Never Mind The Bar Charts

What should Lib Dems make of the 2022 local elections?

I joined John Potter from the Lib Dem Pod podcast, along with Welsh leader Jane Dodds and Scottish campaign maestro Kevin Lang to talk about the 2022 local elections. Here's what we made of the results and what to do next...
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Show notes
The Lib Dem Pod podcast.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Famous polling errors, what to do when polls go wrong and more...

This month's edition of Never Mind The Bar Charts features my recent appearance on another podcast - the UK in a Changing Europe's Brexit and Beyond podcast, talking about opinion polls and my new book all about them with the ever-excellent Paula Surridge.
 
Show notes
 
The Brexit and Beyond podcast, complete with lots of previous excellent episodes to enjoy.
Get your own copy of Polling Unpacked: the history, uses and abuses of political opinion polls.
Paula Surridge on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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How are Labour and the Lib Dems doing? (2022 update with Tim Bale)

It was a warm welcome back to Professor Tim Bale in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts as we returned to the five tests for an opposition party that Tim discussed before. Now we're in 2022, how are Labour and the Liberal Democrats doing on those tests? Listen on to find out...
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Show notes
Previous review of state of Labour and the Liberal Democrats with Tim Bale.
Tim Bale's Golden Halo research with colleagues, updated here.
Caitlin Milazzo's appearance talking about how political leaflets are changing.
What voters do and don't know about how finished first and second in their constituency.
Albert Hirschman's Exit, Voice, and Loyalty: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon.*
Small target strategies in Australian politics.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.

Using online advertising to tell Russians the truth about Ukraine

Internet advertising does not have the best of reputations. But when it comes to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the ability to slip adverts telling the truth pass the eyes of Russian regulators makes it a way of battling Putin's disinformation campaigns. So for the the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts I spoke with Rob Blackie, the public front for a network of volunteers who are running online adverts to get the truth to ordinary Russians.
 
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Show notes
 
Donate to the advertising campaign here.
Marina Ovsyannikova protests on Russian TV.
TV host blocks one minute silence for Russian war dead.
Why internet censorship struggles with some words.
Rob's previous appearances on the podcast.
Rob Blackie on Twitter.
Photo by Mathias P.R. Reding on Pexels.com.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Birthday cake versus demographics: which will determine the future of British politics?

 
It was great to welcome back Professor Rob Ford for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts and to discuss with him both the long-term trends shaping British politics and how they may or may not be seen off by short term factors, such as a birthday cake.
 
Which means we also got into how grim, or not, the future looks for the Conservative Party. Take a listen to find out what we concluded...
 
 
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Show notes
 
Rob Ford's previous appearance on the podcast to talk about his book, Brexitland.
His co-author Maria Sobolewska also talking about the book.
How Australia got compulsory voting.
Ipsos-MORI leader ratings.
The Daily Express front page being cited by Boris Johnson loyalists.
How I was partly right but also massively wrong about Boris Johnson in 2019.
Brexitland: Identity, Diversity and the Reshaping of British Politics by Rob Ford and Maria Sobolewska: Bookshop.org (independent bookshops) / Waterstones / Amazon.*
The British General Election of 2019 by Rob Ford, Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paula Surridge: Bookshop.org (independent bookshop) /  Amazon / Waterstones.*
Professor Rob Ford on Twitter.
Cake photo by jgojtan from Pixabay.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.
 

What does 2022 hold for the Lib Dems? With Ed Davey and Mike Dixon

The most excellent Lib Dem Pod team have just done a show on what 2022 holds for the Liberal Democrats with myself, Lib Dem chief executive Mike Dixon and party leader Ed Davey. So here it is for Never Mind The Bar Charts listeners too, including my biggest mistake since being elected President and what baffles me most about the party...
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Our plan for 2022 - my January report to party members.
The Lib Dem Pod podcast.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Does North Shropshire signal the end for Boris Johnson?

To discuss Helen Morgan's stunning victory in the North Shropshire by-election, I welcomed Professor Tim Bale back to Never Mind The Bar Charts. We discussed what happened, its causes and the likely consequences. Here's what we made of it all.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Helen Morgan wins.
Alan Wager on tactical voting.
Caitlin Milazzo on political leaflets.
Sam Coates interview of Boris Johnson.
Tim Bale on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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The three reasons Boris Johnson won in 2019, and why he might not next time

It was lovely to welcome Paula Surridge back to Never Mind The Bar Charts. She is one of Britain’s experts on how people’s values influence their political and voting choices. She’s also one of the authors of a new book about the 2019 general election so one of the topics we discussed was why Boris Johnson won, before going on to why the Liberal Democrats, er..., didn't.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Previous episode with Paula Surridge: What Chesham and Amersham tells us about the future for the Liberal Democrats.
Previous episode with Rob Ford: Culture wars, Brexit and electoral reform.
Previous episode with Maria Sobolewska: Brexitland - The long-term factors shaping our politics, and what they mean for the future.
The curious story of compulsory voting in Australia.
Polling UnPacked
Previous episode with Alan Wager: Unleash the bar charts! Tactical voting and the next general election.
John Curtice on the impact of Revoke.
Brexitland: Identity, Diversity and the Reshaping of British Politics by Maria Sobolewska and Rob Ford: Waterstones / Amazon / Bookshop (independent bookshops).*
Paula Surridge on Twitter.
Photo by Pippa Fowles / No 10 Downing Street (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0).
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Unleash the bar charts! Tactical voting and the next general election

Tactical voting took centre stage in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts as I discussed the thought-provoking pamphlet Breaching the Blue Wall: could tactical voting help England's 'progressive' parties defeat the Conservatives? with one of its authors, Dr. Alan Wager.
We focus on politics in England, but much of what we discuss is also applicable more widely too.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Breaching the Blue Wall - the pamphlet discussed in the show.
Tactical voting research #1 - many voters don't know the tactical situation in their seat.
Tactical voting research #2 - the impact of tactical voting websites.
Paula Surridge's words of wisdom on understanding British politics.
That top-rating previous podcast with Tim Bale.
Alan Wager on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Money and British politics - the good, the bad and the ugly

It's back to more serious matters in this episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts after last time's board game review - the role of money in British politics. I was delighted to have on the show Professor Justin Fisher, one of the country's leading experts on the topic and someone whose research into grassroots politics makes him a better informed expert than many on what really goes inside political parties.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Jeremy Thorpe's role in unlocking the beast of national political spending.
The independent who got elected as an MP by campaigning to protect a hospital.
The Elections Bill.
Justin Fisher's blog post mentioning John O'Farrell and karaoke.
Justin Fisher's work on non-members helping in election campaigns.
Tim Bale on the upsides of getting non-members involved formally in parties.
Justin Fisher on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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