Never Mind The Bar Charts

Banning alcohol in the US didn’t last; could Brexit be the same?

 
It took decades of campaigning for Prohibition campaigners to win in the US, getting alcohol banned in the early twentieth century. Once they'd won, their victory seemed set to last. Yet in less than a decade and a half their victory had been undone and the the idea killed off politically. So can pro-Europeans take heart from drawing parallels between Prohibition and Brexit?
 
Find out in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts as I discuss this with Professor Ben Ansell who has just written a great piece comparing Prohibition and Brexit.
 
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
 
Show notes
 
Ben Ansell's piece, Brexit's 21st Amendment: Can the Rejoin campaign learn anything from the End of Prohibition?
Abraham Lincoln on the political value of honey.
Plastic bags chaos looms ... Supermarkets are braced for chaos and confusion (the Daily Mail, of course).
Polling on Europe.
Why Politics Fails by Ben Ansell: Amazon / Waterstones / Bookshop.org *
Ben Ansell on Twitter and Threads.
Photo by Chris F on Pexels.com.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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”The Liberal Democrats have been making the spectacular seem routine”

So wrote John Curtice after the latest record-breaking Parliamentary by-election by the Liberal Democrats. Who better therefore to discuss how happy Liberal Democrats should be after Sarah Dyke's victory than Frome-born political scientist and podcast favourite, Professor Tim Bale?
Hear what Tim and I made of all three of the recent Parliamentary by-elections in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
There were quite a few Lib Dem leaflets in Somerton and Frome.
The Lib Dem alternative on ULEZ.
The predictive power of Parliamentary by-elections.
The Liberal Democrat Yellow Halo of support.
What issues most concern voters?
Tim Bale on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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What do over 500 field experiments tell us works for getting people out to vote?

Florian Foos has worked with eight different political parties in five different countries carrying out field experiments to test what does and doesn't work in election campaigning. So I invited him on Never Mind The Bar Charts to talk about what both his research and that of others reveals.
 
Show notes
How Much GOTV Mail is Too Much? Results from a Large-Scale Field Experiment by Adam Zelitzer and Donald P. Green
Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Turnout: How to Increase Voter Turnout by Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber: Amazon / Bookshop.org / Waterstones*
How same-sex marriage campaigners won people over by finding common values.
Abraham Lincoln's advice on winning campaigns by befriending rather than demonising people.
Reasons to be sceptical of the impact of deep canvassing.
Florian Foos on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
Image by Nathan Copley from Pixabay.
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Why do so many obvious policy ideas keep on not happening?

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features Sam Freedman, talking about his recent excellent article on why apparently obvious policy ideas keep on being talked about, but not getting implemented. What's going on?
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
The Policy Paradox: The more obvious an idea is the less likely it will happen.
David Gauke's proposal for an Office for Spending Evaluation.
Lynne Featherstone on the Institute for Government's induction sessions for new ministers.
The Shelter report on housing mentioned in the show.
How Keith House and colleagues get houses built in Eastleigh.
Sam Freedman's email newsletter.
Sam Freedman on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Negative campaigning in political leaflets: what the evidence says

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw a return to the show for Professor Caitlin Milazzo, one of the county's top experts on political leaflets - what goes into them why and with what effect.
This time we discussed her new research into negative campaigning in leaflets.
Show notes
“Going on the offensive: Negative messaging in British general elections” by Alan Duggan and Caitlin Milazzo.
The Open Elections website.
How are political leaflets changing (and do they work)? Caitlin Milazzo’s previous appearance.
Caitlin Milazzo on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Another Lib Dem local election triumph

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another tie-up with The Lib Dem Podcast, following the stunning Lib Dem gains in the local elections.
I joined councillors John Potter and Richard Kemp, along with new Lib Dem council leader Martin Boffey, to chew over the results. Unfortunately, Lisa Smart was not able to make the show, but she was safely re-elected this month too.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Watch the podcast on YouTube.
The Lib Dem Podcast on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Where is the Conservative Party going and how did it get here?

I really enjoyed reading Professor Tim Bale's new book, The Conservative Party After Brexit.
So who better to have on the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts to discuss the point of such books, how such an apparently ramshackle party keeps on winning elections, the power of party conference speeches and what Rishi Sunak's politics really are than the man himself? Tim that is, rather than the PM.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation by Tim Bale - Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.* I was kindly provided with an advance copy by the publishers.
Tim Bale on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.

How to tackle the corrosion of trust in our politics

Find out the answer to that... and speculate on what Tim Harford and Matt Forde would be like as MPs with the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts.
 
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
 
Show notes
 
Public Preferences for Integrity and Accountability in Politics: the research report we discuss.
Ipsos trust data.
Alan Renwick on Twitter.
Image by David Mark from Pixabay.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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How to build houses, and win elections

 
For the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I'm speaking with Cllr Keith House, leader of Eastleigh Council. The local team has an impressive record of building houses on green fields and (yet also) getting re-elected. How have they managed this combo, and what can other Liberal Democrats learn from it?
 
Take a listen to find out...
 
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
 
Show notes
 
Howards' Way.
How the first Liberal was elected to Eastleigh Council – and how politics didn’t have a golden age
Cllr Keith House on Twitter.
Image by Peter H from Pixabay.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Why does Lords reform so often fail, and how can it be got right next time?

Many attempts at reforming the House of Lords have been made. Many attempts have failed.
So what can would-be reformers learn from the failures of their predecessors to achieve more?
Professor Meg Russell, director of the Constitution Unit at UCL, joined me to share her expertise on this in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Listeners may wish to enjoy her correcting me on voting systems.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
 
Show notes
Meg Russell on the podcast previously, talking about reforming the House of Commons.
The Changing Role of the House of Lords: the Constitution Unit's research on the House of Lords.
The House of Lords Appointments Commission.
The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit by Meg Russell and Lisa James: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
The Constitution Unit on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
Photo courtesy of UK Parliament (used under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0).
New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.