Never Mind The Bar Charts

Brexitland: The long-term factors shaping our politics, and what they mean for the future

One of the most popular episodes last year was with Rob Ford, discussing Brexitland, the book he’s co-written that takes a look and the long-term social and demographic changes driving British politics.
So I’m delighted this time to welcome to the show his co-author, Professor Maria Sobolewska, to discuss further their book and its implications for British politics.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Last year's popular episode with Maria's co-author, Rob Ford: Culture wars, Brexit and electoral reform.
How predictions after the 1992 general election didn't work out.
Brexitland: Identity, Diversity and the Reshaping of British Politics by Maria Sobolewska and Rob Ford: Waterstones / Amazon / Bookshop (independent bookshops).*
Empireland: How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera: Waterstones / Amazon / Bookshop (independent bookshops).*
Professor Maria Sobolewska on Twitter.
Photo by Samuel Regan-Asante on Unsplash.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.

Is over-centralisation hindering the struggle against coronavirus? With Munira Wilson

In this episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I talk with the Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care spokesperson, Munira Wilson, about what it's like being an MP, how over-centralisation may be hindering the struggle against coronavirus and how best to communicate with the public.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Interview with Dr Ben Johnson from Nature.
How local government could and should have been used to make track and trace work.
How Germany is approaching protecting civil liberties while tackling coronavirus.
Listen also to my interview with Jim Killock.
Help for (would-be) Liberal Democrat Parliamentary candidates: the Campaign for Gender Balance, the Liberal Democrat Campaign for Race Equality and the Parliamentary Candidates Association.
The Lib Dem campaign for frontline care works.
Munira Wilson on Twitter.
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How to make Parliament work better, with Professor Meg Russell

Welcome to the first episode in 2021 of Never Mind The Bar Charts. As regular listeners may have guessed given the timing, for this year I’m going to revert to monthly shows after last year’s near-weekly shows.
Let’s call this then season three, and for the season opener I’m so pleased to have an absolute A-lister when it comes to how politics works in the UK, Professor Meg Russell of the Constitution Unit.
A special adviser to Robin Cook when he was Leader of the House of Commons, Meg played a key role in the Wright Committee which led to a wave of Parliamentary procedural reform.
We talked about a new report she has co-authored, taking a look at how to improve the way Parliament works.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Taking Back Control: Why the House of Commons Should Govern its Own Time.
The Wright Committee.
House of Commons Standing Order 14: its history and impact.
Legislation at Westminster: Parliamentary Actors and Influence in the Making of British Law by Meg Russell and Daniel Gover: Bookshop / Amazon.*
The Constitution Unit on Twitter.
Theme tune by Hugo Lee.
Photo by Andy Reed from Pixabay.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.

How are Labour and the Liberal Democrats doing?

I was joined again by Professor Tim Bale for the last episode in 2020 of Never Mind The Bar Charts. We took a look back at Tim's five lessons for opposition parties and discussed how both Labour and the Liberal Democrats are doing on each of them.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Tim Bale's five lessons for opposition parties.
The Liberal Democrat record in coalition.
Alistair Darling promising bigger cuts than Margaret Thatcher.
The Thornhill Report into what went wrong for the Lib Dems in 2019.
What are the possible Lib Dem target seats like?
The Politics of Competence by Will Jennings and Jane Green: Bookshop / Amazon.*
Photo courtesy of Tom Jeffs / Parrot of Doom, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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.

The march of electoral reform in Wales

With the very welcome recent progress on electoral reform in Wales, I invited Jess Blair from the Electoral Reform Society Cymru to join me on Never Mind The Bar Charts.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
How electoral reform makes government better.
The Local Government and Elections (Wales) Bill.
STV explained (words).
STV explained (animals).
Public support for electoral reform.
Join the Electoral Reform Society.
Jess Blair on Twitter.
Music by Hugo Lee.
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Inside the mind of Boris Johnson, with Caroline Pidgeon

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat member of the London Assembly and someone who saw Boris Johnson up close during his eight years as Mayor, joined me for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts.
We discussed how Boris Johnson behaves as a politician, his strong desire to be liked, his long track record of wasting public money and more. I hope you enjoy the show.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
The Garden Bridge.
The SS Richard Montgomery.
The wasteful water cannons.
The Deputy Mayors problem.
City Hall moving.
CrossRail2.
That Susan Kramer song.
Luisa Porritt.
Me and graffiti.
Caroline Pidgeon on Twitter.
Music by Hugo Lee.
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The dilemma for progressives: lessons from the US 2020 elections

I was joined again on Never Mind The Bar Charts by Rob Blackie to talk about the early lessons from the 2020 US Presidential elections for the Liberal Democrats. With Rob as a guest, no surprise that we talked a lot about messaging and political positioning. In particular, how do you win over people who have a different world view? Listen to find out...
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
What the Liberal Democrats can learn from Donald Trump - the earlier episode with Rob Blackie.
2020 US Presidential election results.
The (non-) use of Latinx.
Winning the struggle for same-sex marriage: how framing the argument using the world view of its opponents helped persuade many of them to change their mind.
Graham Norton.
Photo by Andrew Neel from Pexels.
Music by Hugo Lee.
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A fresh way of talking about liberal values, with Tom King

Tom King, author of excellent pamphlet The Generous Society, was my guest for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. We talked about his new pamphlet, the importance of generosity to liberals and what Liberal Democrats can pick up from Joe Biden's electoral victory. 
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Read The Generous Society.
John Stuart Mill's On Liberty.
Jim Hacker wonders how best to do a political broadcast.
Michael J Sandel's The Tyranny of Merit: What's Become of the Common Good? - Bookshop / Amazon.*
Tom King on Twitter.
Music by Hugo Lee.
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* This list includes affiliate links which generate a commission for each sale made.

Myth busting media coverage of election campaigns and social media

I recently guested on Michael Bossetta's Social Media and Politics show, talking about... social media and politics. In particular, how the media coverage of election campaigns and their use of technology so often gets it wrong. Hope you enjoy the chat, and if you do, by all means grab the relevant chapter of my book, Bad News: what the headlines don't tell us, which is available for free here.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Bad News: what the headlines don't tell us.
Free book chapter.
Michael Bossetta.
The excellent Social Media and Politics podcast.
Music by Hugo Lee.
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The origins and course of pro-Europeanism in the Lib Dems

Why did the Liberal Party become so pro-European and how did that carry over into the Liberal Democrats? That was the topic when I welcomed back Duncan Brack to Never Mind The Bar Charts. We roamed over everything from the creation of the Anti-Corn Law League through to the future for pro-Europeanism in the Lib Dems.
Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.
Show notes
Our Jo Grimond episode.
The motion on Europe passed at the party's 2020 conference.
Peace, Reform and Liberation: A History of Liberal Politics in Britain 1679-2011, compiled by Robert Ingham and Duncan Brack.
Free Trade Nation: Commerce, Consumption, and Civil Society in Modern Britain by Frank Trentmann: Waterstones / Amazon.
The Liberal Democrat History Group. It's special journal issue on Europe is available for free.
Duncan Brack on Twitter.
Music by Hugo Lee.
Image by MichaelGaida from Pixabay.
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