Exciting news! This month I’m launching Political Fictions, a new podcast with Cory Hazlehurst, from the Not Enough Champagne podcast. It’s all about TV, film and books featuring politics.

Take a listen to our trailer to find out more.

You can subscribe to Political Fictions in all the usual places, including on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Amazon Music.

You can also follow the podcast via our website, www.politicalfictionspodcast.com.

I will be carrying on with my previous podcast, Never Mind The Bar Charts, but at a lower tempo of episodes.

For the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts I talked with Paul Webb about the report "Britain's Party Members" which has new data on who joins political parties in Britain and what they get up to.

Are Lib Dems the keenest campaigners? Is the emerging two-bloc pattern of British politics reflected in party membership? We talk about these and many more such illuminating questions, revealing some of the basic bedrock on which British politics is built.

Our discussion also includes the report's analysis of political psychology, based on both the big five traits and the dark triad models - showing differences between parties, and we explore how member preferences shape leadership selection, tactical voting, and party strategy.

We start off though with where the data comes from and how much we can trust to it being right.

Show notes

Two of the authors of a new book, The British General Election of 2024, joined me for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Among the topics we discuss are whether Labour's post-election slump has made people too critical of their election campaign, whether the Conservatives could have saved themselves and lessons for the Lib Dems.

I've popped up on a movie podcast, War Movie Theatre with Rob Hutton and Duncan Weldon. Here is what they have to say about the show:

"A 1964 film about accidental nuclear war from a legendary director and featuring a German scientist with homicidal ideas? That's right, it's Dr Strangelove… hang on, no, it's Fail Safe. Overshadowed on release because of a lawsuit from a rival film (you can guess which), this parable from Sidney Lumet has come to be regarded as a classic, with fans including George Clooney.

"The Ocean's 11 star couldn't be with us to make the case for it himself, so we're joined by a man known to many as the Clooney of British politics, Mark Pack: polling expert, Liberal Democrat member of the House of Lords and Total Nerd."

This episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features podcast favourite Phil Cowley talking about his new book, The Smallest Room in the House. It is crammed full of fun yet useful insights from political science. Listen to us talk about Simon Cowell, fish and chip shops, riots, the rise of AI, potholes and more.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts sees a return to the show for Professor Rob Ford. We dive into my favourite political paradox to discuss with him: the long term liberalising trends in British politics and yet the run of wins for the Conservatives and populist right. Who is going to come out on top?

Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts sees me discuss with polling expert Steve Akehurst what has happened to Labour's July 2024 vote.

We dive into the characteristics of those who voted for Starmer but are now flirting with Farage, as well as ask whether those folk are really the whole story.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features an interview with Emeritus Professor Jonathan Parry, whose new book, Liberalism, explores the history of liberalism as a political idea in Britain. 

Parry emphasises that liberalism is best understood through the actions of politicians rather than the abstract theories of political intellectuals.

Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw me team up with John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team to discuss the local elections. How did they go for the Liberal Democrats and what lessons are there for the party?

John Potter of the Lib Dem Pod quizzed me about my first experiences of the House of Lords for our latest joint podcast.