Never Mind The Bar Charts

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...
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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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1960: The Making of the President - board game review

Something a little different from the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts: a board game review with Jim Williams. A political board game, of course.
It'd be great to hear what you think of this game review. Should Jim and I play more games and talk about them in future episodes?
Show notes
Get your own copy of 1960: The Making of the President.
Eugene Burdick.
My cunning advantage over Jim.
Canadian Check Shirt Guy (aka Rodney Smith) reviews 1960: The Making of the President on YouTube.
How Nixon's poor shaving helped lose him the 1960 election.
The famous Nixon/Khrushchev photo.
Make Votes Matter - campaigning for electoral reform in the UK.
If Then: How One Data Company Invented the Future by Jill Lepore: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon.*
Codenames and 13 Days.*
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.

Prime Minister Priti and other things that never happened

 
There’s a new book of political alternative histories out called Prime Minister Priti: And other things that never happened. One of its editors is a Liberal Democrat. So who better to have back on Never Mind The Bar Charts than that editor… Duncan Brack.
 
Listen to us discuss how Eric Joyce having one drink too many caused Brexit (perhaps), what the appeal is of political counter-factuals, our favourite chapters from this book and how one change in the events of 1923 could have led to a very different political history for the Liberal Party.
 
 
 
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Show notes
 
Our earlier episodes talking about Lord John Russell, Jo Grimond and David Steel.
My contributions to previous volumes: what if the 1832 Great Reform Act had never happened (full chapter) and what if Chris Huhne had beaten Nick Clegg in the 2007 Lib Dem leadership contest?
Prime Minister Priti: And other things that never happened edited by Duncan Brack and Iain Dale: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
Prime Minister Corbyn: And Other Things That Never Happened edited by Duncan Brack and Iain Dale: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
The Prime Ministers We Never Had: Success and Failure from Butler to Corbyn by Steve Richards: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
The Prime Ministers Who Never Were: A collection of counterfactuals edited by Francis Beckett: Amazon / Waterstones.*
Duncan Brack on Twitter.
Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.
 

Special Lib Dem 2021 conference preview - live show with the Lib Dem Pod

What happens at Lib Dem party conference? What's it like attending one? What are likely to be the big debates at this September's federal conference? What are the hidden gems to look out for?
With the 2021 Liberal Democrat Federal Conference coming up and a special registration offer of just £1 for first time conference attendees, I joined Cllr John Potter and the Lib Dem Pod team for a special live show previewing conference. Whether you've never come to conference before, or have been going for many decades, the show will have something for you.
 
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Show notes
It's only £1 to register for conference if you've not come to one before.
That photo of a young colleague.
The most excellent Lib Dem Pod.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Does it really matter what the political polls currently say?

It was great to have Survation's Damian Lyons Lowe on Never Mind The Bar Charts, fresh off the back of his firm's success in polling the Hartlepool by-election. As well as talking about how he got into political polling and what to watch out for when a surprising poll appears, we discussed whether everyone is just paying too much attention to political polls. Does it really matter what they are currently saying? Listen to find out...
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Show notes
Yes, it is fun watching people do Sudoku: Cracking The Cryptic's YouTube channel.
Damian Lyons Lowe gets grilled by Andrew Neil.
The ever-wise Martin Boon.
Survation's successful Hartlepool polling.
Get your latest polling fixes with Britain Elections and Elections Map UK on Twitter.
Anthony Wells disagrees with agree/disagree questions.
Keiran Pedley on Twitter and his podcast.
John Curtice on what the polls say.
Damian Lyons Lowe on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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Lessons from football for political campaigning

With the a new edition of 101 Ways To Win An Election out, I chatted with co-author Ed Maxfield for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Roaming across Black Lives Matter, William Wilberforce, Matt Hancock, how the music industry is changing and one of the worst answers given in a political debate, we talked about political campaigning, our favourite chapters from our own book and other books we'd recommend.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Get the new edition of 101 Ways To Win An Election.
How public opinion has shifted over taking the knee.
How experience can lead to doctors making more mistakes.
The different impact of the internet on the music and phone industries.
Michael Dukakis gets it wrong on the death penalty.
William Wilberforce by William Hague: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
Putting Voters in Their Place by Ron Johnston and Charles Pattie: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.*
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.