Never Mind The Bar Charts

Never Mind The Bar Charts took an unexpected turn when I was discussing the track record of polls closing in previous Parliaments with Professor Will Jennings. One of the most dramatic such examples was with Jeremy Corbyn in 2017... so perhaps he should be the role model for Rishi Sunak as he looks to rescue the Conservatives? Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Have the polls closed in previous Parliaments? What are MRPs and can we trust them? Voting intention by supermarket. Sign up to the newsletter from Will Jennings. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show’s most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Share the show’s website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

Something completely different to the usual fare this time: a little while back I picked my five favourite spy novels for the Spybrary podcast. For a variation from the usual Never Mind The Podcasts fare, take a listen to what I picked, and why those in politics so often like spy stories: Anthony Price features, of course. As does (ssssh! former spy) Paddy Ashdown and US President Lyndon B Johnson, subject of perhaps the best non-fiction book and one with a brilliant narrator too. In coincidental related news, I discovered recently that the author of the standard book on the history of the early years of campaigning for proportional representation was a Communist, and possibly a Russian spy. The author is Jennifer Hart and the book is Proportional Representation: Critics of the British Electoral System 1820-1945. Show notes The Spybrary Podcast. The Spybrary Facebook group. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. Photo by Cottonbro Studio on Pexels.com. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to pod

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another by-election special with the Lib Dem Pod team, talking about what to make of the latest set of Parliamentary by-elections. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The by-election results. The Lib Dem pre-manifesto. The Lib Dem Pod team on YouTube. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show’s most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Share the show’s website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features Southwark councillor Rachel Bentley on what it's like being a councillor, the difference you can make to improve people's lives, the disappointments of Sadiq Khan, life campaigning against Labour and, of course, her love of pointing. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The Bentley Ramp. Rachel Bentley on X/Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show’s most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Share the show’s website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

Professor Kate Dommett is one of the UK’s absolute top rank experts on political campaigning, data and the internet. So who better to have back on Never Mind The Bar Charts to talk about how parties use data and what the next general election might bring? Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Data-Driven Campaigning and Political Parties: Five Advanced Democracies Compared by Katharine Dommett, Glenn Kefford and Simon Kruschinski: available from Amazon, Waterstones and independent bookshops.* My previous scepticism about the impact of Cambridge Analytica. Using a Personality-Profiling Algorithm to Investigate Political Microtargeting: Assessing the Persuasion Effects of Personality-Tailored Ads on Social Media: an academic study showing how targeting people by personality type could work. The small effects of political advertising are small regardless of context, message, sender, or receiver: Evidence from 59 real-time randomized experim

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts welcomed back Duncan Brack for another of our reviews of previous party leaders. This time, it’s Charles Kennedy we took a look at. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Greg Hurst’s biography of Charles Kennedy. Charles Kennedy on Have I Got News For You. The 1983 TV report on his first election (second video on the page). My earlier take on lessons from Charles Kennedy’s leadership. Nick Clegg’s tribute to Charles Kennedy following his death. The Lib Dem History Group. Duncan Brack on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show’s most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Share the show’s website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another special with the Lib Dem Pod team. We talked about a year of Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister and lessons from the Mid Bedfordshire by-election. Listen carefully also to spot a litter Easter Egg from me... Show notes The Lib Dem Pod Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show’s most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show’s website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

I've been honoured to have many great guests on Never Mind The Bar Charts but wow... this time's guest really blew me away with his moving life story and with the thought of just how exciting it would be to see him on the national political stage. Come take a listen and meet Josh Babarinde from Eastbourne. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The sunniest town in the UK. The kayak tipping incident. Follow Josh Babarinde on X/Twitter or Instagram. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features Paula Surridge once again, who since last time has been promoted to Professor - congratulations! We talk about what's driving British politics, whether the Conservatives can win next time - and what lessons she sees in the data for the Liberal Democrats. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Some of Paula's previous appearances: on the role of values, the Lib Dem win in Tiverton & Honiton and how Boris Johnson won the 2019 general election. How the polls can be wrong - but why you should still pay attention to them. The British Social Attitudes Survey. The moderate pitch of Mrs Thatcher in 1979. Jonn Elledge on how Labour winning power would change the terms of British politics. What that reference to seven bins was about. The long-term liberalisation of Britain. The British General Election of 2019 by Rob Ford, Tim Bale, Will Jennings and Paula Surridge: Amazon / Wate

  It took decades of campaigning for Prohibition campaigners to win in the US, getting alcohol banned in the early twentieth century. Once they'd won, their victory seemed set to last. Yet in less than a decade and a half their victory had been undone and the the idea killed off politically. So can pro-Europeans take heart from drawing parallels between Prohibition and Brexit?   Find out in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts as I discuss this with Professor Ben Ansell who has just written a great piece comparing Prohibition and Brexit.   Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.   Show notes   Ben Ansell's piece, Brexit's 21st Amendment: Can the Rejoin campaign learn anything from the End of Prohibition? Abraham Lincoln on the political value of honey. Plastic bags chaos looms ... Supermarkets are braced for chaos and confusion (the Daily Mail, of course). Polling on Europe. Why Politics Fails by Ben Ansell: Amazon / Waterstones / Bookshop.org * Ben

So wrote John Curtice after the latest record-breaking Parliamentary by-election by the Liberal Democrats. Who better therefore to discuss how happy Liberal Democrats should be after Sarah Dyke's victory than Frome-born political scientist and podcast favourite, Professor Tim Bale? Hear what Tim and I made of all three of the recent Parliamentary by-elections in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes There were quite a few Lib Dem leaflets in Somerton and Frome. The Lib Dem alternative on ULEZ. The predictive power of Parliamentary by-elections. The Liberal Democrat Yellow Halo of support. What issues most concern voters? Tim Bale on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show’s most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show’s website, www.Neve

Florian Foos has worked with eight different political parties in five different countries carrying out field experiments to test what does and doesn't work in election campaigning. So I invited him on Never Mind The Bar Charts to talk about what both his research and that of others reveals.   Show notes How Much GOTV Mail is Too Much? Results from a Large-Scale Field Experiment by Adam Zelitzer and Donald P. Green Get Out the Vote: How to Increase Voter Turnout: How to Increase Voter Turnout by Donald P. Green and Alan S. Gerber: Amazon / Bookshop.org / Waterstones* How same-sex marriage campaigners won people over by finding common values. Abraham Lincoln's advice on winning campaigns by befriending rather than demonising people. Reasons to be sceptical of the impact of deep canvassing. Florian Foos on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. Image by Nathan Copley from Pixabay. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popul

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts features Sam Freedman, talking about his recent excellent article on why apparently obvious policy ideas keep on being talked about, but not getting implemented. What's going on? Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The Policy Paradox: The more obvious an idea is the less likely it will happen. David Gauke's proposal for an Office for Spending Evaluation. Lynne Featherstone on the Institute for Government's induction sessions for new ministers. The Shelter report on housing mentioned in the show. How Keith House and colleagues get houses built in Eastleigh. Sam Freedman's email newsletter. Sam Freedman on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show's website, www.NeverMin

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts saw a return to the show for Professor Caitlin Milazzo, one of the county's top experts on political leaflets - what goes into them why and with what effect. This time we discussed her new research into negative campaigning in leaflets. Show notes “Going on the offensive: Negative messaging in British general elections” by Alan Duggan and Caitlin Milazzo. The Open Elections website. How are political leaflets changing (and do they work)? Caitlin Milazzo’s previous appearance. Caitlin Milazzo on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show’s most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show’s website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

The latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts is another tie-up with The Lib Dem Podcast, following the stunning Lib Dem gains in the local elections. I joined councillors John Potter and Richard Kemp, along with new Lib Dem council leader Martin Boffey, to chew over the results. Unfortunately, Lisa Smart was not able to make the show, but she was safely re-elected this month too. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Watch the podcast on YouTube. The Lib Dem Podcast on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.

I really enjoyed reading Professor Tim Bale's new book, The Conservative Party After Brexit. So who better to have on the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts to discuss the point of such books, how such an apparently ramshackle party keeps on winning elections, the power of party conference speeches and what Rishi Sunak's politics really are than the man himself? Tim that is, rather than the PM. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation by Tim Bale - Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.* I was kindly provided with an advance copy by the publishers. Tim Bale on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.c

Find out the answer to that... and speculate on what Tim Harford and Matt Forde would be like as MPs with the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts.   Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.   Show notes   Public Preferences for Integrity and Accountability in Politics: the research report we discuss. Ipsos trust data. Alan Renwick on Twitter. Image by David Mark from Pixabay. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes.   Enjoy the show? Spread the word   Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.  

  For the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts, I'm speaking with Cllr Keith House, leader of Eastleigh Council. The local team has an impressive record of building houses on green fields and (yet also) getting re-elected. How have they managed this combo, and what can other Liberal Democrats learn from it?   Take a listen to find out...   Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.   Show notes   Howards' Way. How the first Liberal was elected to Eastleigh Council – and how politics didn’t have a golden age Cllr Keith House on Twitter. Image by Peter H from Pixabay. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Check out some of this show's most popular previous episodes.   Enjoy the show? Spread the word   Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.  

Many attempts at reforming the House of Lords have been made. Many attempts have failed. So what can would-be reformers learn from the failures of their predecessors to achieve more? Professor Meg Russell, director of the Constitution Unit at UCL, joined me to share her expertise on this in the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. Listeners may wish to enjoy her correcting me on voting systems. Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it.   Show notes Meg Russell on the podcast previously, talking about reforming the House of Commons. The Changing Role of the House of Lords: the Constitution Unit's research on the House of Lords. The House of Lords Appointments Commission. The Parliamentary Battle over Brexit by Meg Russell and Lisa James: Bookshop (independent bookshops) / Amazon / Waterstones.* The Constitution Unit on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. Photo courtesy of UK Parliament (used under Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 2.0). New to listening to podcasts?

It was a warm welcome back to Professor Tim Bale for the latest episode of Never Mind The Bar Charts. We revisited the five tests for opposition parties we've discussed before. How have Labour and the Lib Dems been performing against them? Take a listen to find out... Feedback very welcome, and do share this podcast with others who you think may enjoy it. Show notes Our original discussion of five tests for opposition parties. Our December 2020 and March 2022 updates. Jon Mellon's research into how well people know the result last time in their own constituency. The YouGov 0-10 voting propensity tracker. Pre-order Tim Bale's new book, The Conservative Party After Brexit: Turmoil and Transformation: Amazon.* Tim Bale on Twitter. Theme tune by Hugo Lee. New to listening to podcasts? Here are some tips on how to listen to podcasts. Enjoy the show? Spread the word Follow the show on Twitter. Share the show's website, www.NeverMindTheBarCharts.com.   * This is an affiliate link whi