The political masterminds ask whether Rachel Reeves' Spending Review charts a course to victory at the next General Election, before turning to another set of national elections - can Reform UK win in Labour's heartlands when Welsh voters go to the polls in a year's time?

And who will win the Lib Dem KitKat of victory?

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With tough choices facing the government, the political masterminds look at what goes on behind the scenes ahead of a spending review - and how reluctant ministers are brought into line.

And as the Tories finally put the boot into the Liz Truss legacy, have they found a new strategy on the economy - and will anyone notice?

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The political masterminds are joined by former Tory cabinet minister David Gauke, fresh from leading the sentencing review for Keir Starmer's government. When does bringing people into the big tent work, and when is does it go wrong? They talk about Tony Blair's tsars, Gordon Brown's GOATS and Chris Grayling's gaffe.

They also discuss cabinet tussles over the spending review, and Robert Jenrick's vigilante video tackling fare dodgers.

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Keir Starmer is changing course on the winter fuel allowance - where does it sit in the league table of political U-turns, and will it please anybody?

The political masterminds also discuss the Conservative Party's existential polling spiral, why Starmer's approval ratings have fallen so far in the year since the General Election was called, and why Hugo agrees with Polly that babies should get the vote.

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We're kicking off a new series on the podcast, looking at how the biggest elections in recent history were won - and lost.

We start with the Labour campaign in 1992, an election that has been mythologised and is still influencing political strategy today. From soapboxes to shadow budgets to Sheffield rallies, the political mastermind are joined by then Labour leader Neil Kinnock to get under the skin of the campaign and separate electoral fact from fiction.

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The Labour and Tory leaders are getting plenty of advice on how to see off the threat from Reform UK, the Lib Dems and the Green Party. Should they move to the right, the left, or double down on what they're already doing? And does it have anything to do with Greggs?

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Canada has been to the polls, and the results are extraordinary - a huge swing in the polls helping the Liberals rise from the dead, opposition leaders losing their seats, and established parties reduced to the sidelines.

The political masterminds find out exactly what happened, how much of it was really down to Donald Trump, and what the parties here in the UK can learn.

And stop the clocks - Keir Starmer told a joke in the Commons that had MPs laughing, do the team think it delivered?

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With local elections in England on the way, the political masterminds are joined by former Tory adviser and Reform UK supporter Tim Montgomerie to discuss what to do when you know you’re heading for defeat.

Does Robert Jenrick know how to unite the right of British politics? Why didn’t Steve Hilton share his snacks with Polly when they worked together in Number 10? And what’s the political strategy behind a Papal election?

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Nigel Farage is pitching for voters in the North and Midlands, promising to build what he calls a "turquoise wall". Will taking control of British Steel help persuade voters Labour is protecting its former industrial heartlands? Who does Ed Davey have in mind when he appeals to Middle England? And is Reform UK definitely turquoise?

Hugo, Sally and Danny are joined by former Lib Dem director of communications Olly Grender.

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Danny's away, so Sally, Polly and Hugo are joined by former cabinet minister and politest man in politics, Michael Gove. What did he learn about Donald Trump's 'man cave' when he interviewed him the first time round?

And, Keir Starmer wants to tackle what he calls the 'flabby state' - Is that the same as the 'blob', and can you reform Whitehall without going to war with it?

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