sylvanian families - all will become clear… To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 23 August 2024

Terry Jermy, the new Labour MP for South West Norfolk, who in a night of massive shocks on election night, delivered probably the biggest by unseating the former Prime Minister Liz Truss. One of the final constituencies to be called, Truss - who had a majority of more than 26,000 - was ousted by 38-year-old Jermy from the seat she had held since 2010. He reveals to Alain Tolhurst the inside story of how he did it, what it’s like to be the man who defeated Liz Truss, how he’s finding life in the Commons so far, and what he plans to do now he’s in Parliament. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 16 August 2024

After widespread unrest took over the country after the tragic stabbings in Southport last week, Alain Tolhurst looks at what is behind the current riots, how to stop them from happening again, and what can be done to put communities divided by extremism and racism back together again. Joining him Chris Webb, Labour MP for Blackpool South, one of the areas marred by violence, Sunder Katwala, director of think tank British Future, Prof Matthew Feldman, a specialist on right-wing extremism at the University of York, and Claudia Wallner, research fellow and associate in RUSI’s Terrorism and Conflict research group. To sign up for our newsletters click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 9 August 2024

As the race to replace Rishi Sunak hots up, Alain Tolhurst speaks to guests representing each of the six candidates who have thrown their hat into the ring to be the next Tory leader. First up are the MPs Saqib Bhatti, who is backing the former Home Secretary Priti Patel, and Mark Garnier, one of those supporting Mel Stride’s leadership bid, as well as Simon Fell, the former Barrow MP, and James Cleverly supporter. Then later we hear from Andrew Bowie, who is supporting favourite Kemi Badenoch, former Cabinet minister Mark Spencer, a supporter of Robert Jenrick, and Damian Green, the former deputy Prime Minister, who is backing Tom Tugendhat. To read our interviews with Mel Stride and Tom Tugendhat this weekend subscribe to our newsletters here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 2 August 2024

After Keir Starmer hosted the European Political Summit last week guests Jill Rutter, senior research fellow at the think tank UK In A Changing Europe, and Raoul Ruparel, former special adviser to Theresa May on Europe and Spad at the Department for Exiting the European Union, join Alain Tolhurst and Adam Payne from PoliticsHome to discuss Labour’s attempts to reset relations with the European Union now they’re in government, what their strategic aims are, what practically might be achievable, and whether closer ties with our continental neighbours is desirable politically. Sign up for our newsletters here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 25 July 2024

After the first King’s Speech under a Labour government for 15 years, a host of policy experts joins Alain Tolhurst to look at what the first 100 days of a Keir Starmer administration will look like, after the new Prime Minister said his plan for government would "take the brakes off Britain" and put the country on the "path of national renewal". Joining the pod are Harry Quilter-Pinner, interim exec director at think tank IPPR, Ryan Wain, executive director for politics at the Tony Blair Institute, Laura McInerney, education journalist and co-founder of the app Teacher Tapp, Ben Zaranko, senior research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, and Freddie Poser, executive director at housing campaign group PricedOut. Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 18 July 2024

After last week’s extraordinary election result, this week has seen hundreds of new MPs and their staff descend on Westminster, but what’s it like entering Parliament for the first time? Alain Tolhurst is joined by Dan Tomlinson, elected last week as the new MP for Chipping Barnet, along with one of his Labour colleagues Sarah Owen, her senior parliamentary researcher Jenny Symmons, who is also head of the GMB trade union committee branch in Westminster, and Ellie Varley, head of communications for former Tory MP Dehenna Davison. Later on in part two Alice Lilly from the Institute for Government explains the training they put on for new MPs and ministers. Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 11 July 2024

In a General Election special recorded just as the final results rolled in on Friday morning, the PoliticsHome team of Alain Tolhurst, Caitlin Doherty and Tom Scotson dissects a historic victory for the Labour party, after an extraordinary night saw Keir Starmer swept to power on an enormous majority, and the 14 years of Tory government ebbed away as Rishi Sunak exited Downing Street after the Conservatives suffered their worst defeat in their history. We also hear for the final time from our Election Diaries project as voters in swing seats react to the result, but the episode starts by pulling back the curtain of what it’s like covering a general election, with an election night diary of audio recorded throughout the evening and into the early hours in the newsroom featuring colleagues Adam Payne and Zoe Crowther, as well as friend of the pod Henry Hill from ConservativeHome, about how the sausage is made as we cover a historic night. Presented by Alain Tolhurst, and produced by Lulu Goad for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 5 July 2024

As the election race enters the final stretch PolHome’s editor Adam Payne and political and digital consultant Laura Dunn join host Alain Tolhurst to look at the final leaders’ debate, after Rishi Sunak came out swinging Wednesday night, what we can expect from the last week of campaigning before polling day, the latest on gambling-gate, as well as speaking to reporter Caitlin Doherty on the campaign trail in Devon. Later Alex Thomas from the Institute for Government, Sienna Rogers from The House magazine, and Baroness Kate Fall, David Cameron’s former deputy chief of staff, look at what Keir Starmer can expect in the first few hours and days of a potential Labour government, and we’ll have the latest in our Election Diaries project in partnership with ThinksInsight hearing from voters in key swing seats. To read Caitlin's story on the campaigns in Devon sign up for our Saturday newsletter here For Tom's story on the battle in Dover and Deal click here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, and produced by Lulu Goad for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 28 June 2024

With two weeks of the campaign to go Scarlett Maguire, director at pollsters JL Partners, Andrew Roe-Crines, Senior Lecturer in British Politics at Liverpool University, and Philip Catney, senior politics lecturer at Keele University, look at what a crushing new series of polls means for Rishi Sunak, and the role Reform UK are playing in a potential Tory wipeout. Dr Hannah Bunting, lecturer in Quantitative British Politics at Exeter University comes on to discuss with PolHome reporter Zoe Crowther what role tactical voting could play on July 4, William Kedjanyi, Head of Political Content at Star Sports bookmakers, talks about the rise of political betting, while Dr Phil Burton-Cartledge, author of the book The Party's Over: The Rise and Fall of the Conservatives from Thatcher to Sunak, and Henry Hill, acting editor of the website ConservativeHome, look at what the Conservative party might look like after a crushing defeat, and voters in key swing seats reveal what they make of it all thanks to our Election Diaries project, in partnership with ThinksInsight. Sign up for our newsletters here Presented by Alain Tolhurst, and produced by Lulu Goad for Podot

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2024

As attention switches to party manifestos this week three people first-hand experience of writing them; Rachel Wolf, who co-wrote the Tory 2019 manifesto, Marc Stears, part of the team who wrote Labour’s 2015 manifesto, and Lord Richard Newby, who wrote the Lib Dems’ in 2017 and chaired this year’s one too, talk about how the documents come together, as well as their impact on campaigns. Also on is PolHome editor Adam Payne and former Conservative special advisor Fred de Fossard to discuss if three weeks out the Tories might have already given up on winning, Lucia Hodgson, partner at strategy firm Charlesbye, comes on to discuss some exclusive new polling, Dr Jess Garland from the Electoral Reform Society talks about the looming deadline to register to vote in this election, PolHome reporters Tom Scotson and Zoe Crowther dial in from the campaign trail, and we have the second set of clips from our Election Diaries project in partnership with ThinksInsight. Presented by Alain Tolhurst, and produced by Lulu Goad, Ewan Cameron and Nick Hilton for Podot.

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2024

The second week of the election campaign has been dominated by Nigel Farage’s decision to stand to be an MP and the fallout from the first leaders debate between Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer. Alain Tolhurst is joined by elections experts Rob Ford and Paula Surridge along with PolHome editor Adam Payne to talk about this week’s polling, then PolHome reporters Tom Scotson and Caitlin Doherty dial in from the campaign trail, while Paul Harrison, former Downing Street press secretary, and Andrew Fisher, director of policy for Labour under Jeremy Corbyn, discuss how the two main party campaigns are going, and then we hear from the voters and what they made of the debate, as part of our Election Diaries project in partnership with Thinks Insight. ‌ Presented by Alain Tolhurst, and produced by Lulu Goad and Nick Hilton for Podot.

Transcribed - Published: 7 June 2024

PoliticsHome editor Adam Payne and reporter Nadine Batchelor-Hunt take stock of the first week of the general election campaign, plus broadcaster and former MP Gyles Brandreth and journalist Seb Whale join Alain Tolhurst to discuss their books on the secrets of the Whips' Office. Sign up to The House's new Friday newsletter from Sienna Rogers rounding up the best of the week’s election campaigns here. Gyles Brandreth’s republished memoir Breaking the Code is available here. Pre-order Seb Whale’s new book The Unusual Channels here. Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver.

Transcribed - Published: 31 May 2024

Conservative MPs Stephen Hammond and Henry Smith, both of whom have decided not to run for their seats again at the general election, reflect on why they have called it quits on the Commons, and offer some advice for candidates vying to replace them. Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Transcribed - Published: 24 May 2024

Michael Crick, who runs the @tomorrowsMPs Twitter and three prospective parliamentary candidates – Khobi Patterson-Vallis, Conservative candidate for Brighton; Josh Babarinde, Lib Dem candidate for Eastbourne; and Roz Savage, Lib Dems candidate for South Cotswolds, join PoliticsHome's Alain Tolhurst to discuss the secretive process behind who gets to be an MP, and why anyone would want to take on the job. Presented by Alain Tolhurst, produced by Nick Hilton for Podot, edited by Laura Silver

Transcribed - Published: 17 May 2024