As a new biography of Keir Starmer tells us more about the Labour leader's childhood, Matt takes a look at the importance of a backstory - does finding out more about a politician's past make a difference to how we view them now?
Then comedian Joe Lycett wades into the sewage scandal for his new TV documentary, and says he’d do a better job than Rishi Sunak if he was drunk.
Plus:  A taster of the latest episode of How to Win an Election, where political masterminds Peter Mandelson, Polly Mackenzie and Daniel Finkelstein discuss how to win during a recession.
How To Win An Election (01:18) Joe Lycett (05:29) Focus Group (10:23) 
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The Neverending Backstory

Join Matt Chorley as he guides you through what really matters&nbsp;in British politics. Formerly the Red Box podcast, he brings together the best interviews, smartest analysis and funniest panel discussions from his Times Radio show,&nbsp;Politics Without The Boring Bits.
Listen live on DAB, smart speaker or app 10am-1pm Monday to Friday. If you like what you hear, then read more at&nbsp;http://www.thetimes.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News & Politics

News

Politics

After a difficult set of election results for the Conservatives, including a by-election defeat in Blackpool South, Matt looks at what they mean for the parties and for Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer as elections expert John Curtice says that losing is the government's "habit".
Plus: Columnists India Knight and James Marriott discuss why neither of them voted, whether they sympathise with Boris Johnson who forgot his ID at the polling booth, and what it means for politics that young people are becoming more religious. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Losing Is Becoming A Habit

In half a century just three opposition leaders have become prime minister. 45 years after Margaret Thatcher arrived in Downing Street, Matt hears from the people who knew her best - including Conservative colleagues Ken Clarke, Jonathan Aitken, and David Howell, aide turned author Michael Dobbs, her biographer Charles Moore, and her daughter Carol Thatcher.
Plus: Manveen Rana and Matthew Parris discuss the SNP's leadership struggles, is noise in the Commons a good thing, and whether you should trust attractive politicians. 
The Columnists: (01:00) The Big Thing: (22:27) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello From The Other Side: Thatcher's Rise To Power

Tim Shipman and Kait Borsay join Matt Chorley to pause and unpack the action from the Commons chamber as Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak clash over pensions and how to fund them, and one Tory gets a ticking-off from the Speaker.
Plus: Columnists Alice Thomson and Robert Crampton discuss the violence on American University campuses, whether sports stars make good politicians and the policing of domestic violence. 
Columnists (02:30) PMQs Unpacked (23:05) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

PMQs: Stop Banging The Furniture

For months a group of Tory plotters have been saying that the local elections will be pivotal to their efforts to remove Rishi Sunak from office. So as the moment of truth nears, can the plot succeed, or are the plotters themselves divided?
Plus: After an MSP accidentally (and briefly) enters the race to replace Humza Yousaf, we look at the shotest ever leadership campaigns.
Short Leadership Campaigns: (05:06) The Big Thing: (12:25) 
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Inside The Plot To Bring Down Sunak

Matt sits down with MPs leaving Parliament at the next election to find out about their highs and lows, their best and worst bosses, and the lessons they've learned from politics.
Caroline Lucas - the only Green MP - tells Matt about her reasons for standing down and what's wrong with Westminster - including MPs cowering in the toilet to hide from their party whips.
Plus: As Humza Yousaf resigns, Times Scottish Political Editor Kieran Andrews tells us where the SNP goes next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Neverending Backstory

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