Jill Rutter of the Institute for Government joins Martin and Steve to discuss the idea of mission government and how Labour are getting on with their missions, after the Prime Minister's speech last week.

Martin and Steve discuss the US election and what it means for politics in the UK. 

Martin and Steve break down the budget and ask where the centre ground on the economy is now. 

Martin and Steve catch up on the first few months of a Labour Government, Conference season and the surprises of the Tory leadership race. 

Martin and Steve discuss the Conservative conference. 

Martin and Steve discuss an uneasy Labour conference. 

Martin and Steve discuss the gossip from the Libdem conference in Brighton. 

Steve and Martin discuss factions in Parliament following the 'Pop Con' this week. 

Martin and Steve discuss the big year ahead, and assess the starts Starmer and Sunak have made to 2024. 

Sophie Stowers join the podcast to talk about how the public view immigration. 

Sunder returns to the podcast to talk about his new book, ‘How to Be a Patriot’. 

Councillor Stephen Penfold joined us to talk about housing and the other challenges he faces in local government.

Labour Together's Director of Research tells us where the next general election can be won and lost.

Professor Matt Goodwin joins Martin and Steve to talk about his new book Values, Voices and Virtue, its reception and the wider arguments about populism and our politics.

Martin and Steve are joined by Luke Tryl, UK Director of More in Common to talk about the state of divides in UK society, the political weather and education policy.

Professor Tim Bale on his new book about the Conservative Party

Former No10 economic adviser Giles Wilkes joins the podcast to discuss the budget, Trussonomics, austerity, "boomsters vs doomsters" and much much more. 

Elliott Goat of Undivided and Unhack joins us to discuss democracy and polarisation

We welcome host of the Mid Atlantic pod Roifield Brown back to the show, to discuss the fallout of the US midterm elections and what this means for US democracy and more.

Historians of the British left, Lise and Colm, join Steve and Martin to talk about New Labour’s legacy and what current politicians could learn from them.

Libdem president Mark Pack joins Steve to discuss his new book on the opinion polls and touch on the mood within the Libdems. 

Martin is joined by Bim Afolami MP in his office in Parliament to discuss One Nation Conservatism and the Conservative leadership race. This podcast was recorded on Thursday 8 September, prior to the death of Queen Elizabeth II.

Pollster Keiran Pedley joins us to explore polling on the political centre ground

In this episode we are joined by Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times, to discuss Gaitskell, Social Democracy and how well the UK's political parties are facing up to challenging economic times.

Cllr and former MEP Robert Evans joins the podcast to discuss the frontline of the political realignment, what it is like to be a Labour Councillor in Surrey and reflect on the reemergence of the Brexit debate.

Polly Mackenzie CE of the think tank Demos and former adviser to Nick Clegg joins the podcast to talk about their work on participative policy making, and what is wrong with being a partisan or a technocrat. 

David Taylor co-founder of the Labour Campaign for International Development joins the podcast to talk about the situation in Ukraine, wider issues in international development and debates within Labour on foreign policy including re Stop the War Coalition. 

Ryan Wain, of the Tony Blair Institute, joins Martin and Steve to talk about his recent work on how Labour might rebuild its electoral coalition, as well as broader questions around renewing progressive politics. 

Professor Bobby Duffy of Kings College London joins Martin and Steve to talk about his research on polarisation in UK politics and the role of generational divides. 

Labour Cllr and data analyst Christabel Cooper join Martin and Steve to talk about the prospects of the Labour party and the state of local government and politics. 

Professor Tim Bale on party members, switchers, and a threat to democracy

Professor of politics Will Jennings joins Martin and Steve to discuss how the public think about policy, the parties and government. 

Former Conservative MP and minister David Gauke joins Martin and Steve to reflect on politics since the 2019 election and talk about the prospects of Labour making inroads in the Tory southern seats .

Steve is joined by Roiflield Brown to talk about President Biden’s first 100 days in office. We cover approval ratings, the stimulus package, Mexico border and police reform — and go on to talk about the GOP and the difference between local government in the US and UK. Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

IPPR Executive Director Carys Roberts joins Martin and Steve to talk about the future of capitalism, the green revolution, economic justice and more. 

Martin and Steve welcome Prof John Denham back to the podcast to discuss the recent controversies around Labour’s attempts to be more patriotic in the context of debates about Keir Starmer’s leadership. We also cover how the politics of England fit into this debate. 

Science writer Tom Chivers joins Martin and Steve to talk about covering the scientific twists and turns of the pandemic and what impact it has had on how the media and wider society think about science. 

Akash Paun, of the Institute for Government, joins the podcast to talk about devolution in England and the other nations of the UK. We also touch on the shocking events in Washington DC and review a harrowing year. 

Martin and Steve are joined by Professor Jonathan Portes, of UK in a Changing Europe, to discuss the economic fallout post-pandemic, look at the chances of a last-minute Brexit deal and discuss what the consequences of deal or no deal might be. 

With the moderate politics on the line in the US election, we talk to Lord Finkelstein on his new book ‘Everything in Moderation’. We cover what it means to be a moderate, including in relation to Brexit, culture wars and more. We also look at the US election and the recent EHRC report into antisemitism in the Labour Party. 

Former Labour MP and Minister the Rt Hon Caroline Flint joins Martin and Steve to talk about the future of Labour and much more. Caroline tells us why she is a ‘Labour moderate’ and why she voted for Theresa May’s Brexit deal. We discuss the political split between towns and cities, as well as the link between climate change and economic renewal — from infrastructure to, buses, to skills.

Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash. 

Dr Cory Clark and Dr Bo Winegard join Martin and Steve to discuss the politics of science. We talk about politics in academia and 'cancel culture' and how politicians are using science on issues such as Covid and Climate Change. Photo by Michael Longmire on Unsplash.

Matt Singh of Numbercrucher joins Martin and Steve to talk about where we are with political strategy, polling and more in both the UK and the US. We cover Labour and Conservative strategies, the role Brexit and culture wars are playing and Extinction Rebellion. We also explore how certain (or not) Biden is to win the Whitehouse.

Helen Belcher joins Martin and Steve to discuss current debates around gender identity, correct some misconceptions and understand how it has played into political narratives. We also touch on Helen’s Libdem candidacy and the future of the party under Ed Davey.

Martin and Steve give a short reaction to the election of Ed Davey as Liberal Democrat leader and pontificate about what the party might stand for in the 2020 political landscape. 

Martin and Steve welcome Sir Norman Lamb to the podcast. We look back on Remainers’ failure to compromise on Brexit and the future of the LibDems: how they get cut through and Norman’s advice for the new leader. Photo by Habib Ayoade on Unsplash. 

Martin and Steve welcome David Goodhart to talk about his work recent work on ‘anywheres’ and ‘somewheres’ and how it helps explain the new landscape of British politics. We touch on immigration, BLM and more.

Former DFID Special Adviser Laura Round joins Martin and Steve to discuss the thinking behind the merger of DFID and the Foreign Office and what Global Britain means. 

Martin and Steve welcome Sunder Katwala, Director of British Future, to discuss the debate about British history in the wake of the BLM protests, and how identity politics is playing out in Britain. Photo by Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona on Unsplash.

Martin and Steve welcome Roifield Brown back to the podcast to discuss the Black Lives Matter protests in the UK and US, the prospect of police reform in the US and race and politics more broadly. 

Former Number 10 pollster James Johnson joins Martin and Steve to discuss changing public views around the lockdown, the Government's performance, Labour and Brexit. 

Turi Munthe of the newly founded Parlia.com joins the podcast to reflect on political polarisation since 2016 and how it is starting to play out in the debate about ending the lockdown. 

Martin and Steve welcome former Labour MP and Cabinet Minister Professor John Denham to talk about patriotism, national identity and how we can create a shared national story after the Covid-19 crisis. We also touch on Labour’s problems with English identity and the arguments for a progressive patriotism.

Social scientist Dr Cory Clark joins Martin and Steve to explore the psychology behind following the lockdown rules and pandemic virtue signalling. We also discuss the roots of political tribalism and whether it will rebound after the crisis. 

Special guest Roifield Brown, host of the Mid-Atlantic Conversations podcast, joins Martin and Steve to reflect on similarities between US and UK politics over the last few years. In doing so we catch up on the Democratic Primary, Trump’s response to the Covid-19 crisis and how the political centre is fairing across the pond. 

Martin and Steve catch up (via Skype of course) on the unprecedented week we’ve had. We cover the Government’s response to Covid-19, touch on the public reaction and look ahead to future political fallout. 

We are joined by special guest Eric Kaufman, Professor of Politics at Birkbeck College, to discuss how the public view immigration and the roots of our culture wars. 

Long time Labour member Martin goes into depth on the sate of the party, the legacy of Corbynism and what the future prospects are for Labour. He’s joined by Akash and Steve to discuss.

Martin, Steve and Akash catch up on the aftermath of ‘Brexit day’ and how the new government looks from a moderate's perspective. They also look ahead to the budget in March and some of the big decision the Government has on its plate. 

Akash, Martin and Steve pick over the wreckage of the general election results and ask whether a Conservative majority is a disaster for moderate voters, or if there are some upsides of a Boris Johnson government. They also mull over the future for Brexit, the Union, Labour and the Lib Dems. 

Ryan Shorthouse of Bright Blue joins Steve, Akash and Martin to catch up on the election and discuss the state liberal conservatism in the Tory party.

Martin and Steve talk to Ian Mulheirn, Executive Director for Renewing the Centre at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. We discuss what it means to be a centrist? What centrists need to do to return to the fray and how they should approach Brexit at this election?  

Paula Surridge of the University of Bristol joins us to discuss political homelessness,  the liberal-authoritarian divide and more. Our regular, and constitution expert, Akash Paun updates on Boris Johnson's Brexit plan and the Supreme Court ruling. And Martin and Steve catch up on the fallout from conference season. 

Martin, Akash and Steve talk about Boris Johnson's decision to suspend Parliament and the reaction to it. We also discuss the upcoming Spending Review and the end of austerity politics.

(We're sorry, we had a few problems with the audio, which will be fixed for next time, turning up the volume helps).  

Martin, Akash and Steve disscus the first few weeks of Boris as PM, the constitutional questions around a no deal brexit and the end of austeriy politics. 

With leadership votes coming in thick and fast Martin, Akash and Steve talk about the Tory leadership election, and they catch up on the Libdem leadership race as well as the plight of Change UK.

Martin, Akash and Steve discuss the fallout from the 2019 EU elections, and what it means to be a centrist in 2019.