Steve and Cory take a deep-dive into the Fixed Term Parliaments Act. Why was it passed, what are its implications, and how can we fix (geddit?) the problems it's created?
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune, Plucky Good Times.
Steve and Cory talk about a momentous week in Parliament, a quite bizarre chicken-themed attack line on Jeremy Corbyn from the Conservatives and what might happen next.
(We've released this episode for our subscribers early because of its topicality.)
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune.
Steve and Cory discuss the fires in the Amazon, what the G7 tried to do about them, and the politics of climate change.
Ironically, about halfway through this episode you can hear heavy rain pattering on the roof near where we were recording. I hope this doesn't spoil your listening.
The survey we talked about is https://www.surveymonkey.co.
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune, Plucky Good Times.
In a lengthy outtake from Thursday's episode, Steve and Cory discuss the protests against the prorogation of parliament. Is it a coup or *only* a constitutional crisis?
The episode title is an homage to Red Dwarf.
The listeners' survey we talk about in the episode is here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune Plucky Good Times.
Steve and Cory reconvened to discuss the end of silly season. Then Boris Johnson plunged the UK into a constitutional crisis.
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune.
A shorter episode than usual, in which Cory keeps a straight face and says that Labour and the Lib Dems basically have the same Brexit policy.
If you have a spare five minutes, please let us know what you think about the podcast here: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FMKZW7R
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune, Plucky Good Times
As silly season starts, Cory and Steve talk about the Lib Dem leadership election and whether the party can continue their strong showing in the polls.
(Apologies for the one or two technical gremlins in this episode)
We talk about Mark Pack's podcast, which you can find here: https://www.podbean.com/podcast-detail/brmpz-898dd/Never-Mind-The-Bar-Charts-Podcast
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune, Plucky Good Times.
Steve and Cory talk about Boris Johnson's first week as Prime Minister, and what the cabinet appointments tell us about his administration.
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune.
Steve and Cory talk about various stories about climate change in 2019. Does the heatwave show that London's climate will become the same as Barcelona by 2050? How is climate change affecting life in India, Nepal and Somalia? And what do we mean by "climate grief"?
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune, Plucky Good Times.
Steve and Cory reconvene to discuss the imminent arrival in Number 10 of Boris Johnson.
The blogs on postmodern politics by Chris Dillow are here: https://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2019/03/postmodern-politics.html and here: https://stumblingandmumbling.typepad.com/stumbling_and_mumbling/2019/06/the-tories-imaginary-world.html
Cory and Charlotte Galpin talk about the academic phenomenon of the glass cliff and how that applies to Theresa May.
Released later than planned because of the Cricket World Cup Final, Cory talks with David Barker about a James Frayne article on Conservative Home. He wrote a column on five lessons we've learned from the Conservative Leadership race so far, which you can read here. https://www.conservativehome.com/thecolumnists/2019/06/james-frayne-lessons-we-are-learning-during-this-leadership-contest.html
There is still no Steve Haynes, sadly, because David stole his voice.
Our theme tune is Plucky Good Times by Dave Depper and James Cram designed our logo.
Cory talks to Charlotte Galpin from the University of Birmingham about the new European Parliament, the appointments to the EU Commission, and what this tells us about the European Union.
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune.
This episode is all about bribes in politics. Steve and Cory talk about Boris Johnson's planned tax cut for those earning £50-80K, is Margaret Hodge right that ending austerity is a bribe (spoiler alert: No) and which cereal best matches each of the Tory leadership contenders.
Our theme tune is Plucky Good Times by Dave Depper, and James Cram designed our logo.
Three years to the day since the Brexit Referendum, Steve and Cory talk about the broken British Constitution. Who are the 160,000 Tory party members choosing the next Prime Minister, and just how unrepresentative are they of the general public? What constitutional crises can we expect to face between now and the end of October? And will that new Prime Minister be able to command a majority?
Our theme tune is Plucky Good Times by Dave Depper and James Cram designed our logo.
Steve and Cory discuss the first round of the Tory Leadership ballot, the importance of calling Boris Johnson by his full name, and can anyone stop him?
Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune Plucky Good Times and James Cram designed our logo.
Apologies for the late arrival of this episode, but we had a few technical difficulties with this one.
Brigid Jones, Luke John Davies and John Cotton once again join Cory and Steve in the Not Enough Champagne Bunker, for the first ever Conservative Party Leadership Draft. We talk about 20 (!) names who might succeed Theresa May, and their chances of becoming Prime Minister.
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune, Plucky Good Times.
We are joined once again by Brigid Jones, John Cotton and Luke John Davies to talk about the EU election campaign. We discuss the worrying Trumpian turn that Nigel Farage has taken, how Labour should respond to the rise of the Lib Dems, and the worst result for a governing party since 1066.
Our theme tune is Plucky Good Times by Dave Depper and James Cram designed our logo.
Steve and Cory reconvene for an emergency podcast in the bunker to discuss Theresa May's resignation, what she will be remembered for, cabinet resignations and a short preview on the Tory leadership race.
Our logo is designed by James Cram and Plucky Good Times by Dave Depper is our theme tune.
In this episode, Steve and Cory talk about the lack of progress on cross-party Brexit talks and the failure to develop a domestic agenda.
(This episode was recorded before the official breakdown of cross-party talks on Friday).
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune Plucky Good Times.
This week, we're talking about plots. Not plots against Theresa May (for once) but the seven basic plots of politics as identified by former Gordon Brown staffer Damian Macbride. What are the plots, who is associated with each plot, and what does that tell us about politics?
Macbride's original blog is here: https://damianpmcbride.tumblr.com/post/32667133258/the-seven-basic-plots-of-politics
Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune and James Cram (happy birthday!) designed our logo.
Steve and Cory discuss the disastrous local election results for the Conservatives, the not-so disastrous resignation of assassin-faced baby Gavin Williamson and the resurgence of the Lib Dems. Oh, and they talk about Labour, too
In the third of our episodes on Islamophobia, Steve and Cory discuss Islamophobia in the media.
James Cram designed our logo and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune.
Steve and Cory give a preview of the European Elections fuelled by a love of electoral systems, some outdated polling and a breaking of the podcast's no alcohol rule.
The video Cory was talking about which explains D'Hondt can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CU3F3ToIIg
The other fun facts about voting systems came from Alan Renwick's A citizen's guide to electoral reform, which you can find here: https://www.bitebackpublishing.com/posts/new-book-a-citizen-s-guide-to-electoral-reform-by-alan-renwick
In this Midweek shot, Steve and Cory talk about Islamophobia in the Conservative Party.
Our logo is designed by James Cram and Dave Depper is responsible for our theme tune, Plucky Good Times.