In the latest from the campaign trail we talk to Conservative Minister Lord Parkinson, fresh from a bloody encounter with a dog in Clacton, and to Dr Louise Thompson about the problems facing smaller opposition parties in parliament. Could the Conservatives be about to join them?

Plus, we take our usual time-travelling trip to the the equivalent point in the 1997 General Election campaign, where John Major and Tony Blair engage in a war of cartoon metaphors, and Europe bursts back onto the agenda as the Conservative truce on the Single Currency comes under further strain.

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern

Theme Music by Tom Hector

Manifesto week concludes with the Labour and Green Party manifestos being published, and another TV debate being held. Nigel and Sarah consider the significance of a poll showing Reform UK overtaking the Conservatives, and discuss a surprising Tory win in a local by-election.

Also under discussion: is Keir Starmer too robotic? What is the role of leader's spouses, and should you ever bet on an election?

In our time-travelling coverage of the 1997 General Election, Tony Blair gets an intergalactic endorsement, Margaret Thatcher goes off-message, and Peter Snow reviews the latest polls.

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern

Theme Music by Tom Hector

It's manifesto week, with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats having launched theirs, and Labour's still to come on Thursday. Nigel and Sarah discuss these as well as the most recent TV debates and the state of the polls.

We're also joined by Dr Richard Johnson of Queen Mary, University of London, one of the co-authors of a new book, "Keeping the Red Flag Flying - The Labour Party in Opposition since 1922". What lessons might the party's past experience have for today's politicians?

Plus, Sarah accompanies Nigel on our latest trip back to 1997, where the party leaders are having to compete for coverage with a pair of chickens and an ambush on Knutsford Heath...

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern

Theme music by Tom Hector

What are the challenges facing the Lib Dems in this election, and what does success look like for them? In this episode, Nigel and Sarah are joined by Mark Pack, President of the Liberal Democrats, to answer these and other questions.

Meanwhile the Prime Minister has been forced to apologise after he received a barrage of criticism for leaving the D-Day 80th anniversary commemorations early to conduct a TV interview. How did this happen? And in our series looking back at the 1997 General Election we've reached the parties' manifesto launches - and Nigel risks running into his younger self...

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern

Theme Music by Tom Hector

As we await the first Leaders' TV debate of the election, Nigel and Sarah discuss the news from the campaign trail, including the effect of Nigel Farage's return to the political fray, and what the latest opinion poll tells us.

We also head back for our "live" coverage of the 1997 General Election, where TV debates are also under discussion, along with a look at Tony Blair's battlebus, and a guest appearance from The Spice Girls...

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern

Theme Music by Tom Hector

In this all-star edition of the podcast we speak to Gyles Brandreth and John Sergeant about parallels with previous General Elections, and veteran journalist and author Michael Crick about his work tracking parliamentary candidate selections.

Sarah and Nigel also discuss how much fun Ed Davey is having on the campaign trail, Rishi Sunak's excitement at taking a sleeper train, and whether Diane Abbott will be allowed to stand as a Labour MP. We also take another trip back to 1997 to cover that year's campaign in real time...

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern

Theme Music by Tom Hector

As we approach the end of the first week of the General Election campaign, Nigel and Sarah discuss how the opening stages have gone- with Labour proposing lowering the voting age to 16, and the Conservatives announcing the return of national service (sort of).

Sarah shares her thought on the visuals of the campaign, including the Prime Minister visiting the Titanic quarter in Belfast, and reveals how she saved David Cameron from a potentially embarrassing photo at a bread factory.

Meanwhile, Nigel gets in his TARDIS to travel back to 1997 to begin a new feature charting the progress of that year's General Election in "real time".

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern

Theme Music by Tom Hector

As the UK General Election campaign gets properly underway, we unveil exciting changes to the podcast! Joining Nigel Fletcher as our new co-host is political commentator and comedian Sarah Southern, who in her previous career was a key aide to David Cameron during the 2010 General Election (the last time a Leader of the Opposition made the transition to government).

From now until polling day on 4th July, Nigel and Sarah will draw on their experience to analyse the latest campaign developments every Tuesday and Friday, joined by occasional special guests. In this episode they discuss the election, review the party leaders' first campaigning events, and remember how the Conservatives tried to sabotage Gordon Brown's election announcement.

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Nigel Fletcher and Sarah Southern

Theme Music by Tom Hector

EMERGENCY PODCAST! (As they say)

With Rishi Sunak calling the General Election for 4th July, Nigel Fletcher gives his initial observations on the campaign and we hear from a variety of opposition party leaders in their first campaign appearances. Plus, some hints about our exciting plans for coverage of the rest of the election campaign. Stay tuned...

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Dr Nigel Fletcher

Theme music by Tom Hector

Wales is often seen as one of the most anti-Conservative parts of Britain, with a strongly working-class Labour tradition. But in the postwar period the Conservative Party has remained the second party of Wales in electoral terms. In this episode Nigel talks to Dr Sam Blaxland, author of a new book charting the history of the Conservative Party in Wales 1945-1997. The story is a more nuanced than is often presumed, with some surprising results in elections during the period. Why have the Conservatives remained the main opposition to Labour in Wales, and with the next election looming, how secure is this position?

Produced by the Centre for Opposition Studies

Presented by Dr Nigel Fletcher

Theme music by Tom Hector