logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2015
32m 10s

Is the political ice cap starting to bre...

THE TIMES
About this episode
Tim Montgomerie is joined by Jenni Russell, Matthew Parris and Hugo Rifkind. Jenni Russell:Is the icecap starting to break? For months the polls have been locked, with Labour and the Tories stuck on a third of the vote, and Labour remaining just slightly ahead. Labour has been hoping that the electorate will reject austerity; the Tories have been anxiously awaiting a reward for seeing the economy turning at last. Ashcroft's latest poll puts the Tories four points ahead; more importantly the Tories have led more of the last twenty polls than Labour have. Matthew Parris:Okay, I'll say it: I think there's a chance the Tories are just going to win outright. We are in the media have a habit of fighting the last battle and because the last election led to a coalition this has conditioned thinking about the next one. But Labour support may begin to ebb away: not least because the party has no stomach for this fight and people know it. Hugo Rifkind:Parts of England are developing a profound...

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Nov 20
Ministers 'Dragging Heels' Over Single-sex Spaces
<p>The Times today reveals the guidance on transgender people using single-sex spaces like toilets and changing rooms. It's been sitting on the government's desk - are ministers trying to avoid a political backlash?&nbsp;</p><br><p>Hugo Rifkind unpacks the politics of the day wit ... Show More
30m 56s
Nov 19
PMQs: A Labour Budget With Labour Values?
<p>Kemi Badenoch presses Keir Starmer over whether the government would "break another promise" by freezing income tax thresholds. With Starmer deferring to the chancellor’s plans next week, will it truly be “a Labour Budget with Labour values”?</p><br><p>Hugo Rifkind unpacks the ... Show More
41m 45s
Nov 18
Is Labour 'Appeasing The Electorate'?
<p>The Home Secretary's new asylum plans are facing backlash from Labour MPs, including one who told Times Radio the government is trying to "appease the electorate" - is that the job of politicians, or not?</p><br><p>Hugo Rifkind unpacks the politics of the day with Libby Purves ... Show More
30m 30s
Recommended Episodes
Jan 2022
Two Topics for 2022
To kick off the new year David and Helen are joined by historian Robert Saunders to talk about two possible trends for the next twelve months. Could Labour and the Lib Dem’s really find electoral common ground to defeat the Tories? And is Netzero scepticism about to become a seri ... Show More
49m 15s
Nov 2021
The Sunday Debate: Is Labour Unelectable?
The Labour Party has been out of power for over a decade. And after a historic electoral defeat in the 2019 general election, the party looks to be in real trouble. Sir Keir Starmer became leader in April 2020 replacing self described socialist Jeremy Corbyn and tried to steer th ... Show More
1h 4m
Oct 2023
Are the Tories heading for extinction?
Two massive by-election losses in Tory heartland. Are Rishi Sunak's hopes of holding onto his premiership next year in tatters?They may still win Tamworth and Mid Bedfordshire back in next year's general election, but that doesn't arrest the growing expectation that there is a di ... Show More
48m 36s
Nov 2019
Election week three: trouble for Labour, the big poll and tales from the stump
The UK's general election continued as the opposition Labour party struggled&nbsp;with anti-Semitism and its economic platform. A major new poll suggested the Conservatives are on course for a comfortable&nbsp;majority, but will the polls themselves stop&nbsp;that&nbsp;from happe ... Show More
32m 55s
Mar 2024
Labour’s worst nightmare?
<p>Veteran agitator George Galloway is returning to parliament after storming a divisive by-election in Rochdale. He claims his victory puts “scores” of other Labour seats at risk. Lucy Fisher is joined by FT colleagues George Parker, Robert Shrimsley and Jim Pickard to analyse t ... Show More
29m 18s
Oct 2023
Labour’s historic by-election wins
<p>The UK's Labour party has pulled off two stunning by-election victories. The FT’s Lucy Fisher is joined by colleagues Miranda Green, Jim Pickard and Stephen Bush to discuss whether Keir Starmer’s party is now on track for a 1997-style landslide, and what the Tories’ dismal res ... Show More
32m 12s
May 2024
Elections fallout: What does it mean for the general election?
Labour are celebrating big wins in the Blackpool South by-election, in the local elections and in most of the mayoral races that have declared so far.     The Conservatives could lose up to 500 councillors, though their candidate Ben Houchen did hold on to his role as mayor of Te ... Show More
24m 23s
Oct 2023
Is the Labour left finished in Britain?
With Labour Party leader Keir Starmer dragging his party onto the center ground, host Aggie Chambre asks what remains of the left in Britain — and what the future may hold for this increasingly marginalized group. She hears from three Labour MPs in the left-wing socialist campaig ... Show More
44m 52s
Apr 2024
Will Labour just be another version of the Tories?
<p>It is a truth near-universally acknowledged (amongst pollsters at least) that Labour will be the largest party at the next election. </p><p>But how would they actually differ from the Tories in terms of what they do once in power?</p><p>They've pledged not to raise taxes and n ... Show More
36m 39s